EXPERIENCE WITH THE USE OF COMPLEXES OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN ARMED CONFLICTS
One of the priority areas for improving the efficiency of the use of troops is the equipping of the armed forces with unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes. This is due to the fact that the functioning of the modern combat management system involves obtaining information about the operational situation from various sources, its processing and timely delivery to the command in a mode close to real time. This issue is particularly relevant in the conduct of hostilities in areas of armed conflict, where there is no single line of contact between the warring parties and hotbeds of tension can arise unexpectedly in various places. The article briefly discusses the history of the formation and development of unmanned aircraft in the USSR and Russia, compares the development of complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles in the United States, Israel and Russia. Against the background of specific armed conflicts reflected the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to perform various tasks arising in the course of warfare. A special place is given to the analysis of the experience of the combat use of Russian complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles in Syria (2015-2017). The author gives a brief description of the main models of complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles in service of the Russian army. At the same time, attention is paid both to the positive aspects of their use and to the shortcomings identified in the process of operation. A brief statistics and analysis of drone losses during the operation in Syria. The prospects of development of complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are considered.