Protect Civil Airport From Intruders, Russia Will Use Volk-18 Interceptor Drone

Vlok-18 interceptor drone. (Source: Alexey Kondratov /AVIA.RU via ruaviation.com)

JAKARTA - The Volk-18 interceptor drone (Wolf-18) developed by defense technology manufacturer Almaz-Antey, will be used to protect civilian airports from intruder drones, said Almaz-Antey Deputy CEO Dmitry Savitsky.

"The Volk-18 is an interceptor drone. It can use a special net thrown over other drones. We plan to use this system for civilian airports. The Volk-18 will soon be tested in Samara," Dmitry Savitsky explained to TASS as quoted on July 19.

The innovative drone is designed to eliminate other 'uninvited' or 'threatening' unmanned aerial vehicles using a less-lethal and less dangerous way, Savitsky said.

"The use of the Volk UAV for airport protection from intruder drones is very relevant now because this protection is limited to legal methods," he said.

Earlier, citing ruaviation.com from Sputnik on February 10, Russian defense technology manufacturer Almaz-Antey has completed testing an enhanced version of a new interceptor drone, which is designed to independently find and shoot down or hit enemy drones.

The drone is said to have undergone a substantial upgrade over previously launched versions of the UAV, featuring a new optical seeker system that increases target detection range, and an improved control system.

Outlining the Volk-18's capabilities for autonomous operations, the Almaz-Antey official explained, "now, the operator is only confirming the decision to attack enemy drones. The search, identification, target selection, maneuvering, and destruction of the actual UAVs are carried out independently. Among Russian drones, this is the first system of its kind.”

To note, having dimensions of 60x60 cm, Volk-18 has a takeoff weight of up to 6 kg and a flight time of about 30 minutes. His arsenal includes three small rocket launchers that fire nets at enemy drones, entangling them and knocking them down. If it fails, the drone hits the enemy UAV, destroying it in the air.