Since the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, IZIVIZ has been helping Ukrainian defenders by donating custom-built drones, repairing damaged drones of other manufacturers for free, and conducting training to teach our military how to fly drones effectively and safely.

Drones have completely changed the game of modern-day warfare. They have multiple value-adding applications on the battlefield, such as locating enemy targets and guiding artillery fire. 

Although mass-produced commercial drones are commonly used by the Ukrainian military, they do not satisfy all of their needs. Such drones heavily rely on GPS, so they won’t be able to return if the signal is jammed. Because there’s no built-in protection against electronic warfare (EW), such drones are easy to track and often expose the operator’s location. 

That’s why we decided to build a custom solution, and here are the absolute must-haves on our client’s wishlist. 

Weather Conditions. Military units do not have the luxury of waiting for sunny and rain-free weather. They need to act fast regardless of the forecast as any delay may result in a loss of lives. Therefore, the UAV’s ability to fly in bad weather was one of the essential requirements.

Surveillance-Ready. Even more critical are the drone’s surveillance capabilities. The IZIVIZ team was asked to build a solution with a decent flight time and transmission range so that the unit could spy on the enemy without coming too close to their base. Another important consideration was the drone’s ability to see from afar so the UAV wouldn’t get noticed and taken down.

Electronic Warfare Resistance. Using a drone on a battlefield is utterly different from flying it in industrial settings. There’s always a risk of electronic warfare, resulting in a mission failure, loss of the UAV, data leakage, or other tactical defeats. For this reason, we were asked to design a drone with built-in protection against EW.

Dropping System. Having multiple UAVs for different purposes, be it surveillance, delivery, or munition dropping, is, first of all, costly and, secondly, not practical if carrying capabilities are limited. Therefore, IZIVIZ was also tasked with adding a dropping system so that the drone could be used for multiple use cases.

The IZIVIZ engineering crew built a surveillance & delivery drone specifically optimized for combat use.

RD5 survives drizzle and wind blasts as strong as 12 m/s, making it a go-to solution for everyday tasks. At the same time, the drone shouldn’t be launched during a heavy storm. It can be used in extreme heat and subzero temperatures up to -5°.

To ensure the success of reconnaissance and surveillance missions, we equipped RD5 with a x30 Sony camera. The high-sensitivity camera combined with sufficient operating altitude allows scouting occupied terrains at a safe distance. More so, surveillance can be done even when lighting is poor, for example, at sunset or dawn. 

Empty-handed, RD5 stays in the air for 55 minutes, which is longer compared to commercial drones like Mavic3 or EVO Lite. 

As for electronic countermeasures, RD5 has alternative control and telemetry channels. If the first one is suppressed, it’s possible to switch to the backup one. It was also equipped with an anti-jamming GPS receiver. 

If needed, UAVs of this type can be further upgraded with extra communication gear to create a mesh network. In this case, the primary drone can fly relatively close to the EW system, whereas the second drone, functioning as a repeater, will be placed between the first UAV and the operator, ensuring steady transmission and the pilot’s safety.

To enable drone delivery, we designed a simple yet effective dropping system. RD5 carries up to 5kg of payloads, staying in the air for up to 27 minutes, and this flight time is sufficient to deliver the cargo and safely return. RD5 flies autonomously to a designated location and releases cargo in predefined coordinates.

Thanks to IZIVIZ, a military unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received the much-needed electronics to increase personnel safety and gain a tactical advantage on the battlefield. With a custom-built UAV, our defenders were able to timely and accurately determine enemy locations and vehicle movement, which was critical for the success of their mission.