Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has assigned an identification code to another Ukrainian-made reconnaissance drone, the quadcopter named Shmavik. What it means is that now this remote-controlled copter can be purchased for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The codification of Shmavic and other similar UAVs was announced during their live demonstration by the Minister of Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin. While positioned as counterparts to the Mavic camera drone from Chinese firm DJI, all the presented products are absolutely different. Even the Shmavik, despite its ironic name, has a different operational capabilities and purpose on the battlefield.
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First of all, let's recall that DJI's Mavic is primarily designed for use by amateurs and civilians like camera operators. It's compact and portable, and features an advanced cinematographic camera or a commercial-grade thermal imaging camera. And because it's intended for civilians, it has a variety of additional options, for example, proximity sensors to avoid obstacles. On the flip side, Mavic is operated via a vulnerable Wi-Fi communication channel at 2.4 and 5.8 GHz and has an unprotected navigation system.
Besides all that, Mavic is an entire "flying laptop," as many functions are implemented on the software and hardware of the drone itself. For example, the so-called machine vision with auto-tracking and auto-following, processing of video streams, etc.
Ontheother hand, the Shmavik, as stated by the manufacturer, is a specialized tactical scout drone, with a battery endurance up to 60 minutes, an operational radius of 15 km and a jam-resistant navigation system and frequency-hopping (FHSS) capability. The camera and the suspension is just a type of payload within the limits of the specified lift capacity.
That is, Shmavic is a product designed for distinct tasks and belonging to a different category than its commercial Chinese counterpart, it is intended to complete missions on the battlefield — not for filming nature and monuments. And the primary task for military reconnaissance drones of this class is to reliably transmit images from the frontline and maybe shallow rear of the enemy. In order to do that effectively, it has a secure connection and capacity to carry not a cinematographic camera but a more powerful one with a zoom, preferably combined with a night vision channel.
This entails a completely different software to boost its military functionality. For example, automatic target recognition, automated control systems, etc. Not to mention the fact that the software itself is fully Ukrainian and meets the specified standards for approved military software meaning much better cohesion with data networks.
Finally, we should note that Shmavic is but the first drone of this class to receive an identification code. Other similar UAVs are next in line, the codification of which will allow Ukraine's General Staff and Ministry of Defense to choose the best models among them to supply the army.
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