Russia transfers VKS to unmanned reconnaissance

The Russian information and news publication Izvestia noted that the reconnaissance squadrons of the Aerospace Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will gradually be transferred from combat aircraft to unmanned reconnaissance, for which the corresponding long-range UAVs are already in service with Russia.

According to the data presented, unmanned aerial vehicles will be used instead of tactical reconnaissance aircraft Su-24MR, which can no longer be used to perform such tasks due to their moral and physical wear and tear. Su-24MR is a tactical reconnaissance aircraft designed for complex reconnaissance day or night. The aircraft is a twin-engine monoplane with a high-wing variable sweep.

It is planned to replace the "dryers" with the Orion unmanned aerial vehicles and the Altius unmanned aerial vehicle, however, this will be done only partially, since the country's defense department is not going to completely abandon the manned reconnaissance aircraft.

So far, at the moment, the deadline for the completion of the modernization of weapons is unknown, which will probably depend on how the unmanned aerial vehicles pass preliminary tests and how soon their further production begins.

Rearmament should have a positive effect on the combat potential of the Russian Aerospace Forces.