Sky Destroyer is a project of an unmanned platform based on a heavy-duty quadcopter. According to the authors’ idea, the platform will be able to attach a variety of small arms and use them from a safe distance.
ITC’s editorial team talked to Roman — one of the founders and «driver» of the project. We tell you how Sky Destroyer is supposed to work and why the creators consider it an invention that can change the course of war.
Tell us about your project: what kind of product is it, how does it work?
Sky Destroyer is an octocopter that has eight engines, two for each of the four axes. It will weigh about 50-60 kg and will be able to fly for about an hour at a speed of up to 90 km per hour.
Most of these large drones have the main task of dropping ammunition and reconnaissance of positions, while ours is aimed at remote and, most importantly, safe use of various types of small arms that are attached to the gimbal and hit enemy manpower from a relatively safe distance for the platform. Moreover, this defeat is very likely to be guaranteed. We are talking about a fairly wide range of small arms — assault rifles, machine guns, even light grenade launchers.
Although this is not the only way to use it, the platform is multifunctional and can be used to transport food or ammunition, medicines, and various cargoes.
How can you guarantee a defeat, even remotely?
The Sky Destroyer can be attached to a wide variety of small arms. It will have a biaxial, i.e. up and down and right and left, guidance. The aiming will also be automatic, using optics, and the video will be stabilized by steadicams. This will allow Sky Destroyer to shoot even moving targets.
If you shoot with small arms, you can spend 10 or more rounds per person. And thanks to the camera’s powerful zoom, you can see if you hit the enemy.
According to the calculations, Sky Destroyer will be able to shoot quite accurately and precisely from a distance of about 300 meters. I’m not sure that even an experienced machine gunner will be able to achieve such results.
Tell us who the other founders are and what they did in civilian life
For a year before the war and a year of full-scale warfare, I worked as a programmer for an American company. But I wanted to do something to win, so I changed jobs. Now my position is — a leading computer systems engineer at a state-owned enterprise.
In addition to me, the team includes a leading researcher at Lviv Polytechnic, a soldier from a well-known special forces unit, and a student from the cybersecurity department of Lviv National University.
All team members continue to work in their respective positions and work on the project in their free time.
How and when did you come up with the idea of creating an unmanned platform?
It happened sometime in the spring of 2023. In our country, the war is virtually online. I watched a lot of the fighting, saw how FPV drones work on the battlefield. This is a very cool thing and very effective compared to shells.
But they also have drawbacks: FPV drones are still not cheap and disposable, they depend on supplies and availability of funds. And they often do not inflict enough serious damage — that is, the enemy «falls» for just a couple of weeks and then returns to the line.
In addition, it is obvious to me that the next stage of all this will be the modernization of electronic warfare. And then FPV drones will not be able to fly close enough to the positions to hit the enemy.
I had the idea to create a system that would solve this problem. Accordingly, it should be reusable, reach the enemy at a distance, and be guaranteed to hit.
I gathered my friends and we started discussing options, sketching and arguing about what might work and what might not.
What stages of project development did you go through from the initial idea to the current state? Where did you start?
At first, it was all on paper with a graph paper and a pencil. Drawing a drone is not a difficult task for an engineer. But we started to run into certain issues — what should be the size of the screw, what should be the size of the engine? What do different parameters affect?
For example, initially I planned to make four engines, but a military man who flies drones directly noticed that this type of large drones often gets blown away by the wind. The ratio of lift to weight of the drone is responsible for this. Therefore, if we want to withstand the wind, we need to have a serious lift. This issue can be solved, for example, by increasing the number of engines.
Step by step, we came up with telemetry transmission, EW bypass, and other details. We found some pretty cool solutions.
The most difficult moment in the development is the recoil after the shot. This moment needs to be extended in time so that the drone has time to stabilize. It was a challenge, but we found a way. It’s math — the shock impulse depends on speed and mass. Accordingly, we need to make the appropriate calculations, to understand what force is needed to dampen this recoil. The whole team has been calculating this for quite some time and is now working on this kickback mechanism.
You are working on a rollback mechanism, but what else is ready? At what stage is the invention?
When the project was more or less ready on paper, we decided to try to create it in practice. This required funds, so we applied to Brave inventors: we passed a fairly serious selection process and received positive feedback from experts.
The main problem of our product, like most similar projects, is the integrity of the system. We are doing everything gradually, currently we are making a rollback mechanism and working with a shot.
Even this is quite difficult, as we need to arrange a shooting range, shoot, etc. So far, we have spent only our own money on the project, and we don’t have enough.
How much can it cost?
It takes about $10 thousand to buy all the components, and that’s just the parts.
You can buy an engine for a small FPV for 1000 UAH, we have one engine — 6000 UAH, and there are 8 of them.
The final cost will depend on the configuration. A copter that can carry a weight of 20 kg is not cheap. According to preliminary estimates, the basic equipment will cost about $18 thousand. For example, a Matrice 300 RTK that can lift 2.7 kg costs more than 300,000 UAH. So our price is quite competitive.
Are there any similar inventions on the market?
Unfortunately, the Russians are already testing similar systems. In addition, a few weeks ago, a Turkish company posted a release in which they attached a grenade launcher to a drone. But their version weighs 25 kilograms, can fly 15 kilometers, and stay in the air for less than 20 minutes. This is very little.
In general, the idea sounds very cool. The question logically arises: why hasn’t anyone done this before?
In fact, they have. For example, the Swedes sell a drone that can fly for 15 minutes with a person weighing up to 90 kg. But it costs $90 thousand, and there is already a six-month order queue.
I don’t know why others haven’t done it. I contacted my friends and told them about this idea. Some criticized me, one expert even said that I would not be able to cope with the return. But he hadn’t tried it! And I haven’t tried it either, so it’s at least 50-50.
We need to figure it out: what is the strength of the recoil? What does it affect? What should be the drone’s mass, how does this shock impulse affect it? And you start looking for ways to get around these issues, and there are actually a lot of options. Those who don’t want to *look for reasons, those who do *look for opportunities.
Can several such drones replace an infantry combat unit?
Imagine an enemy assault begins. A company of manpower supported by armored vehicles. To stop such an assault, you need hundreds of shells or FPV drones. According to my calculations, 7-10 of my drones will be able to stop such an attack.
Sky Destroyer can deliver quite heavy things (up to 20 kg) over a considerable distance. After the victory, this development can be used for the work of rescuers, medics, and firefighters.
I truly believe that this is the invention that can change the course of the war.