Athlon Avia A1-CM Furia
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Ukrainian. (October 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| A1-CM Furia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Furia UAVs | |
| Role | Reconnaissance UAV |
| National origin | Ukraine |
| Manufacturer | Athlon Avia[1] |
| First flight | 2014 |
| Introduction | 2020 [2] |
| Primary user | Armed Forces of Ukraine |
A1-CM Furia (Ukrainian: Фурія) — is a Ukrainian hand-launched, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for aerial reconnaissance.[3] It is controlled using a dedicated rectangular, guitar-case sized, portable station (displayed behind UAV in photo).
History
[edit]It made its first flight in 2014 and was commissioned by the Air Guard of Ukraine in 2015[4] and Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2020. A1-CM Furia UAVs are used in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Capabilities
[edit]According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, its latest modification, the A1-CMX, is able to correlate and pinpoint visual map data with GPS and GLONASS coordinates in realtime, and can reliably beam a laser target designator up to 7km away onto an area of 2x2m - even in harsh weather conditions. The CMX version was dubbed a new "Wunderwaffe" in the fight against Russia due to its ability to give final guidance correction to the M982 Excalibur artillery shells.
Design
[edit]Analysis of destroyed versions that floated on Russian social-network VK at the end of August 2023 showed custom FPGA and NVIDIA chips on tailor-made motherboards and daughterboards, expensive industrial grade ball-bearings, multiple 830/905nm laser range finders and laser designators as well as precision electric motors and stepper-motors from Northrop Grumman Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., L-3 Technologies, and ABB.
Features included multi-band long-range digital radio, backup gyroscopes, designated chipsets for satellite reception and a secondary high-resolution IR camera. Almost all electronic parts were enclosed in individual hardened shock-proof casings with Mu-metal EMI and RFI shielding. Members of the Russian hacker-group Killnet commented that they were "severely impressed" and attributed "high quality" and "an obvious technological advantage".[citation needed]
The A1-CMX is claimed to have assisted in precision strikes to destroy over 43 Russian tanks and 181 assorted armored and support vehicles during the first half of the Counter-Offensive in the Robotyne region alone. It was described by General Yevhen Moisiuk as an "absolute game changer“ that "leads to spotted targets getting destroyed in under 15minutes at a 95% probability“.[citation needed]
| Characteristic | A1-CM | A1-CMX |
|---|---|---|
| Introduced | 2014 | Early 2023 |
| Type | Fixed Wing UAV | Fixed Wing UAV |
| Tasks | Reconnaissance | Reconnaissance |
| Artillery Correction | Artillery Correction | |
| Precision Strike Guidance | ||
| Takeoff mass | 5.5 kg | 6kg |
| The maximum radius of interaction | < 50 km | < 55 km |
| Flight range | up to 200 km | up to 220km |
| Power unit | Electric motor | Electric motor |
| Feeding | 2x 42000mAh Li-ion | 2x 48000mAh & 1x 4000mAh Li-ion |
| Flight duration | up to 3 hours | up to 3 hours |
| Maximum speed | 130 km/h | 140 km/h |
| Cruise speed | 65 km/h | 70 km/h |
| Payload | HighRes Camera | Ultra-HighRes Camera |
| Secondary HighRes IR Camera | ||
| 830nm Laser Distance Measurement | ||
| 905nm Laser Target Designator | ||
| Target Resolution | 20m | <2m |
| Satellite Navigation | GPS | GPS & GLONASS |
| Target Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| AI Target Identification | No | Yes |
| GPU Chipset | Unknown | NVIDIA Jetson |
| Notable Features | Space for additional modular payload | Huge amount of high-end western components, tailor made custom PCB‘s. |
| Estimated Unit Cost | 25.000,- USD | >70.000,- USD |
| Units produced | 400+ | Unknown |
References
[edit]- ^ "Athlon Avia".
- ^ «Фурія» прийнятий на озброєння Збройних Сил України. 10.04.2020, «Український мілітарний портал» (in Ukrainian)
- ^ "Артилеристи в зоні АТО використовують безпілотник для стрільби по бойовиках" (in Ukrainian). Лівий берег. 3 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014.
- ^ "Нацгвардія отримала нові безпілотники". Archived from the original on 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2015-07-22.