The picture shows the IRT-Scout reconnaissance drone. Data picture

  The importance of cost control in the research and development and manufacturing of weapons and equipment is self-evident. Against the backdrop of drones being heavily invested on the battlefield, the issue of how to reduce their cost has been further highlighted. At present, some countries are developing low-cost drones. It can be said that "how to save money" runs through the entire process of drone research and development.

  First, control costs from the source of design. In this regard, the United States' approach is more representative. The country launched the "Low Cost Consumable Aircraft Platform Sharing" project, aiming to quickly obtain a large number of low-cost drones. The core of this project is to build a basic modular architecture, which is open-ended. Companies participating in the research and development can share this architecture and develop drones with different functions based on this basis. Its advantage is that companies involved in R&D do not have to start from scratch, simplifying some design and R&D processes, thus effectively reducing costs.

  The second is to make a fuss about body material selection. In order to obtain longer range and sufficient lift, many drones use composite materials to build the body to reduce their weight. Today, some countries are going further in this regard, and cardboard, foam board, trim board, etc. are also used to build drones. For example, the new IRT-Scout reconnaissance drone launched by Russia's IRT company uses foam boards to build the fuselage and can last for one hour under the power of the motor. The UAV PaperDrone-800 drone developed by a South Korean company, except for some devices made of carbon fiber, minimizes the use of electronic components, which is almost a paper aircraft. All of these attempts help significantly reduce production and deployment costs.

  The third is to "subtraction" in terms of power systems and perception systems. Low, slow and small are the advantages of drones in breaking through enemy air defense systems. This positioning allows some small and micro drones to work without using advanced power systems. For example, Iran's "Witness"-136 drone uses a two-stroke engine with a power of 50 horsepower. Andurier Industries in the United States launched the Roadrunner reusable vertical take-off and landing drone to reduce costs by building turbojet engines itself instead of purchasing from other suppliers. Airborne electronic equipment is updated quickly. In addition to improving performance, there is another point in point that it is trying to reduce the price so that drones can afford it. For example, the drone's perception system not only tries its best to make itself "good quality and low price", but also borrows perception systems from the network and other platforms to locate and discover targets, so that the drone can "reduce the burden and increase efficiency".

  Fourth, save money in the launch and recycling process. How to launch and recycle drones more conveniently and economically is one of the contents of drone research and development. For example, multi-rotor model is used to achieve easy take-off and landing, and convenient recycling is achieved by installing simple parachutes. At present, many low-cost drones developed by some countries can be used to carry out suicide attacks, but these drones are not able to "died" with the target every time after being sent out. Therefore, timely recycling of such drones has also become one of the ways to save money.

  Of course, low-cost drones do not mean that such drones are simple. For example, the UAV PaperDrone-800 drone in South Korea, although it is a paper aircraft, is also equipped with an integrated avionics system and can use encrypted data links. The built-in authentication module can also prevent the drone's programs from being tampered with, real-time video return. The "Jackdaw" developed by a British company is a low-cost consuming drone that is said to not only perform reconnaissance and surveillance tasks, but also use different modules to perform electronic warfare, serve as target aircraft or bait bombs and other tasks. This is also reflected in a one-way unmanned aerial system tender issued by the U.S. Defense Innovation Department. The tender document requires that this one-time use drone must be able to fly 50 to 300 kilometers in a low bandwidth and no GPS environment. (Ga Xiaoshuai)

[Editor in charge: Wang Jinzhi]