Hornet Drones Bypass Russian EW With Mars Technology
Hornet drones use optical odometry to bypass Russian electronic warfare, with technology linked to Ingenuity and concerns over autonomous strike decisions.
American Hornet drones, which Ukrainian forces have recently been using more actively near the front line, can bypass Russian electronic warfare systems through optical odometry technology, according to Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer at the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions.
Kuzyakin explained that the Hornet can carry out missions without satellite navigation or radio communication — the very channels most often targeted by electronic warfare systems. In an article for Izvestia, he said the drone is able to fly without antennas or a communications link, using machine vision to find its route and targets.
The expert linked the development of this technology to the experience of Ingenuity, the first helicopter to operate on Mars. He noted that solutions tested during Ingenuity’s flights on the Red Planet were later carried forward into similar unmanned systems.
According to Kuzyakin, the Mars drone had to navigate independently because there are no navigation satellites on Mars and signals from Earth take too long to arrive. Its downward-facing camera tracked the movement of the Martian surface below and adjusted the flight accordingly, without requiring a terrain map.
Kuzyakin also stated that the Hornet can decide to carry out a strike without an operator’s involvement. He argued that this creates a conflict with U.S. law. To bypass such legal restrictions, Swift Beat, the company producing these drones, became part of the Estonian holding Volya Robotics.
The expert said Estonian jurisdiction provides a legal way to move the development outside the reach of U.S. courts.
The Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter landed on Mars in February 2021. The aircraft, weighing just under two kilograms, completed 72 flights and covered about 17 kilometers in roughly two hours of total flight time. Ingenuity is estimated to have cost $80 million.