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In recent years, the Zhuhai Airshow has featured a variety of unmanned systems, becoming one of the main attractions of the exhibition, including drones of various shapes and characteristics, unmanned combat vehicles, small unmanned surface vessels, and unmanned underwater vehicles. It can be said that the presence of these unmanned systems at the exhibition seems to indicate that the future mode of warfare will enter an era of human-unmanned collaboration, with unmanned systems and intelligent combat, particularly dominated by large drones. At the 2021 Zhuhai Airshow, the Rainbow UAV booth showcased a handheld micro drone for individual soldiers—the Rainbow-817 micro attack drone, which made its debut at the airshow.
Rainbow-817 Micro Attack Drone System at the Zhuhai Airshow
“Flying Grenade”
The Rainbow-817 micro attack drone is a micro aircraft with a coaxial dual-rotor layout. This drone is not restricted by takeoff and landing sites and can autonomously take off and land in complex environments. It is equipped with environmental perception and obstacle avoidance capabilities, as well as optical guidance functions. It can carry high-explosive warheads for high-precision lethal attacks on armed individual soldiers and can also be deployed by large drones carrying multiple units to target areas, completing wide-area reconnaissance and precise strikes through multi-drone coordination.
This drone is agile, concealable, and equipped with obstacle avoidance features. It can be controlled by dispersed individual squads or small combat units, making it very suitable for urban and jungle warfare, detecting activities of targets inside buildings. Equipped with environmental perception systems and radio transceivers, it enables soldiers to conduct reconnaissance and strike missions in dangerous areas while ensuring their own safety, significantly reducing casualties during reconnaissance and attack tasks and greatly improving combat efficiency.
According to designer Shi Wen, “The configuration of the Rainbow-817 micro attack drone is different from conventional quadcopters. It has two relatively large rotors, which provide better flight performance. Its weight can reach over 800 grams, with a payload of 200-300 grams, allowing for a flight duration of 15 minutes under these conditions, with overall performance being quite excellent.” This type of drone can be mounted on other large drones for long-range deployment. “For example, a Rainbow-817 weighs about one kilogram, so we could mount one or two hundred of them, or even more, on a Rainbow-4 or Rainbow-5 for swarm operations. The future will not see drones operating solo, but rather a system of operations and movements, a ‘large + medium-small + micro’ system combat mode.” This drone can be used for reconnaissance as well as attack, effectively acting as a “flying grenade” when armed.
Handheld Micro Drone—Rainbow-817 Micro Attack Drone
Today, the application of drone technology is quite widespread in military operations. The concept of drone “swarm” warfare seems to be a trend, but Shi Wen has a unique perspective on this. He stated that the collaboration between drones, or between drones and manned aircraft, is certainly a major direction for development. “We have been conducting some foundational research work, including swarm operations of small drones, their formation combinations, intelligent formations, collaborative task allocation, and coordinated strikes. It is not that the future will involve thousands or tens of thousands of drones overwhelming the skies, but rather a combination of large, medium, and small aircraft working together to accomplish combat missions.”
Rainbow-817 is Accurately Positioned, Combat Concept Surpassing U.S. and Australian ‘Loyal Wingman’
As early as 2015, the U.S. military proposed the “Loyal Wingman” concept, aiming to develop a drone to serve as a wingman for manned aircraft, undertaking tasks such as intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, combat, and escort in battles. Currently, the “Loyal Wingman” has become an important direction for development in various countries around the world, but existing “Loyal Wingmen” are mainly large drones, often used in conjunction with manned aircraft.
Unlike the large drones that span over ten meters in length, the Rainbow team’s “Loyal Wingman” is the small guy nicknamed the “Flying Grenade”—the Rainbow-817 micro drone, which can be paired with large drones like the Rainbow-5 or Rainbow-6. Currently, large Rainbow drones and similar models have payload capacities of up to one ton, with the Rainbow-6 even reaching two tons, theoretically allowing for the carrying of heavy long-range munitions without issue. The range of existing and under-development drone munitions has already covered dozens, hundreds, or even hundreds of kilometers. However, relying solely on the detection systems of large drones makes it difficult to scout and lock onto targets at such distances, at which point the Rainbow-817 small drone can shine.
More than one Rainbow-817 in the drone “hive” next to the soldier
In the future, large platforms like the Rainbow-5 and Rainbow-6 will simultaneously carry small drones like the Rainbow-817, as well as medium and long-range strike munitions. The larger drones will first release the small drones to act as eyes and decoys. The small drones can advance closer to the target area to relay information back to the larger drones, guiding long-range munitions for attack. When the enemy detects the “wingman” or even the “larger drone,” attempting to intercept it will expose their position. Even if they quickly destroy both partners, the exposure of their location will invite subsequent attacks from more drone partners or even other weapon platforms.
The combination of Rainbow drones does not alter the original reconnaissance-strike integration of the drones, emphasizing reconnaissance capabilities, nor does it change the original advantages of drones being low-cost and numerous. At the same time, by introducing the concept of “Loyal Wingman” and combining it with new long-range strike munitions, it makes it possible to significantly enhance the combat effectiveness of drones. This enhancement will enable drones to strike various targets more effectively in low-intensity environments and even pose a threat to key enemy targets deep behind their lines through precise long-range strikes.
Micro Drones Trigger New Changes on the Battlefield
Micro unmanned attack drones may become the new standard equipment for individual soldiers in the future. They are simple in structure, portable, and easy to operate, requiring no runways or special launch tracks, allowing for immediate launch anywhere as needed, capable of precise strikes on targets like launching small cruise missiles. Compared to current firearms with effective ranges not exceeding a few thousand meters, micro unmanned attack drones clearly have a significant advantage and will be more favored by individual soldiers. In future battlefields, individual soldiers carrying several micro unmanned attack drones will become as common as carrying firearms, with the potential for individual strike weapons to achieve true long-range, precision, and three-dimensional capabilities.
Micro unmanned attack drones may become a new way of conducting precise strikes without contact. They are small, low-noise, have good stealth capabilities, and high strike precision, easily penetrating traditional air defense systems through low-altitude and ultra-low-altitude rapid flight. With the help of artificial intelligence technology, they can more accurately identify and lock onto key targets such as important personnel, armored equipment, and command centers, regardless of the terrain or environment. Micro unmanned attack drones can directly rush to their targets or coordinate with other unmanned and manned forces to conduct swarm attacks and saturation strikes.
Micro unmanned attack drones may become the new standard equipment for individual soldiers in the future
Micro unmanned attack drones may become a new topic threatening air defense security. On one hand, they are inexpensive, with low technical and operational thresholds, blurring the lines between military and civilian use, as well as wartime and peacetime applications. On the other hand, while anti-drone technologies have made significant progress in recent years, they still cannot effectively intercept micro unmanned attack drones. Terrorists may exploit micro unmanned attack drones to carry out suicide attacks on important targets or major events, disrupting social order and impacting political stability. This will become a new challenge for the construction of national air defense security systems.
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