Water course: future sappers will be trained to mine rivers with drones
Water drone control will be added to the training program for officers of military engineering universities. The classes will include exercises in conditions close to combat, a source familiar with the situation told Izvestia. In conditions where battles often unfold in the Dnieper delta and the surrounding area, the skills of operating unmanned boats are necessary, experts emphasize. About how the training will take place and which drones are used by military engineers right now, see the Izvestia article.
Tasks of unmanned boats
Future officers of the engineering troops will be trained to control air, ground and surface drones, a source familiar with the situation told Izvestia. The skills of operating unmanned boats (BEC) will help with mining and mine clearance of water barriers, as well as engineering support when conducting operations in reservoirs.
The classes, which will be held throughout the training period, will include exercises on simulators, as well as control of real drones at training grounds. The training will be conducted by teachers with real combat experience.
After completing individual training, company tactical exercises are conducted with cadets, where they master the tactics of using various types of drones. And in the final period of training, they practice their skills in special tactical exercises in conditions as close to combat as possible.
The new training course is aimed at developing the practical skills and theoretical base necessary for the successful use of any unmanned systems in a modern combat situation, including backups, military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.
"During a special operation, military engineers have to operate in the waters of rivers and adjacent territories," he recalled. — The line of combat contact runs along the Dnieper, Seversky Donets and other water barriers. There, army engineers have to solve many tasks.
Unmanned boats are indispensable when building pontoon or pile bridges, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.
— With their help, it is possible to specify a place to establish a crossing, — he noted. — Directly during the installation of the bridge, the backs will help to assemble the pontoons dropped into the water into one thread, acting as tugs. Also, during construction, they can be used to transport the necessary materials or other goods to a particular point on the ferry. There are not many main bridges on the Dnieper, and with the urgent transfer of troops, the construction of new crossings is inevitable.
In addition, they will be indispensable in protecting crossings and during amphibious operations, the expert emphasized.
"The landed troops need a lot of supplies to supply and successfully build up their forces, from ammunition to medicines and food," Boltenkov noted.
The expert recalled that unmanned boats are already being used by our troops when mining the waters in the Dnieper Delta.
— The technology of setting up such barriers is simple — mines are automatically dropped in the right places from the drone. The active participation of remote—controlled backups helps to save the lives of our fighters," he said.
Surface drones are used to patrol the water area, search for saboteurs, and fight similar enemy vehicles. In August last year, the Russian armed forces, using the backwash, sank the medium reconnaissance ship Simferopol of the Ukrainian Navy at the mouth of the Danube.
Which drones are used in the engineering troops
The engineering forces are already actively using aerial and ground drones. They perform a wide range of tasks: reconnaissance, remote mining, clearing the territory of explosive finds, delivering supplies, and firing missions.
— Now the engineering troops are at the cutting edge, — said Vasily Dandykin. — They are indispensable in attacking operations — they remove minefields, make passages in barriers. The troops have assault units that go ahead, breaking through the enemy's defenses. To do this, they need ground—based drones with small arms and other weapons, such as Uran-9 vehicles.
Military engineers also play an important role in defense — they erect barriers and place minefields in front of the enemy, he noted.
— During the failed Ukrainian counteroffensive, the enemy complained about our barriers. They played one of the important roles, stopping the rush of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the expert explained.
The approach to mining areas and facilities has also changed significantly, Dandykin noted.
"We can't do without drones in this case," he said. — Minefields are laid using UAVs. Intelligence drones allow you to find and correctly evaluate the characteristics of engineering barriers. Drones are already being used to destroy minefields or make passages in them from the air.
UAVs are also necessary for reconnaissance of the area — their use allows you to remotely find places for crossings or the construction of hidden roads.
"Today, drones are actively involved in the engineering support system," an associate professor at the Russian University of Economics told Izvestia. Colonel Alexander Perendzhiev Plekhanov. — It can be the delivery of mines, mine clearance, engineering equipment of the area using drones. Alternatively, it can be made at a distance of some kind of shelter. This allows us not to risk the lives of the sappers. The disguise of a fortified point can also be done with the help of drones.
The expert noted that the tasks of drones include disabling enemy engineering structures. An officer who knows how to control a drone will be able to replace the drone operator, if necessary, Perendzhiev added.
How are the troops of unmanned systems developing
The troops of the unmanned systems were created at the end of last year, and the corresponding regiments were formed in all military districts. In November, the deputy head of these troops, Colonel Sergei Ishtuganov, announced that the staff structure had been determined and military management bodies at all levels had been created.
Izvestia reported that the possibility of creating the first higher military school of unmanned systems troops in the Moscow region is being considered. It is planned that the university will open its doors on September 1 next year.
Since the beginning of the special military operation in Russia, the production of unmanned systems has been rapidly increasing, which are massively integrated into the structure of various branches of the armed forces. In particular, specialized reconnaissance and strike divisions were formed as part of the artillery brigades, equipped with a wide range of drones and barrage ammunition. This allows gunners to search for and destroy priority targets, including enemy howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, and air defense systems. The use of drones makes it possible to deliver precise strikes against targets not only on the front line, but also in the deep rear, while operators successfully cope with tasks even with the active use of electronic warfare by the enemy.
At the same time, large-scale personnel training has been deployed in the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces, where courses are open for operators of unmanned complexes. The curriculum covers not only the material part and the theory of application of aviation systems, but also practical management skills. In addition to receiving highly specialized knowledge, military personnel receive comprehensive training in topography, tactical medicine, and engineering. Experienced instructors adapt the capabilities of various types of UAVs to meet the specific tasks facing RCB protection units in modern conditions.
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