How to hit accurately from a height of 500m | FireFly guidance module for bombers!

Speaker 1

Attention! Attention! Firefly is an optical terminal guidance module created to enable operation from great heights, raising the aircraft to an altitude of 200 to 500 meters, where it becomes less vulnerable to small arms fire, and to provide the ability to hit the target on the first drop without using sighting munitions, which significantly saves ammunition consumption. We are currently at one of our company's testing grounds. Here, we have built a makeshift dugout, which we covered with ceiling slabs 22 mm thick. We did this following a request from a unit, as there is a need to collapse enemy shelters. You can come in here and see. The height of the slab here is nearly 2 meters. Well, in the middle it is slightly smaller—2×2. The walls are reinforced with boards so that they do not collapse. This is a classic way of building dugouts. Usually, dugouts are covered in two layers. Two layers of logs plus half a meter of soil mound. Concrete slabs are usually not used because such a slab cannot be delivered to the front line. Today, we are going to try and collapse this dugout. Installing the munition on the drone. One second. There is a safety pin. We are going to try our terminal guidance together with a high-explosive munition and a delay fuse. That is, the terminal guidance should steer precisely to the target we select. And the munition itself should penetrate and then explode after a certain delay. The module itself consists of several parts. Namely, the body, the wing, and the tail section. The tail section is what performs corrections during the flight of the munition. We can demonstrate how the control works. Now the tail section is calibrating. We expect the wing to deflect in different directions. After this, we can simulate the conditions of how the control works after the drop. This is the control happening. We are simulating the control that occurs in automatic mode from the drone. The system was developed by several teams. This is for the mechanical part. The utility model was developed by the NGO "Aerorozvytka," and the software was developed by one of the Ministry of Defense units, "Cyrot." We work under license. Our main task is scaling production and utilizing high-quality factory production. At this stage, there are two versions. FF-85 with a smaller diameter, and FF-120 with a larger diameter. Standard munitions can be used for them. For the FF-85: OGB-1 82mm mortars, as well as munitions of our own production. And for the FF-120, there is already a wider range for use. These are the MA-400, MA-900 available in the troops, 105mm munitions—specifically, artillery shells. Also, 120mm mortars. Our own production munition is the KIL-9, a penetrating high-explosive with a delay. The idea is that after the drop, the munition gains a certain speed, which allows it to destroy dugouts, dive in, and penetrate the ceilings of standard dugouts, which are built in two layers plus a soil mound on top. The munition dives in and explodes after a short time. Such solutions existed in many units, but they were not serial; they were not factory-made. That is, it is quite difficult to guarantee such results. We developed the munition, began supplying it, and the units came back to us with a proposal to work with an optical terminal guidance module. We integrated this solution through a system of adapters and by adding design details. Subsequently, the performance improved significantly, and this is one of the greatest requests for using the Firefly with a high-explosive and delay fuse. We have already launched serial production and are ready to produce the necessary quantity according to military requirements. At various stages, we are improving the design. In the early stages, quite a few parts used 3D printing. This was during the prototyping and small-batch production stages. After that, we began switching to molded plastic, using thermoplastic automation, as it is better to use technologies that have been proven over time for serial products. We are also trying to diversify risks among suppliers, so we cooperate with a significant number of them. Within a single contract, we have several suppliers for each of the components. A quite important munition is used here. This is the KIL munition with a delay. It weighs 9 kg. Now, in testing ground conditions, we can afford to work in threes or fours, but in fact, two people can do it, as we did in previous tests. We tried to work according to the requests of the units and adapt to what is available in the troops. It is not mandatory to use our munitions. Usually, interaction with the units happens in the following manner: when a unit buys or receives these guidance products, they give us a list of munitions they want to work with. We get the mass and dimensions, go to the testing ground, perform several drops, and adapt it directly for ease of use, equipment, and interaction. Because speed on the battlefield and things like equipment are very often a matter of saving our boys' lives. Two munitions are installed on the drone. One is combat—a high-explosive with a delay, the KIL with the optical terminal guidance module. And the second is just a mass-dimension dummy, so that in testing conditions, we can allow ourselves one sighting drop, conditionally, to understand that the system is working and functioning correctly. And the other is the combat one, which we will hit our dugout with. This is the safety mechanism. The first one comes off during takeoff. It comes out when the drone takes off; it remains on the ground. The second is fixed to the drone's chassis. And it remains on the drone, while the munition falls down. The munition should dive in and explode. After this, accordingly, the dugout will be destroyed. In the explosion. In general, the system is designed so that the crew should perform a minimum of tasks. That is, the crew flies to the mission area, understanding the required altitude, which is from 200 to 500 meters, depending on the module's technical specifications. After that, the crew selects the target via the day channel or the night channel. They select the target, press drop, and the system in automatic mode

