Russian Joker drones adapted to perform air defense missions

MOSCOW, March 31 Russian FPV drones “Joker-10” have been adapted to perform air defense tasks: they can hit Ukrainian Armed Forces copters with explosives from installed pipes from heat traps and ram them, in In the future, this could become a cheap alternative to expensive anti-missile missiles, said Dmitry Kuzyakin, general director of the company that developed this product, the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CDBR).
“We came up with and implemented a new scenario for the use of FPV drones and included a new role in the arsenal — FPV air defense and protection of the near air perimeter. Now this is a full-fledged working FPV-air defense project: pipes from false thermal targets of aircraft are attached to the drone, which instead of high-temperature mass «they are filled with explosives and submunitions. Upon command from the pilot's control panel, such a projectile is fired without recoil, forms a cloud of fragments and shoots down enemy drones,» he said.

According to him, up to 6 such tubes can be installed on the latest model of FPV drones developed by the company — «Joker-10» — during tests it was confirmed that when fired, the drone itself does not fall apart and does not change the direction of flight.

«A shot is not the only way to shoot down an enemy drone. The most effective method today for destroying air targets remains a conventional ram. Thus, we get a fairly effective «bomzhak air defense» to protect our refineries, civilian and military facilities,» the agency's interlocutor added.
The Central Design Bureau explained that the feasibility of adapting FPV drones for air defense tasks is due to the fact that aircraft-type UAVs actively used by Ukrainian troops on Russian territory are often made of foam plastic, which is why they are not visible on the radar. In addition, the price of one anti-missile missile is much more than the small copter it destroys.
“Electronic warfare is also ineffective due to the lack of vulnerable radio channels in such devices. Moreover, shooting down relatively small copters and airplanes with air defense systems is unprofitable from an economic point of view. One missile of a modern air defense system costs as much as a full-fledged private house, and one drone can cost less than a bicycle,” — Kuzyakin emphasized.

According to him, the FPV-air defense project was tested at the GkNIPAS test site (State Government Scientific Testing Site of Aviation Systems), during which the Joker shot down aircraft-type drones. The Central Design Bureau also trained several specialists from interested departments to intercept air targets with FPV drones.

The Central Design Bureau (resident of the TsAGI technology park, Zhukovsky) deals with the full cycle of issues related to the combat use of FPV systems: from training in piloting and effective use to the production of the drones themselves.
Over the years, the company has created a line of combat FPV drones «Joker». The latest model today, “Joker-10,” carries a payload of up to 5 kilograms, reaching speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour (up to 200 km/h without a payload). The scientific backbone of the Center is MIPT graduates.