The Russians have made a flying rifle

EnglishRussia.com ^ | 28MAR19 | team

[vannrox]

Just recently a couple of videos have been shared on the web that feature a remotely piloted vehicle equipped with an assault rifle. The prototype was made by the Russian gunmaker “Almaz-Antey” who had undertaken itself back in 2018 to develop a “flying Kalashnikov rifle”.

The drone has a central fuselage with a built-in rifle compartment and a flat wing design, it is also provided with a smoothbore rifle “Vepr 12 Molot” with a magazine for ten shells.

According to the producer, the vehicle can shoot at a target automatically while flying at the required course. If the target is not destroyed from the first attempt, the vehicle may follow the object and doesn’t require to adjust the course.

[Magnum44]

Unlike today’s AM Shooting Journal thread, this thread may be interesting, lol. Kind of like a practical version of sharks with frickin laser beams...

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Just about anything is better than AM Shooting Journal (how does that guy get a blogpimp pass?), but when the excerpt refers to a “smoothbore rifle”, I’m not very hopeful.

[Charles Martel]

With the Vepr 12 (a smoothbore Kalashnikov), there is some room for allowances. Technically not a rifle, but derived from one.

[wbarmy]

Well, I decided to play “devil’s advocate” today because I speak Russian and can see how this happened.

The Vepr-12 is a shotgun, but the Russians call it a rifle. It is smoothbore, as are most shotguns. Translation programs always give a very hackneyed output from Russian to English, so it always sounds wrong.

[wbarmy]

If I had typed faster, I might have beaten you to the post.

[DCBryan1]

Bad concept. It will be a linear attacker....ie, shooting forward only in flight. It would be like us putting an AR on a raven or shadow TUAS. The best way to put a weapon on a UAV is a quad or octo blade helo. Very maneuverable. Hell, ISIS dropped a rifle grenade from a cheap drone:

[norwaypinesavage]

If it’s truly an “assault rifle”, I can guarantee you it’s not set on automatic fire mode. Emptying a ten round magazine on automatic fire would have it moving backward, totally out of control.

[SJSAMPLE]

It sounds like a poor translation for a shotgun.
Smoothbore.
Vepr 12.

[LouAvul]

ISIS dropped a rifle grenade from a drone? The video is supposedly that event?

I don't believe it. That's too precise a hit from that apparatus. That's almost surgical.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Looks electric. Very quiet. And with little in magazine capacity...it is, like the Red October, designed for one purpose only.

[Spktyr]

I don’t know. Yes, ground strike capability would be limited, but you *could* use it as a cheap anti-drone craft. A quadcopter wouldn’t be able to run away from it.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Actually, I do know what a Vepr 12 is. Just pointing out indirectly that the article is really badly translated.

[DuncanWaring]

Kinetic-change-of-command Ping.

[Reily]

Its the equivalent of the “Flying Hypodermic Needle” in Dune.

[Vlad The Inhaler]

the vehicle can shoot at a target automatically while flying at the required course.

What could possibly go wrong?

These days sophisticated electronics and software are Fail-Safe, right?

Like on the 737 MAX...

.

[wbarmy]

I assumed you did, which is why I very carefully said “devil’s advocate”. The devil exists to bring in dissension. ;)

[Magnum44]

Looks pretty authentic to me. And ISIS is/was doing a lot to make use of drones for remote attack. Why would you doubt it? Dropping a rock on a no wind day from a thousand feet or so while hovering on a target the size of barn door wouldn’t be that difficult.

[LouAvul]

Former pilot here. A tank looks small from that elevation. It just seems a little too precise for something as contrived as "dropping" a rifle grenade from a drone.

Maybe if I had a drone and some rifle grenades for practice.......

[Magnum44]

Drones are scary precise and come with pretty intelligent software these days...