Twist Robotics has unveiled a repeater for aircraft-type drones. The module provides stable communication and allows the aircraft to be piloted at a much greater distance, while maintaining control even in difficult terrain and under the influence of electronic warfare.
Twist Robotics has unveiled a repeater for aircraft-type drones. The module provides stable communication and allows the aircraft to be piloted at a much greater distance, while maintaining control even in difficult terrain and under the influence of electronic warfare.
The development was reported by «Military» from DemoDay BRAVE1. According to the company, the repeater is made in the format of a multi-rotor drone, which «hangs» at a given height and transmits a signal between the drone and the ground station. The scheme allows you to bypass terrain obstacles, maintain the control channel at a long range and reduce the risk of losing the device due to jamming.
The repeater platform is capable of carrying up to 5 kg of payload and can be used in both reconnaissance and strike scenarios. In the declared modes, the aircraft drone receives up to 100 km of one-way flight or about 50 km in the «bomber» profile. Twist Robotics emphasizes that most of the key nodes (communication, navigation, guidance and target tracking systems) are designed and integrated by its own forces into a single platform.
According to the developers, depending on the configuration, the use of repeaters allows you to expand the stable control zone to approximately 40 km or more.
The idea is simple: aircraft-based UAVs have better range and efficiency than helicopters, but they depend on «line of sight» and suffer from jamming. A remote communication node «raises» the antenna above hills, forests or buildings, minimizing «shadows» and allowing you to work deeper into the enemy’s rear. For units, this also provides flexibility in choosing a starting position: the mobile repeater can be raised closer to the line without putting the main team at risk. Due to the modular architecture, Twist Robotics can adapt frequencies, encryption and algorithms to a specific theater and unit’s tasks.
As a reminder, dev.ua previously wrote about how the Ukrainian company «Atarna» demonstrated at the Brave1 tests the «Zhuk» strike drone with a declared range of 40 km and the ability to work with a repeater to increase the range.
