They fly to places where they could not before: how German Vector drones help intelligence on the front

In a big war, the Ukrainian army needs an unlimited number of drones, we are talking about millions. Part is covered by the state, part – private companies. The transition to own production and development of drones in Ukraine is also very important.

On the battlefield, there is a need not only for light FPV copters, but also for reconnaissance drones. In particular, such drones called Vector are produced by the German company Quantum-Systems with an RnD (research and development) center in Ukraine.

In August of this year, Quantum-Systems announced the installation of anti-interference antennas on 15 reconnaissance drones used by the Defense Forces. This should improve their technical characteristics, in particular resistance to interference with global satellite navigation. The Ukrainian IT company Intellias also took part in the project.

24 Kanal  spoke at the IT Arena event with CEO and co-founder of Intellias Vitaly Sadler and CTO Quantum-Systems by Dmytro Gorlin about the development of drones in Ukraine, the entry of foreign companies into our market and the future of drones.

In why drones are special and who makes them

Quantum-Systems – it is a German manufacturer of drones, but part of the production has already been localized in Ukraine, says Gorlin. There is an RnD (research and development) center in Ukraine, and the main office is in Germany.

The specificity of Vector drones, says the interlocutor – it's intelligence. Vector – drones with vertical take-off and landing, these are “wings” with a span of 2.8 meters, a weight of 8.5 kilograms and a flight duration of up to 180 minutes. The drone takes off vertically, so it doesn't need any additional equipment, and it deploys very quickly, Gorlin adds. The flight range is 45 kilometers.

The creation of “Vectors” began in 2018, and in 2020 drones entered the market – initially for industrial use. Subsequently, the development became interested in the military.

In particular, the Pentagon  chose  the American subsidiary company Quantum as a promising manufacturer of reconnaissance drones for US special forces.

The military is very fond of Vector for its speed, for the fact that from the moment of arrival at the starting point to the start of the drone, about 10-15 minutes pass. With the fastest operators, maybe 8-7. So, the essence of the project was to allow our military, and several hundred people are working with these drones at the front, to fly to places where they could not fly before
– says the interlocutor.

In the Ukrainian R&D center, the drones were equipped with an anti-interference GPS antenna, which allows them to work in the conditions of GPS interference, which is constantly created by the enemy, explains Gorlin. In fact, the receiver itself – it is a completely Ukrainian project, its use – support not only for the soldiers, but also for the Ukrainian manufacturer that produces these high-tech jam-proof receivers, says the interlocutor.

Last year, The New York Times wrote about drones falling from the sky on the battlefield Then the developer found out that the reason for this was the work of the Russian electronic surveillance system. Because of this, it was necessary to improve their antennas.

Next, it was Quantum-Systems that made the integration with all the hardware, hardware, that is, created a composite part so that the hardware could be integrated into the aircraft without a negative impact on aerodynamics and combat use.

Can Vector be compared with the Russian “Orlan”

Quantum-Systems has a project similar to the Russian reconnaissance drone under development, which can fly further to the rear, but the “Orlan” – it's a different class, Gorlin emphasizes, because all UAVs are different.

For example, “Orlan” has an internal combustion engine, it is not electric, and Vector has three electric motors. A drone powered by an internal combustion engine can fly much further. But we have a development that can fly further than Vector – it is called Reliant and belongs to the same family of systems as Vector,
– says the interlocutor.

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How Quantum-Systems entered the Ukrainian market

Everything happened quite quickly, says Gorlin about entering the Ukrainian market: “Vectors” arrived, the guys tried them on combat missions, and everything went on.

The main thing is that Oleksandr Berezhny, managing director of Quantum-Systems in Ukraine, convinced Quantum Systems that it is necessary not just to bring drones to Ukraine, but to be here. We have built a service center here that repairs and maintains these drones, we have created a support service that responds to the pilots' requests, everything is quite professional there, the first and second line. And, of course, we have already built and are localizing production, – explains Dmytro Gorlin.

“As our CEO Florian Seibel says, if you are not in Ukraine, you basically do not exist in the drone industry,” – adds the interlocutor.

A special support service provided a “feedback ring” from the pilots. As soon as they see something, they write it to support, then it goes to RnD and the team is already trying to find a solution.

I know many examples of Western manufacturers who supply their products to the US Army, but in Ukraine, they could not resist the REB only on the first tests on the training ground. And that's why I can't call to go to Ukraine, I can advise using our experience – come to Ukraine precisely with RnD and be here permanently,
– says Gorlin.

Advice from Dmitry for Western manufacturers who see their future in the drone industry – to build RnD centers, support and service centers in Ukraine, in order to shorten the time from real feedback to an engineer who will think about a solution.

How the project was financed and what will happen next

The production of antennas was financed by the IT company Intellias – the amount was about 4 million hryvnias. According to Intellias CEO Vitaly Sadler, every year on company day, instead of spending money on a large-scale celebration during a full-scale war, the team decides to spend this budget on “something useful”.

Last year, Intellias financed the project of Serhiy Prytula, who bought drones. In general, the company allocates budgets to help the military close to the front line.

This year, we thought it would be cool not just to spend money on something ready, but as an engineering company, to improve something, add and improve. So we met with the company Quantum-Systems, which produces excellent products, and decided to transfer from Intellias the amount of money that went to additional equipment of drones, – Sadler said.

As for further projects, Sadler says that it is worth seeing how the drones work in order to understand what will come of this project.

According to Dmytro Gorlin, the next project may happen, but it may not be these receivers.

“The technological cycle at the front is quite fast – the implemented solution works for about half a year. In half a year there are some counter-methods and you have to find something new”, – adds the interlocutor.

What is the future of drones

Dmytro Gorlin does not undertake to predict the future of drones for a long time, but claims that it is possible to predict the development for half a year.

We will definitely see drone mothers, large drone aircraft carriers that carry smaller ones . We will definitely see large reconnaissance reconnaissance drones like the Russian A-50 long-range radar tracking aircraft with a large radar on board. There will be miniature versions of such planes. The drone industry will move in this direction,
– says the interlocutor.

Of course, a very big factor – it is artificial intelligence that is changing everything in the world, notes Gorlin. Last Mile Targeting methods have already been implemented, when guidance works on the fly with the help of artificial intelligence.

According to the technical director of Quantum-Systems, all these technologies will penetrate even deeper. Another story that drives now – these are interceptor drones. Manufacturers either already make them or, like Quantum-Systems, are working on designs to protect against drone interceptors.