Ukrainian Armed Forces possess and actively deploy the Vector reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle from Quantum Systems. First supplied back in 2022, the UAV is now being provided in three times larger batches to Ukraine, the company revealed and connected the increased demand by the need to spot russian forces during the night, Defense News reports.
"The Vector had his baptism of fire during the famous battle of Siverskyi Donets in May 2022, where it was capable of directing fire through a thick layer of smoke in an electronic-warfare environment," shared Matthias Lehna, business development manager at Quantum Systems.
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Apparently, he meant the battle that unfolded at approximately the same location a number of times in May 2022, near Bilohorivka village in eastern Ukraine. The russian invasion army was repeatedly trying to cross the Siverskyi Donets river while Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed them, mostly with artillery fire, resulting in over 400 russian soldiers and 70 units of armored equipment destroyed, according to estimations.
Sven Kruck, Chief Sales Officer at Quantum Systems told the media that Vector drone has seen improvements since then: both software and hardware updated, in particular, drones are now capable of safe takeoff and landing in bad conditions, and battery endurance is up one extra hour.
"We are also working on enhancing the AI capabilities of the Vector so it can better connect and integrate to battle management systems and strike drones as well as working on more sensors and radar elements so they can better detect artillery fire," Kruck said.
He recalls an episode, earlier shared, about that time when Vector UAVs suddenly started to fall in Ukraine after several months of working without a problem. As it turned out, the russians were suppressing the signal link between the UAV and the satellite. Quantum promptly received a report on the issue from Ukrainian drone operators and fixed it by adding manual control options and developing special AI-powered software.
On a reminder note, in spring 2023, German drone maker Quantum Systems opened Centres for service, training, support, and logistics in Ukraine. The centers help in training drone operators, repairing damaged UAVs, and managing the procurement of spare parts.
There are plans to expand the cooperation. This year, the company is planning to establish production of components for its unmanned systems in Ukraine, aiming to start local full assembly of Vector in 2025.
According to official data published by the German government, Ukraine has received 162 Vector UAVs to date as military aid from the Federal Government, with 263 more to arrive in the future.
Read more: Ukraine Will Produce Parts and Assemble German Vector UAVs
