DUBAI, November 16. /TASS/. The latest drone swarm control system presented by the Russian tech firm Kronshtadt at the Dubai Airshow 2021 can be mounted on an aircraft or a warship to create an integrated information space for Russia’s combined armed forces, a Kronshtadt representative told TASS on the airshow’s sidelines on Tuesday.

"The new automated operator’s workstation to control a swarm of drones presented at the Dubai Airshow 2021 can be mounted on an aircraft or a warship. Therefore, this makes it possible to outfit airborne and shipborne carriers with this equipment and exercise control of groups of drones in the interests of Russian combined arms forces," he said.

The novel technology makes it possible to create network-centric systems for combat operations, he added.

"This will ensure integration into the single information space of combat data and control systems of aircraft and ships," the company’s representative said.

Kronshtadt unveiled the automated operator workstation to control cluster operations of drone systems at the Dubai Airshow 2021. The system features state-of-the-art information technologies, including artificial intelligence elements and augmented reality with 3D terrain images.

When using the new system, an operator will only set general goals instead of directly controlling drones. The basic operations related to controlling a drone flight, managing systems, coping with the target task and ensuring interoperability inside drone swarms will be carried out by a computer based on artificial intelligence elements. This approach will allow Russian drones to switch to a new stage of development and turn into semi-automatic instead of automatically controlled aerial vehicles. The system’s factory trials are due to begin in 2022.

Dubai Airshow 2021

The Dubai Airshow 2021 international exhibition is running in the United Arab Emirates on November 14-18. Russia has prepared a number of world premieres at the airshow, in particular, flights by the MC-21-310 airliner (with the Russian PD-14 engines), the medical version of the Ansat helicopter and the Mi-28NE and Ka-52E gunships. The Mi-28NE and Ka-52E combat helicopters have been demonstrated to the global public for the first time.

The static exposition of the Russian aircraft features a prototype of the Checkmate light tactical fighter and also Ka-226T and Mi-171A2 helicopters. Russia is also demonstrating the Orion drone.