Serbia, as one of the countries in the Balkans whose citizens are predominantly pro Russia, recently launched the Raven 145 kamikaze drone, which was introduced by Yugoimport at the Partner 2023 exhibition in Serbia.
The Raven 145 is designed for long-range reconnaissance missions and strike operations as a loitering munition.
Yugoimport, which also supplies hanud cannons for Indonesian Navy warships, said that the Raven 145 system is intended to support real-time surveillance and to attack targets outside the front line of the combat zone.
It is claimed that the Raven 145 can be used to attack armored mines, command posts, artillery positions, as well as moving or stationary targets such as patrol ships.
Quoted from armyrecognition.com, the Raven 145 is said to have an operating range of up to 150 km and a maximum speed of 150 km per hour. The maximum flight altitude of this drone is 2,000 meters. In terms of weight, the Raven 145 has a maximum weight of 50 kg, empty weight of 35 kg, with a payload of 15 kg.
نظام Raven 145 الصربي للدفاع الجوي.. قدرات جديدة وإمكانيات واسعةhttps://t.co/QLzsWSfLXV pic.twitter.com/bvzpcZw6cn
— Defense Arabia - دفاع العرب (@defensearabia) October 3, 2023
The Raven 145 was launched using a solid rocket engine and in flight was powered by a two-cylinder flat engine that used gasoline. The dimensions of the Raven 145 are 2.2 meters long, a wingspan of 2.4 meters and a height of 0.4 meters when the booster is installed.
For the Ground Control Station (GCS), it is integrated into the TAM 4×4 truck chassis. The GCS is equipped with two air-conditioned guidance consoles. The device configuration on the GCS includes an antenna with an operational range of 200 km, and there is an alternative portable control option with an antenna range of up to 50 km.
For the launch vehicle, it is installed on a 4×4 truck platform which is capable of carrying a 3.5 ton payload and can accommodate up to 18 drone launch containers. The hydraulic mechanism facilitates a 45 degree launch angle using a hydraulic platform.
For drone deployment, the container is mounted on a TAM truck chassis. These containers vary in number from 10 to 27 units, depending on the chassis type.
The drone's wings initially fold inside the container and the wings will automatically open after launching. Overall the launch process takes about one minute and the drone can be moved to a combat ready state.