Russia Starts Testing Satellite Communication System for UAVs

Russia has announced the start of testing its own satellite communication system for medium-class unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Intellectual Instruments (Intep) Design Bureau shared this with the propaganda media TASS.

This Russian design bureau specializes in the development of communication systems.

It is claimed that this is the first real-time satellite communication system capable of significantly extending the range of Russian medium-class UAVs.

The Intellectual Instruments (Intep) Design Bureau explained that the system operates in the Ku-band frequencies, with the possibility of producing a version for the C-band.

The design combines a “high-efficiency parabolic antenna with a diameter of 35 cm, an illuminator, a transceiver, a control module, a positioning module, and an intelligent tracking system in a single antenna, allowing the unmanned platform to establish remote communication with satellites in geostationary orbit while in motion.”

The claimed antenna rotation speed is up to 200 degrees per second. This supposedly ensures stable communication for high-speed UAVs and small vessels. The total weight of the subscriber station is under 8 kg.

In addition, Intep claims that the solutions used in the system allow for the rapid, software-level adjustment of communication channel parameters.

“The system can seamlessly integrate with any data sources and consumers. The built-in router, combined with its own IP architecture and a mechanism for optimizing the structure and volume of transmitted networks, ensures easy integration of the formed communication channels into any data transmission network,” the developers claim.

The developers promise that the system will ensure stable operation at the edges of coverage zones of space vehicles in geostationary orbit and prospective high elliptical orbit, including in high latitudes.

As previously reported, Russian engineers have begun installing an additional camera on reconnaissance drones to detect Ukrainian interceptor drones and automatically evade attacks.

Among the debris of a downed Russian reconnaissance drone, the Zala Z16, an additional optical module was found, positioned on the top of the fuselage, designed to detect interceptor drones. When such drones appear, the reconnaissance drone automatically executes a programmed maneuvering algorithm to avoid the strike.