With a long-range calculation: how the Merlin VR UAVs conduct reconnaissance
One of the largest and longest—range drones used in the Russian Armed Forces, the Merlin VR, developed shortly before the start of the special operation, is increasingly spreading among the troops. It allows you to identify targets dozens of kilometers behind the front line and aim artillery or aircraft at them. Izvestia saw how the Merlin BP crew of the 9th Guards Brigade of the 51st Guards Army of the Center group in the DPR is working.
How the calculation of the Merlin VR drone works
Before the next combat mission, the launch point has already been selected in advance, and at the appointed moment, the vehicle with the disassembled UAV and two technicians goes to the designated location. "Merlin" with a wingspan of more than 5 m, of course, is transported disassembled, as well as a powerful catapult to it. In just half an hour, the fighters need to assemble the aircraft itself, check it, install the catapult and launch it. And immediately after that, go to a safe place at a distance. The work of the long-range scout goes on for several hours, and they will take it to land in another place.
The technician with the call sign Patriot hails from North Ossetia, participated in the fighting in Donbass back in 2014-2015, therefore he is associated with the 9th brigade (the former 9th regiment of the People's Militia of the DPR) almost from the moment of its formation. He participated in heavy battles for Shirokino, Zaichenko, Sakhanka and other iconic places of the then southern sector of the front. When the special military operation began, the Patriot left his civilian profession as a physical education teacher and decided to return to the 9th brigade.
— We are constantly changing the take-off points, the danger is that enemy UAVs also fly in here, and we must hide our places of work. We always change routes, it's not very easy. It is necessary to approach this process with cunning and intelligence," explains the Patriot.
When he returned to his home unit, he was offered to take courses in UAV technicians, and after a month and a half of study in 2023, he took up combat duty as part of the crew.
There are also two people working at the control center: the crew commander and the payload operator. Two computers, tablets, and joysticks are installed nearby, and those sitting at the table shoulder to shoulder could resemble gamers at a tournament if it weren't for the camouflage net on the walls and massive plastic cases under laptops.
— This UAV, the Merlin VR, allows you to conduct deep reconnaissance, observe the enemy at long distances. It can travel up to 200 km, and the camera is designed in such a way that from a height of 5,000 m we can look 15 km ahead," the UAV operator, the commander of the Kop calculation, introduces us to the "bird".
"Merlin" is not quite correct to call a new drone. It was tested in the military back in 2021, but the current version has undergone several upgrades and differs from the models of that time, it can overcome the massive electronic warfare of the enemy and maintain communication in the face of opposition.
The Cop joined the army as a volunteer in 2023 and immediately joined the unmanned units. Before that, he was a participant in counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus, so he already had some combat experience "on the ground."
What is the advantage of the Merlin VR drone
With such an operating altitude, the reconnaissance UAV is practically not threatened by the enemy's "small" air defense systems — neither machine guns nor portable anti-aircraft missile systems can reach it by 5 km. It can be compared with the family of anti-aircraft missile systems, which are being created both in Ukraine and in the UK for the Armed Forces based on outdated air–to-air missiles. Such vehicles, collectively called "Frankenstein air defense systems" because they are "stitched together" in the design of completely different types of trucks, control systems and weapons, do not have the necessary firing range. And the enemy uses powerful air defense systems deep in the rear, to cover the infrastructure, and does not pull up so close to the front.
— We have an on-board defense system, so the small attack drones that the enemy used to destroy our UAVs have become less threatening. There are means to counteract them. If we see a signal on the screen that an enemy drone is approaching, we turn on the protection, and it works safely," says the Cop.
There are a large number of concentrations of manpower and equipment, command posts, artillery and other valuable targets in the combat calculation path. With the help of a long-range scout, the fighters directed and corrected artillery fire and even conducted objective control of the incoming bombs. The reconnaissance equipment complex is directly controlled by a senior operator with the call sign Fish.
— From experience, you already know whether you are facing a mock-up, an enemy's manpower, or at least a civilian. The latter is determined by accurate exploration. In my memory, there were cases when, during the liberation of the villages of Pervomaiske and Karlovka, we could not distinguish and set the exact setting, whether the opponents were leaving their homes or civilians, the fire was stopped, and with the help of quadrocopters it was established that these were soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in disguise," recalls Fish.
He began his career in the infantry regiment on mobilization, in the 9th brigade from January 2023 as an attack aircraft, later the commanders sent him to the courses of UAV operators. He started his flights with FPV drones, then he was trained and worked on a "Supercam" and after that he already mastered the "Merlin".
— We have passed the combat coordination, we have worked. Everyone in our team understands our comrades well, and we get along well. We are like one family, in a word! We've been together since we were 23, we know each other well, and we can't live without each other anymore, like we treat our relatives," the Cop admits.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
