Ukrainian Engineers Develop New ‘WarDog’ Reconnaissance Drone

4 April, 2024 WarDog reconnaissance drone. Photo credits: Mykhailo Fedorov Ukrainian engineers have developed a new reconnaissance drone called WarDog for artillery units.

This information was shared by Mykhailo Fedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation, on his Facebook page. The UAV was specifically designed for reconnaissance missions in challenging terrain and under the influence of enemy EW systems. Since counteracting enemy EW is a priority, the WarDog drone can conduct reconnaissance even if the GPS signal is suppressed.

It can also operate in autonomous, semi-autonomous, and manual flight modes to ensure mission effectiveness under varying conditions.

WarDog reconnaissance drone. Photo credits: Mykhailo Fedorov

The autonomous regime of the UAV lasts 60 minutes and ensures a relatively long stay in the air and the reconnaissance and correction of artillery fire. The maximum range is up to 10 km with communication and up to 30 km in autopilot mode.

The speed of the drone is 12-15 m/s. Currently, the WarDog is ordered for Ukrainian defenders as part of the Army of Drones project. The UAV has already been used on the front line, namely in the Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv directions.

It also demonstrated its capabilities near Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. Then it worked in conditions of GPS signal suppression at an altitude above 50 m and successfully completed its task.

Among the advantages of WarDog, the military notes stability in flight despite the missing GPS signal. It is stable in conditions of strong wind, and this makes it possible to keep the picture in frame and focus more clearly.

Due to such feedback from the military, the developers improved the functionality of the UAV so that the "sight of artillery" becomes even sharper, the minister stressed.

As Fedorov noted, the military notes the stability of flights with missing GPS signals, which is very useful with the strong operation of an enemy EW.

Previously, Militarnyi reported that the Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the second stage of a framework agreement for the purchase of unmanned aircraft systems.

The ProZorro system has published the corresponding tenders for the purchase of 3,000 BPAC type DJI Mavic 3E and 1000 BPAC type DJI Mavic 3 Thermal with additional components.