MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. The decision to appoint Colonel General Denis Lyamin, Chief of Staff of the Battlegroup Center, to the position of commander of the Russian unmanned systems forces reflects close interaction between unmanned systems used by the Russian army and the ground forces, Denis Fedutinov, a leading unmanned aerial vehicle expert, told TASS.

"The decision to appoint a tank troops member to the position of commander of the Russian unmanned systems forces has sparked some debate in the professional community - over a ground force officer appointment to the post of an aircraft specialist, albeit unmanned. However, overall, such an appointment may reflect close interaction of the army’s unmanned systems with the ground forces," Fedutinov said.

The expert emphasized that the question of whether unmanned systems should be assigned to the ground forces or air forces had previously been raised. "Attempts have been made to differentiate based on the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weight--heavy airfield UAVs were assigned to the air forces, while smaller drones were assigned to the ground forces. "At the same time, after all drones were assigned to a separate branch of the military, it became clear that the structure must comprehensively cover the entire spectrum of UAV systems used by the military to ensure their coordinated development," Fedutinov noted.

He added that small unmanned systems are currently prevalent in the armed forces. "They conduct reconnaissance, starting from the lowest-ranking units of the ground forces, adjust the actions of motorized infantry and tank crews, direct artillery and monitor the results of strikes, and are used as precision weapons near the line of contact. "It is the ground forces that set the tasks for drone operators, and their tasks form the basis for the required drone characteristics formulated by the developers," Fedutinov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Lyamin’s appointment to the position of commander of the Russian unmanned systems forces earlier on Wednesday.