Flying mortar will fly from Taiwan through Poland to Ukraine

Alexander Sychev

“We do not supply our drones to Ukraine. We trade with our clients in Poland. According to the terms of the contracts, we cannot disclose them, ”a representative of the Taiwanese company DroneVision sounded something like this when it became known that the Ukrainian armed forces were using Taiwanese Revolver-860 attack unmanned aerial vehicles. “Yes, we know about the end consumer,” a company representative admitted.

The Revolver-860 is a tactical drone designed to bombard enemy ground forces. This quadcopter, reaching a diameter of almost one and a half meters, has a very large payload, which is provided by eight propellers placed in pairs on four brackets.

On the central platform there is a video camera, a system for transmitting images to the operator's console, as well as a rotating cassette with mines, almost like in a revolver. This cassette holds up to eight 60mm mortar rounds. The maximum takeoff weight of the quadcopter is 42 kilograms. The drone can stay in the air for up to 40 minutes, allowing it to bomb targets within a radius of 20 kilometers.

60mm layout is standard. But at the request of customers, the company is ready to install cassettes for mines of 81 and 120 mm calibers on drones. But in this case, the time spent in the air will be reduced to almost 20 minutes.

The principle of operation is simple, like in old feature films, where a pilot throws bombs over the side of an airplane. In this case, having brought the drone to the target, the operator presses the release button, and mines begin to fall out of the rotating drum.

Compared to barreled mortars, the drone has a huge advantage. Thus, a 60 mm mortar throws mines at a distance of about two kilometers. The drone delivers eight pieces at once ten times further and with very high accuracy.

But there are also significant drawbacks. A one and a half meter, not very fast car is easy to shoot down with firepower or drop, depriving the operator of communication.