by Alexey Vasiliev
[REGNUM] In 2024, world news has eclipsed military reports from Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen and other hot spots. Meanwhile, right before our eyes, a real technical revolution is taking place; man is realizing an old dream: flying is as easy as driving a car.
Following the revolution that drones brought about in warfare, another revolution began unnoticed by others, one that could change the world forever in the same way that smartphones and the Internet did just recently. This is a revolution of vertically flying vehicles (vertical flying vehicles).
A little over a hundred years ago, people took to the skies on airplanes. Since then, they have progressed from lath and plywood structures to supersonic speeds, but have not solved their main problem: the inability to rise and stay in the air in one place. This implies the need for an airfield and a run-up run during takeoff and landing.
By the middle of the twentieth century, this drawback was partially resolved.
Helicopters have appeared that are capable of fully functioning. They could sit anywhere as long as there was a flat surface and enough free space for the screw. However, in this case a different problem arose. When the propeller touched anything, the flight ended in disaster.
But the most important thing is that helicopters consume fuel several times more than airplanes and fly relatively slowly. A flight speed of more than 300 km/h is already a record. In addition, the complex gear transmission for the propeller is very expensive to produce, and this is largely why the helicopter was not put into mass production (unlike a car).
Since the advent of helicopters, electronics have developed.
And about 10-15 years ago, all the necessary components appeared that overcome the shortcomings of the helicopter as a means of landing vertically and economically, and also relatively inexpensive. Namely: electric motors, generators, batteries and electricity conversion systems.
Until the 2010s, the listed components together had such a specific mass that it made no sense at all to make such flying structures. But now the necessary parts have become available, first in motor vehicles, and then in aviation.
And we, in fact, are at the beginning of an era, which will be marked by the one who is the first to combine all these elements in the most rational way into one scheme that can determine the next several decades, and perhaps a longer period.
Now let’s clarify why vertically taking off vehicles (VTOLs) are a real revolution, and not just another version of a helicopter.
Firstly, the dimensions of the dangerous zone of rotor rotation are reduced, and most prototype variants have higher passive safety, due to which the risk of an accident is lower.
Secondly, the energy consumption is noticeably lower compared to a helicopter, and therefore the range is noticeably higher.
Thirdly, the cost of mass production will be noticeable, just several times lower than that of a helicopter. With higher reliability and the ability to fly independently.
For example, one device designed for 4 people can fly up to 1000 km, spending 200–300 liters of gasoline at a price of 10–15 million rubles (generalized calculation). And at the same time, he will be able to land on a site near the house, in a clearing, in the yard, and so on. This type of transport will become accessible to many people, although not to everyone at first, but it is an order of magnitude more affordable than a helicopter.
And most importantly, such prototypes already exist. They fly all over the world and are being actively put into operation in some places.
In November, as part of the Dubai Air Show 2023, a historic contract was signed between the American company Archer Aviation and the UAE helicopter operator Air Chateau for the purchase of 100 air taxis with a total value of about $500 million. According to plans, the first 100 electric aircraft will be ready for operation in 2026. Coinciding with the launch of Air Chateau Arabic
Abu Dhabi Investment Fund intends to introduce air taxi services. Agreements for the supply of 200 vehicles have also been concluded with India. Another six electric aircraft were purchased by the US Army for special operations.
Of course, vertically taking off vehicles are a revolution not only in transport, but also in military affairs. If a helicopter landing of a hundred vehicles is a very strong trump card, what can a landing force of 2 to 3 thousand vehicles be capable of?
In the UK, an active search for optimal tactical schemes is also currently underway. It should be noted that the British pay special attention to light infantry, infiltration tactics in small groups.
Dropping forward groups in front of a helicopter landing, which can gain a foothold in the required area, ensure the safety of the landing. DRGs with light guided weapons become a bone in the throat. 8-10 people with a light mortar, a machine gun, an anti-material rifle, a heavy sniper, a hand-held revolver grenade launcher and several MANPADS and ATGMs - such a team can do a lot of damage in a vulnerable place.
And if there are a couple of dozen such groups, and they are clearly coordinated with each other, then it is extremely difficult to eliminate them. Even at sea, operations with the landing of groups and troops will change greatly.
Well, don’t think that their apparent vulnerability in flight will make them easy to destroy.
Most likely, it will turn out like with drones, which, it would seem, can be easily shot down with a machine gun, but in practice this requires a huge amount of effort. The upgraded design will allow pilots to use the weapon with one hand and control the flight with the other.
Before the start of the SVO, many skeptics did not believe in the effectiveness of drones. We already understand the value of their technical analysis.
At the moment, there are already summary tables on the readiness of many devices from different developers. 2025–2026 will be the peak of prototype production, and the best of them will go into mass production. Two or three years for trial operation, changes in legislation, and the result of the 1910s will be repeated, when the number of developments of the first aircraft turned into qualitative growth, and then mass application in many fields of activity.
Vtols - vertically taking off vehicles - despite the skepticism of many critics, are already moving from the stage of experimental flights to mass production.
In Russia, with its vast expanses, the benefits of this transport revolution are even more obvious.
The country has all the necessary capabilities to create, in essence, its own “iPhone” among aircraft. Russia has a head start due to our lack of an influential “green” agenda, due to which in other countries there is a bias towards a purely electric scheme, to the detriment of a more efficient hybrid scheme with an internal combustion engine.
And we have such projects in our country.
Our time resembles the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries in terms of the number of breakthrough new products that radically change our familiar world. Therefore, it is possible to use the experience of that era to analyze similar processes. If there is political will, Russia could become the leading country that would be the first to launch mass production of such devices. The necessary resources and competencies are available, as are projects that can be implemented in a fairly short time.
The creation of Russian helicopters (light vertical take-off and landing aircraft) is a matter of national importance and technological sovereignty of the country. Russia has the opportunity to play a leading role in this new big deal.