Russia has developed a ‘Doomsday drone’ capable of conducting reconnaissance missions in the event of a nuclear war, the director of the Center of Comprehensive Unmanned Solutions has said.
In an interview with TASS on Saturday, Dmitry Kuzyakin revealed that the Center had created a drone dubbed the ‘Khrust’ (‘Crunch’) UAV that could be used to monitor radiation levels and ensure the safety of personnel in a potentially contaminated environment.
Kuzyakin explained that ‘Khrust’ is a small drone fitted with various types of equipment. He noted that first-person-view drones are highly maneuverable and can explore every nook and cranny while carrying a sensor for toxic substances or a special dosimeter.
The director explained that the ‘Doomsday Drone’ could stay aloft for 20 minutes while actively maneuvering and being guided at a range of 500m to 2km, depending on how contaminated the area is.
The drone can be deployed in as little as 30 seconds and controlled from sealed vehicles on the move. This means that the UAV could “check the level of contamination along the route through areas hit by a nuclear strike, as well as analyze the epicenters of nuclear strikes in cities and on the ground,” Kuzyakin said.
The executive acknowledged that Russia already possesses UAVs capable of conducting radiological, chemical, and biological reconnaissance, but noted that they are quite expensive and are often slow to deploy, while the military on the ground may need to assess the situation as quickly as possible.
UAVs have come to dominate the battlefield in the Ukraine conflict, with both sides using them for reconnaissance, fire control, close air support and long-range strikes on infrastructure.
“I am confident that common sense will prevail, and the world will not allow the use of nuclear weapons and our ‘Doomsday drone’ will never be needed. But we believe that it would be a crime not to prepare for the worst-case scenarios,” Kuzyakin stressed.
Recently, Russia conducted a series of non-strategic nuclear drills in response to what Moscow sees as continued escalatory actions by the West and NATO encroachment on Russia’s borders.