The performance of UAVs in the Naka war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict
2024-08-08
HAROP patrol missile. Introduction: Since the US military used the MQ-1 drone for counter-terrorism operations in 2001, the combat range of drones has gradually expanded from reconnaissance to attack, and has achieved significant results in hotspots around the world. In particular, the Azerbaijani Armenian struggle for control of the Nagorno Karabakh region (hereinafter referred to as "Nagorno Karabakh") and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict have seen drone operations everywhere. Azerbaijan's tactical victory over the Armenian army through the combination of high and low drones, as well as Ukraine's pioneering use of commercial drones for combat purposes in asymmetric warfare, have left a deep impression on people. Drones in the two battles have not only been widely used, but also become popular "star" weapons on social media; At the same time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has strengthened the direct feeling obtained in the Nagorno Karabakh war - for example, the company platoon level combat units urgently need UAVs to support their operations. With the increasing involvement of drones in local wars, drones will replace various roles of manned aircraft and drive future wars towards intelligence, which has attracted high attention from countries around the world. The biggest function of unmanned aerial vehicles in combat is to move pilots from the air to the ground, mainly controlled by radio remote control or its own program. It has multiple flight modes such as remote control or autonomy, and can carry specific payloads to perform combat missions in the atmosphere. Due to the absence of a pilot, drones can be overloaded with large maneuverability (the maximum weight for fighter jets is 9g), the onboard rescue system can be cancelled, modifications and upgrades are simple, and they can be reused or used once and for all. With the accumulation and development of war practice, unmanned aerial vehicle systems can adapt to "Dull, Dirty, Dangerous Deep, 4D" environments and have the advantage of high cost-effectiveness. Compared to manned aircraft, drones have lower costs, can perform more dangerous tasks, and have the ability to perform tasks continuously for longer periods of time, making them widely used in various fields of the battlefield. Azerbaijan's TB-2 drone. Any war is a confrontation of combat systems, and advanced systems will present a crushing and rapid victory over backward systems. The strength of drones lies in their built-in small combat system, which integrates reconnaissance, strike, command, coordination, and interference, and can achieve maximum combat effectiveness. With the expansion of combat scenarios, drones have become a new force in the current weapon and equipment system, playing an irreplaceable role in areas such as information support, detection and tracking, and firepower strikes. The rich functions and tactics of drones provide many new possibilities for modern warfare. By utilizing the efficient intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities of drones, they can quickly and accurately strike exposed and poorly protected ground forces. For small and medium-sized countries that are unable to maintain a conventional air force, drones are one of the combat platforms that can gain air superiority and asymmetric advantages over their opponents. The "first mover advantage" brought about by military technological progress will make future wars more presented in the form of asymmetric warfare, such as Azerbaijan versus Armenia. In the future battlefield, drones will be deployed on the most intense and dangerous front lines, carrying out tasks such as reconnaissance, decoying, jamming, suicide attacks, and implementing saturation or swarm attacks. In this battlefield environment, drones are often positioned as consumable equipment. In addition to low cost and large quantity, they should also have certain intelligence, anti-interference, and self-organizing network capabilities. The battlefield performance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is that in 2020, the smoke of war in the Nagorny Karabakh battlefield has not cleared up, and in 2022, the flames of war in the Russia-Ukraine conflict will rise again. These two medium-sized conflicts have revealed the tip of the iceberg of modern warfare for us. The outstanding role played by drones has overturned people's understanding of conventional warfare and has symbolic significance in the history of world wars. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a military confrontation between two small Central Asian countries, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is of medium to high intensity. Its basic mode of warfare still follows traditional firepower warfare. Although the participation of drones has added high-tech color to this war, it is not an intelligent war under high-tech conditions. Drones are only used as battlefield reconnaissance and precision strike methods, with insufficient coordination with ground attack forces, and have not been integrated into a complete combat system. From the Nagorno Karabakh War to the Russo Ukrainian War, we have already felt that with the advancement of artificial intelligence/machine learning technology, unmanned aerial vehicle combat scenarios with highly autonomous and collaborative capabilities are not far away from us. (1) After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the first Nagorno Karabakh War broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia from 1992 to 1994. After the ceasefire, there is always friction between the two sides on the actual control line. Affected by multiple factors, in the autumn of 2020 in the Naka region, the two sides once again engaged in military conflict, which lasted for 44 days. In the early stages of the war, the Afghan army launched a ground attack from the lowlands of the southern mountains of Naka towards the highland runners up, deploying ground fighters and armed helicopters in an attempt to capture the defenses that the runners up had painstakingly built over the years. Under the counterattack of the runner up's air defense system, aircraft such as the A-Jun Su-25 were shot down several times. So, the Afghan army changed its attack tactics and achieved overwhelming victory with equipment such as TB-2 drones and HAROP patrol missiles (i.e. suicide drones), writing a brilliant page in the history of drone warfare. The military combat ideology of both the Afghan and Asian armies originated from the Soviet Union. After more than 30 years of development, the A army gradually accepted the concept of light composite assault units, while the runner up still adhered to the combat mode of deep defense; The short-range air defense system at the forefront of the runner up is outdated, and even the range of TB-2's airborne weapons exceeds the attack range of the runner up's air defense system. All of these have laid the foundation for the excellent performance of the Afghan military's drones in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In order to suppress/destroy the runner up's air defense system, seize the air superiority of the theater, and thereby eliminate the enemy's living forces, the Afghan army adopted the following tactics, which were implemented separately and coordinated with each other: ① Air protection and information support