Tel Aviv: Israeli defence sources say that the Russian RUS-PE loitering weapon is based on the design of the Israeli Hero-90 made by UVision.
As per these sources, both are soldier-portable loitering weapon systems fired pneumatically from a tube/container carried by a single infantryman.
Both have foldable X-shaped wings, a gyrostabiliser EO/IR sensor head, and are designed for accurate strikes on ground targets.
The sources added that the Russian system “imitates”” the Hero-90 in overall concept, mission profile, and general arrangement.
The Russian system has a 30 min endurance, carries a 1.5 kg warhead and can reach speeds of 200 km/h.
According to the Russian manufacturer Rostec, the system’s detection uses an AI feature.
According to Israeli company UVision, the Hero-90 is a highly-portable loitering munition system, that streamlines logistics and field operations with versatile anti-tank, multi-purpose and anti-personnel capabilities.
Compatible with the Common Launch Tube, the Hero-90 can be deployed from multiple launch platforms; easily integrating into a wide range of pre-existing assets, it enhances operational flexibility in a cost-effective way.
Ensuring minimal logistics and simplified setup and deployment procedures, the Hero-90 is lightweight, easily carried and operated by the dismounted soldier, and can be launched in less than two minutes.
Designed to bring unprecedented lethality, it empowers small tactical units operating in challenging environments, giving them unprecedented autonomy on the battlefield of the future.
The Hero-90 is equipped with a high-yield warhead of over 1.5Kg, providing significant and precise power to effectively neutralise a wide range of threats – from soft targets and light vehicles, to armoured vehicles and battle tanks – at a range exceeding 40km.
Loitering over the target area, its operational range affords operators the time needed for target identification and optimal attack planning, and enables selection of attack patterns and detonation modes in real time.
Further maximising operational flexibility, the Hero-90 supports mid-mission adjustments, including attack abort and re-engage, and the transfer of control between Hero teams, regardless of their location – whether on ground, airborne or maritime. All this is made possible through UVision’s state-of-the-art, ruggedised, Fire Control Unit (FCU), common to all Hero family assets.
The Hero-90’s Concept of Operation and performance benefit from the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), enhancing the warfighters’ effectiveness during operations, by enabling them to focus on mission-critical tasks.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
