The Golub (Pigeon) bomber drone capable of automatically recognising infantry with the help of a neural network has undergone combat trials in a special military operation zone. The strike UAV, developed by Stratim, has confirmed its effectiveness. A representative of the company announced this at the Helirussia 2024 exhibition and forum.
He noted that the drone is equipped with an interchangeable drum for mounting 12 fragmentation grenade launchers (FGMs) or one 82-mm mine at the operator’s choice. To carry out a bombing mission, the drone can use machine vision technology to focus the camera on a target and hover over it.
“When the operator chooses over the target how to apply the payload, the drone is very often blown away by the wind. Here, however, the drone hovers over a specific square on camera without operator input. The drone is equipped with our command communication system operating in a frequency range that is not jammed. We successfully tested it in the NWO zone, flew the Golub over working electronic warfare systems and dropped VOGs directly on them. REB could not counteract the device in any way, because now such frequencies are not suppressed,” said the company representative.
The main task of the Pigeon is to detect and neutralise concentrations of enemy manpower, the drone effectively recognises infantry. The name of the drone, as the Stratim representative noted, symbolises its combat capabilities: just as pigeons circling over people’s heads make them uncomfortable, this drone drops grenades on the enemy.
The drone’s range is up to 10 kilometres. Flight height – 500 metres, speed – from 40 km/h. Based on the results of pilot operation, the drone has been improved, and now the development company is preparing it for mass production.
Stratim, founded in 2022 in Moscow, specialises in the development and production of attack and reconnaissance drones. The team is made up of graduates of leading Russian technical universities, such as the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) and Bauman Moscow State Technical University (MSTU).
