Inexpensive but Effective: Ukraine Develops Babka Tactical Drone

Ukraine has developed an inexpensive reconnaissance drone called Babka that can operate at tactical depth.

The project manager of the Babka UAV at TAF Drones told Militarnyi that in May the drone went through a codification process that allows the army to officially purchase this product.

The Babka aircraft-type UAV is an aerial reconnaissance and artillery fire corrector capable of operating in difficult electronic warfare conditions.

TAF Drones began developing this drone because of the military’s need for a reconnaissance UAV whose loss would not cause significant damage.

Expensive reconnaissance drones require favorable conditions for use, such as low enemy air defense and good weather. Their loss usually entails the unit’s responsibility to the command.

Therefore, it was decided to create a drone from the cheapest possible components, while maintaining the ability to operate effectively at the tactical level.

The manufacturer claims that Babka can stay in the air for up to 2 hours and operate at a distance of up to 40 kilometers.

The drone is equipped with a digital video system with 30x optical zoom, GPS-free navigation, and multi-channel communication with pseudo-random frequency hopping (PRFH).

PFRT is a method of transmitting radio signals with periodic jumps in the carrier frequency within a wide spectral range.

Changes occur according to an algorithm known to both the transmitter and receiver. This method is used to avoid interference, prevent interception, and provide multiple-access and code-splitting communications.

The system includes two to four drones, a repeater, a ground station, and tablets with the Kropyva system. The Kropyva system reduces the time from target detection to target engagement by several times.

Recently, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has received modified long-range UJ-26 “Bober” drones with the ability to be manually operated by the operator.