Farm Machines Could Also Be Transformed Into Military Drones

On October 2nd the Defence Blog reported that Azerbaijan had turned an old An-2 aircraft into a drone in the midst of its conflict with Armenia. Satellite images show that Azerbaijan has deployed more than 50 An-2 drones at The Yevrak airport near the conflict zone.

More than 18,000 of the old Soviet-era planes were built and their 45-year production period set a Guinness world record, sci-Tech Daily has learned.

Wen Chang, a military expert, said: "The main production line of the AN-2 aircraft has been discontinued since 1991. It is certain that the An-2 aircraft equipped by Azerbaijan has been in service for a long time and is very old. Moreover, information also indicates that Azerbaijan is equipped with more AN-2 aircraft. This provides the objective conditions for the AN-2 to be converted into a drone to give full play to its waste heat, which can be said to be cheap and good for waste utilization."

Public records show that after World War II, as production resumed on a large scale, the Soviet unio urgently needed to develop an economical and durable civilian aircraft. After all, the Soviet unio could not keep using expensive military aircraft to spray pesticides and transport civilian goods. That would not be cost-effective. It was then that Antonov, a Soviet aircraft designer, began to lead the design alone, working on civilian aircraft. The An-2 was one of its first independently developed aircraft. It is a single-engine twin-wing propeller aircraft designed according to the requirements of the Soviet Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. It is equipped with a piston engine. It first flew and went into production in 1947.

"The biggest feature of the AN-2 aircraft is its two-wing layout, and the wings are covered with canvas," Wen said. "It is simple to manufacture, low in cost, easy to maintain, and safe and reliable. Even if the engine stops in the air, it can also rely on gliding to land safely."

The AN-2 can carry up to 12 passengers or more than a ton of cargo and can fly at low speeds and smoothly at 160 km/h. Although small in size and slow in speed, the An-2 is highly maneuverable and can perform many maneuverable operations that are very dangerous on other aircraft. In addition, the AN-2 aircraft does not need to specialize in airports. It only needs to run for 180 meters to take off, and the shortest is 30 meters to leave the ground. After modification, it can even take off on snow and water with good adaptability.

"These features also enabled the subsequent AN-2 aircraft to transform itself from an agricultural aircraft into a multi-purpose drone, capable not only of spraying pesticides and planting seeds and planting trees, but also of carrying troops and withdrawing the wounded from the front line. In skydiving, the utilization rate of the An-2 is also quite high." Wenchang said.

This made the An-2 one of the best-selling aircraft of the post-World War II era, selling in many countries. Public information shows that China copied and developed the Y-5 aircraft on the basis of the introduction of the AN-2 aircraft.