The American-Ukrainian analogue of the Russian «Shahed» Artemis ALM-20 has passed a full cycle of tests, confirmed high accuracy of guidance without relying on satellite navigation, and is moving to the scaling stage with the participation of the US Department of Defense and other partners.
The American-Ukrainian analogue of the Russian «Shahed» Artemis ALM-20 has passed a full cycle of tests, confirmed high accuracy of guidance without relying on satellite navigation, and is moving to the scaling stage with the participation of the US Department of Defense and other partners.
The launch of the program and the test results are reported by Defence Express. According to Auterion, the ALM-20 was created in cooperation with a Ukrainian company, the name of which is not disclosed for security reasons. During the tests, the launch from the ground, flight with and without GPS, long-distance transit and target engagement on the ground were practiced. The company emphasizes that the Skynode N on-board computer and computer vision algorithms provide guidance at the final stage even with satellite signal jamming.
According to the published characteristics, the ALM-20 has a declared range of up to 1,600 km and a warhead of about 45 kg. The published image shows a nose camera and additional antennas; the power plant of the device is probably electric, which is atypical for long-range platforms. The aerodynamic scheme resembles the RF-oriented Shahed-136, but this configuration is known long before the Iranian model. Auterion reported on the preparation of production lines in three countries at once: in Ukraine, the USA and Germany, with the deployment of the family of devices at different distances.
Ukrainian units have already demonstrated smaller devices with a similar approach to autonomous guidance; the SETH UAS was mentioned in the open access, the first batches of which were supplied with the support of the «Return Alive» fund. The logic of development is obvious: from tactical solutions to long-range platforms capable of operating in electronic warfare conditions and striking deep. If the declared capabilities of the ALM-20 are confirmed in series, Ukraine will receive a deterrent tool that is less dependent on GPS and suitable for mass production within the country together with allies.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how three European teams proved the effectiveness of solutions for intercepting enemy UAVs in Ukraine in the finals of the NATO Innovation Challenge hackathon. The final tests will be held in late October.