were provided by drones. Türkiye F-16 fighter planes enter the airspace of Azerbaijan to protect TB-2, Hermes, Heron and other UAV fleets performing follow-up operations from air or anti-aircraft missile attacks; At the same time, Türkiye's E-737 early warning aircraft provides theater intelligence information support. ② Drones serve as bait. Using the "KORAL" ground electronic warfare system to interfere with the runner up's radar signal, while retrofitting the old An-2 transport plane into a remote-controlled drone and loading it with explosives, luring the runner up's medium and short-range radar to turn on, and then locating and clearing it at a fixed point. ③ Drone reconnaissance, positioning, and attack. After detecting targets (including some false targets set by the runner up) in the air, the TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicle and other fleets of hunters will transmit battlefield information back to the command center. For individual targets and small units, use their own MAM-L precision guided missiles for destruction; For cluster targets such as anti-aircraft positions and armored vehicles, guide artillery and fighter jets to conduct intensive strikes; At the same time, coordinated command of patrol missiles such as Harop and SkyStriker continues to disable exposed air defense systems. There are also reports that TB-2 guided the Afghan artillery to destroy the Russian made S-300 air defense missile system, and Harop destroyed the runner up's "dewormer-1" anti drone electronic warfare system, both of which are said to be the first in the history of drone warfare. ④ Assessment of drone damage. After the first wave of strikes, the TB-2 drone sends reconnaissance images and other information back to the command and control center based on the battlefield situation to determine whether to launch a second wave of strikes. According to open-source information data, the pre war runners up had a total of 40 sets of air defense systems. After this battle, the runner up lost a total of 26 air defense systems and 14 radars. ⑤ Unmanned aerial vehicle deep reconnaissance. After gaining air superiority, the A army greatly weakened the runner up's geographical advantage of using mountains as a natural barrier. After the defense works were lost, the runner up's equipment and personnel retreated along the road, and drones could easily find targets such as tanks, artillery, or vehicle assembly areas. The Ah Jun drone effectively guided artillery firing, allowing artillery that was originally only advantageous in plain areas to achieve the same annihilation effect. ⑥ Ah Jun utilizes the real-time feedback capability of drones to continuously post frontline combat videos or images of ground targets on various social media platforms, in order to boost morale and shock the psychology of opponents, thereby receiving good public opinion benefits. Through the above methods, it can be clearly seen that the combat style of the A army's high and low combinations includes both the protection of drones, the coordination between drones, and the play of different roles of drones. The main technical parameters, performance, and usage conditions of these drones vary, and they can undertake different types of combat tasks during operations, which also demonstrates the intelligence of the Afghan military's tactical adjustments. The highlight of this battle is the stunning performance of the Ah army's unmanned aerial vehicle equipment, which has attracted great attention from countries around the world. But people intentionally or unintentionally overlook the invisible coordination of "electronic warfare". The wing span (12.0m) of TB-2 manufactured in Türkiye is larger than that of F-16 (9.5m), and its radar characteristics should be higher than that of F-16. If there were no electromagnetic signal suppression or deception, TB-2 would not be able to approach the runner up's air defense system at all. The video of the runner up radar being destroyed and its antenna still rotating inefficiently, released by A Jun, illustrates that electronic warfare applications are also an important component of this unmanned aerial vehicle operation. Although the Afghan military's drones have demonstrated strong combat capabilities, the ultimate intention of the two sides is still to rely on ground forces to achieve territorial disputes. As the attack progressed, the military operations of the Afghan army shifted from the overwhelming advantage of unmanned aerial vehicles in attrition warfare to diverse tactics in assault warfare. According to incomplete statistics, 2763 soldiers of the Afghan army were killed, and 2718 runners up were killed in action. Although the personnel losses on both sides were comparable, there is reason to believe that the reduction of the runner up was mainly caused by drones, while most of the casualties of the Afghan army occurred in ground combat. There are reports that in the first week of the war, the runner up resisted tenaciously, and the Afghan army only advanced less than 20 kilometers towards mountainous highlands. It can be seen that if the Afghan army integrates drones into a complete combat system, that is, effectively coordinating air strikes and ground attacks, the number of personnel losses in the Afghan army will not be so large. (2) Russia-Ukraine conflict In February 2022, Russia launched a "special military operation" against Ukraine, aiming to quickly achieve military and political goals through Blitzkrieg. Unexpectedly, the Russia-Ukraine conflict gradually entered a stalemate due to the stubborn resistance of the Ukrainian army and the subsequent NATO arms and information assistance, as well as the lack of Russian military preparations. Both sides constantly switched their offensive and defensive roles in the "attack counterattack" cycle, and the expected lightning battle slowly dragged on to a protracted one. In the early stages of the war, the Russian offensive team was responsible for breaking through the Ukrainian defense front and successfully controlling some cities; The assault team is responsible for deep strikes, but the troops are insufficient, making it difficult to carry out flank encirclement and annihilate the Ukrainian heavy army group. The attack is difficult to achieve, the retreat is unwilling, and both sides do not have air superiority, causing the situation to become deadlocked. The Ukrainian army retreated into the city and defended themselves. After identifying the weak points of the enemy, they continuously attacked the Russian army through guerrilla warfare in small teams, accumulating small victories to become major victories. After being defeated, the Russian army shifted from "deep attack" to "firepower main battle" tactics, and the effectiveness of the Ukrainian army's small squad's attack tactics decreased. The overall strength of the Ukrainian army is weak, and the only way to confront it is to rely on NATO military aid and compete with the Russian army. In the above context, the Ukrainian military, which lacked basic ammunition and precision guided weapons inventory, found that drones were indispensable. Therefore, they used TB-2 military drones to launch multiple deep attacks on the Russian military, including sinking the Russian "Raptor" patrol boat, shooting down the Mi-8 helicopter over Snake Island, and assisting in the attack on the "Moscow" missile cruiser, all of which achieved remarkable results. On the contrary, the Russian military