In the article below, Yuriy Kasyanov, a volunteer and veteran of the ATO, expresses his opinion about the new Ukrainian weapon called "Palyanytsia". The author, in particular, compares modern Ukrainian developments with historical samples of weapons, such as the German "Fau-1" of the Second World War.
I have been reading with surprise for several days now the news about the new Ukrainian miracle weapon "Palyanytsia". After all, no rocket drones exist, never existed and never will exist.
Let me remind you that the first combat "aircraft-projectile", as they said then, or "flying bomb" (as it was then classified), or, in the new Ukrainian manner, "missile-drone", was used by the Germans against Britain (and not only) during the Second World War .
The German "burner" Fau-1 (Fi-103, "Fizeler-103") had a jet engine, an autopilot, launched from a catapult, flew at a range of 280 km (later it was increased to 500 km) and carried a warhead weighing from 500 kg up to 1 ton.
From 1944 to 1945, the Germans produced 25,000 such "rocket-drones". They were launched very intensively - up to 100 pieces per day (compare with our launches of drones over swamps - we are still far from such rates).
10,500 flying bombs were launched in Britain - more than 6,000 people died in London alone, almost 18,000 were injured; 23,000 buildings were destroyed and more than 100,000 were damaged. Liege (3,141 launches), Antwerp (2,183 launches), Brussels (151 launches), and Paris were also bombarded with rocket-propelled grenades.
By the way, the German "rocket-drone" was inexpensive - about 3.5 thousand Reichsmarks. According to the exchange rate of 1941 to the dollar – 8.8 thousand dollars. In today's money - about 160 thousand dollars. Adequate price for a cruise missile.
Yes, yes - our wonder-weapon-missile-drone is nothing but a cruise missile. The German Fau-1 was the world's first mass-produced cruise missile, whatever it was called at the time. In general, there is a very fine line between drones and cruise missiles - put a jet engine on the plane, and you already have a cruise missile, or "drone missile", according to our new Ukrainian classification.
What are the advantages of cruise missiles compared to Shahed kamikaze drones?
- High speed: the missile can reach the target faster, and the opponent may not have time to take any countermeasures or take them out of the attack. A cruise missile can potentially carry a more powerful warhead. A cruise missile is more difficult to shoot down, and snipers with machine guns are ineffective here.
At the same time, the cruise missile is well shot down by anti-aircraft missiles with a thermal guidance head - because they have a more pronounced thermal trace. Disadvantages include the complexity of the design and higher cost.
By the way, how much can "Palyanytsia" cost?
If we do not take into account the funds spent on development and testing, then the cost of the product consists of the cost of electronics - from $3,000 in the budget version to $50,000 with a CRPA antenna, backup, satellite modem, and optical navigation module. A glider - fuselage, wings, feathers - will cost 3-10 thousand dollars, depending on the design and the technologies used. The most expensive part is the turbojet engine; judging by the video, a motor with a thrust of about 100 kg is used - such a motor can be bought on AliExpress for 50-70 thousand dollars. Well, let's throw in another twenty thousand for the cost of works, rent of premises, compensation for the cost of development, and add the legal 25% profitability established by the state.
As a result, we will receive the same $160,000 as the German "missile-drone" Vau-1 cost. It's certainly less than $1 million.
Today, Prime Minister Shmyhal said that Ukrainian enterprises have not only increased the production of drones tenfold, and that they will make a million drones this year (however, more are needed), but he also said that at some enterprises that produce drones, the level localization reaches 98%. That almost all components are made in Ukraine, and little is imported.
Denys Anatoliyovych, this is not true.
Unfortunately, little is produced in our country - there are no Ukrainian-made batteries, motors, autopilots, or GPS receivers. Not to mention optics, accelerometers, gyroscopes and other high-tech components.
Production requires billions of hryvnias per year to create an industry. And the main thing is to understand the problem and make the right management decisions.
