Ministry of Defense issues regulations on UAV production

General Ngo Xuan Lich has just signed a new decision on the production of drones and ultra-light aircraft under the management of the Ministry of National Defense.

New rules

The decision signed by Minister of National Defense, General Ngo Xuan Lich, provides guidance on licensing procedures for facilities that design, manufacture, repair, and maintain aircraft, aircraft propellers, and equipment of unmanned aircraft and ultralight aircraft;

Procedures for granting licenses to aircraft testing facilities; Procedures for granting and changing licenses to facilities that design, manufacture, repair, and maintain aircraft, aircraft propellers, and equipment of unmanned aircraft and ultralight aircraft.

The facilities are responsible for preparing documents and sending them to the Department of Operations - General Staff.

In case the enterprise's dossier is invalid, within 3 working days from the date of receiving the dossier, the Department of Operations must have a written response to the facility owner to complete it according to regulations.

In case the dossier is valid, the Department of Operations - General Staff is responsible for presiding over and coordinating with relevant agencies and units to appraise, synthesize reports to the Chief of the General Staff and issue licenses to the enterprise; at the same time, notify in writing the local authorities, the District Military Command, the Provincial Military Command, and the Military Region. In case of no license, the Department of Operations must have a written response stating the reasons.

UAV made in Vietnam.

Vietnam's progress

Currently, Vietnam has made great strides in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Since 1996, the Air Defense - Air Force Service has developed two early UAV models named M-96 and M-96D as flying targets. Since then, Vietnam's UAV manufacturing has achieved many great achievements.

It can be said that in 2013, Vietnam's UAV research and development achieved many great successes, including the birth of the VT - Patrol UAV, a product of Viettel. VT - Patrol with a wingspan of 3.35m, length of 2.31m, height of 0.78m, is designed with wood and high-quality, durable and lightweight aviation composite materials, suitable for Vietnam's military combat needs.

VT - Patrol has operated along the mountainside in harsh weather conditions of only about 10 degrees Celsius, with fog. VT - Patrol reconnaissance with full HD infrared cameras can identify and distinguish soldier targets within about 600m. VT - Patrol is capable of flying at a speed of 110km/h, with an operating range of 50km, for about 2 hours.

When the aircraft reaches an altitude of over 150m, all aircraft operations will be switched to automatic flight mode, automatically operated by the pilot through the ground control station. Flying along a pre-built route and trajectory, flying around the target, and flying to track the target can all be done through the ground control station.

The aircraft will transmit information and images in real time. Viettel is planning to produce medium-range drones with a flight time of 15-24 hours for reconnaissance at the campaign and strategic levels, and further, other advanced equipment such as missiles to enhance the country's defense capabilities.

In early May 2013, the High-Tech Telecommunications and Information Technology Production Association (HTI), under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, announced the successful testing of a "made in Vietnam" UAV researched and produced by the Institute.

The “made in Vietnam” UAV announced this time has 5 models with different specifications and features. The largest type can fly with a radius of 100 km, a ceiling of 3 km, a maximum speed of 180 km/h, an operating time of 6 hours in the air and can fly both day and night.

The aircraft is equipped with day and night cameras and other specialized scientific research equipment. The aircraft's flight range can be extended further by using satellite navigation or ground relay control stations.

Previously at the Mobile Vietnam International Conference 2012, Dong Giang Research and Development Company introduced an unmanned helicopter product called Titan.

The Titan UAV has a maximum take-off weight of 32kg and a maximum useful load capacity (carrying many specialized professional equipment) of 12kg. The Titan UAV is designed to use an internal combustion gasoline engine (2 fuel tanks on both sides of the body, each tank holds 3 liters) allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 80km/h, a flight range of 10km, and operate continuously in the air for 2 hours.

UAVs are equipped with modern electronic equipment such as GPS. UAVs can take off automatically, fly on an automatic route, and land automatically.

Also in 2013, FPT also launched a UAV that it researched and developed itself. This UAV is identified as belonging to the VTOL UAV line. This is a line of aircraft that is being strongly developed in many countries around the world, and at the same time, it has begun to be developed in Vietnam.

According to Baodatviet