Important Facts For Prelims
Kamikaze Drone
- 19 Oct 2022
- 3 min read
Why in News?
Recently, Ukraine’s capital region was struck by Iranian-made kamikaze drones.
- These kamikaze drones are not new, and have also been supplied by the US to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
What are Kamikaze Drones?
- About:
- These are small unmanned aircraft that are packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
- They are called Switchblade because their bladelike wings spring out on launch.
- The drones have the capability of going past traditional defences to strike its targets and also cost a fraction of what the larger counterparts do.
- These small lethal drones are difficult to detect on radar, and they can even be programmed to hit targets without human intervention, based on facial recognition.
- These are small unmanned aircraft that are packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
- Countries Possess such Drones:
- Although the Kamikaze might be the most advanced form of this genre of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some version of it.
What are its Specifications?
- Light Weight:
- Weighing just five-and-a-half pounds, including its small warhead, the Switchblade can be taken into battle in a backpack and fly up to 7 miles to hit a target.
- Can Adjust Blast Radius:
- The Switchblade has a feature that allows the operator to adjust the blast radius. So, it can kill the driver of a vehicle but not a passenger, for example. The weapon can be “waived off” up to two seconds before impact.
- A blast radius is the distance from the source that will be affected when an explosion occurs.
- The Switchblade has a feature that allows the operator to adjust the blast radius. So, it can kill the driver of a vehicle but not a passenger, for example. The weapon can be “waived off” up to two seconds before impact.
- Cameras for Centralised View of Area of Operation:
- The Switchblade also has cameras that show a target seconds before impact.
- The drone cruises at 63 miles per hour and provides “operators with real-time video downlinks for a centralised view of the area of operation”.
UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)
Q. Consider the following activities: (2020)
- Spraying pesticides on a crop field
- Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
- Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis
At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: (d)
