Source: Reuters
A soldier launches a DeViRo Leleka-100 reconnaissance UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) into the air for a sortie. The Leleka-100 (“leleka” means “stork” in Ukrainian) is not a new UAV and in fact, it first entered service (unofficially) with the Ukrainian military back in 2015 during the Donbas War. In 2020, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine began using the Leleka-100, the same year the UAV passed state acceptance trials. 2021 saw the Leleka-100 officially accepted into Ukrainian Army service. Besides being used by Ukrainian border guard units, the Leleka-100 is deployed by some artillery units (notably the 44th. Artillery Brigade “Danylo Apostol”) for the purposes of target acquisition and as a spotter for artillery fire adjustment.
The construction of the Leleka-100 is a mixture of carbon fiber, fiberglass, and Kevlar materials with the UAV having a length of 3.7 feet, a wingspan of 6.5 feet, and a combat weight of 12 pounds. Power comes from an electric motor which drives a rear-mounted 2- or 3-bladed propeller. The Leleka-100 has a cruise speed of 43 miles per hour, an endurance of no more than 2.5 hours, and a maximum flight range of 62 miles. The maximum ceiling for the Leleka-100 is .9 of a mile (1,500 meters).
In the nose is a 2-axis, gyro-stabilized gimbals-type camera mount. The mount allows any number of optical modules to be utilized. Examples include a PLCI Z30 daylight module with up to 20x optical zoom while for night operations, a PLCI infrared (IR) module can be fitted that has a fixed 4x optical zoom. Thermal imaging optics as well as high-resolution imaging modules can also be used depending on the mission.
The Leleka-100 can be flown manually by an operator or the UAV can be pre-programmed with navigational data and it will fly fully autonomously. Data is relayed from the Leleka-100 to its ground station using an encrypted digital radio channel. The data sent back allows the operator to track the UAV on digital satellite maps and the same radio channel is used by the operator to assume control of the UAV if need be or the operator can utilize the camera module while the Leleka-100 maintains its flight parameters. However, the maximum range for both the radio channel as well as the HD video feed is 28 miles.
The Leleka-100 is equipped with a EW (Electronic Warfare) suite developed by DeViRo which can detect intentional interference of the UAV's GPS. The two most common techniques involve blocking or jamming GPS operating frequencies or injecting false GPS data (spoofing) to make the drone go off course. If the attempts are detected, the suite will switch off the GPS and revert to its onboard inertial navigation system that is totally self-contained and thus immune to jamming or interference. Another self-preservation ability, set prior to a mission, is that if the radio channel is jammed, the Leleka-100 can carry on with its pre-programmed mission autonomously or it will abort the mission and return back to a programmed landing site for recovery.
Getting the Leleka-100 airborne is via a bungee launcher while upon returning to its base, the UAV either lands on its belly or it can descend to earth using a parachute.