mode corrects the flight trajectory of the munition. From a height of around 300 meters, the wind changes direction about three times, it can even change direction. Therefore, if we were throwing an unguided munition, it would be blown off course by approximately 50 meters, it could miss the targets. When we are over the target, it is simple enough to drop from 300 meters and hit, so that the munition does not have to perform some action, some work. But in reality, this is a difficult task. I am sure that in the armed forces there are military personnel who can hit from 300 meters with unguided [munitions]. But that requires a great deal of experience. Here we give the opportunity for inexperienced pilots to work, hitting the target on the first try. Now we will work with a live one. This is too close. A little further. A little to the right. Just like that. We are about a meter from the target. Attention, drop! It dove in. Now there will be an explosion.

Speaker 1

waiting. One second. Shards are flying. Vincent, are we happy? Yes. Here we see the results of our work with a terminal guidance munition. The Firefly terminal guidance module. A Kill-9 munition on a UT2 improvised bomb. This is a nitrate improvised bomb of our own production. We aimed generally in this area. That is, within about a meter. We can see by the nature of the crater that the hit was here. That is, close, 1.5 meters from the entrance to the dugout. The first slab we see was located here. It broke in half. Here the width is close to 0.5 meters. 60-70 centimeters maximum. Considering the height of 300 meters, this entrance is very small. And hitting it with a conventional unguided munition would be more a matter of luck or fantasy than standard work. Here we see that from the first drop we hit the target precisely. The detonator is designed so that after penetration it detonates not immediately, but after 3 seconds. That is, with such a drop, the munition penetrates to a depth of about 1.5 meters. This depends heavily on the type of surface. In soil, it will penetrate deeper, in sand – slightly less. But this allows it to destroy any fortifications, even if it is a concrete slab. In fact, it is a high-explosive charge with a standard guided initiator that works with a delay. Most combat brigades have their own developments in this direction, but in general, with our solution, we make it possible to work with standard factory munitions, rather than engaging in the development, design, or production of munitions. Because, in our opinion, a soldier should receive ready-made solutions that should work out of the box after installation on the drone. In general, this product is already being supplied to some brigades. We have established production, established the supply of components. In principle, we are ready for supply either through direct contracts with military units or through state orders. At our enterprise, a quality management system is currently being implemented, which allows for control at all stages of production. This starts with procurement. Every purchased element undergoes incoming inspection and is checked against checklists for compliance with design documentation or, in general, production quality. This allows, in general, the supply of quality products. Inspections generally occur in several stages. This is incoming inspection, control at production stages, as well as control of finished products, including those that operate under the DQA, that is, the Department of Quality Assurance. In general, Firefly was developed also to save munitions. Non-linear mathematics begins to work here. We cannot just calculate. We also need to take into account whether we hit on the first drop or not. Because when using a sighting munition, we spend a significant portion of funds just for sighting. Additionally, the cost of one flight of a drone must be calculated. Because in modern realities, drones are shot down quite often, and accordingly, the cost of a flight is always higher than just the price of one drop. Firefly directly allows hitting from the first shot, from the first drop. The cost of these containers is about 200 dollars. With a small difference between FF-120 and FF-85. Overall, the military can already order Firefly, and this can be done in different ways. This can be supply through AOS, supply through DoChain, or orders through direct contracts. Overall, we continue work, including scaling. Understanding the order volume, we are prepared to scale to the required quantities. We also continue work on new collaboration with units and, responding to their requests, we adapt different types of munitions into different nomenclature, depending on the needs of the unit. We are complicating, in principle, the lives of the enemy with these munitions. This is definite. Since this product is quite new, we continue working on new designs, new munitions with which Firefly can be used. Specifically, our terminal guidance. But I want to emphasize that the work is regular and we are working for victories.