The number of M96D UAVs produced by Vietnam in 2016 has been revealed.

According to the Air Force newspaper, in 2016, the A40 factory produced and upgraded a series of modern weapons, including the M96D UAV used as a flying target.

In fulfilling its assigned targets for 2016, the factory repaired 4 radar stations, 9 out of 11 radar vehicles, 32 out of 38 flight support equipment, 27 command and control communication equipment, repaired, upgraded and assembled 5 CHB-16CĐ vehicles for the Air Force, produced and delivered 26 M96D flying targets, and commenced production of DHA-8 radios…

In addition, the factory also successfully carried out unexpected tasks such as: 15 emergency deployments for technical repairs to stations and flight safety equipment, and 21 instances of handling command and control communication incidents…

These results have contributed to ensuring good equipment and technology for flight operations of air force units of the Air Defense and Air Force Command and the Army.

Flight target M96D.

According to publicly available information, the M96D flying target was manufactured by the A40 Factory primarily for live-fire exercises for artillery and anti-aircraft missile forces.

A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle (remotely controlled or autonomous) used in live-fire training exercises for missile and anti-aircraft artillery forces. This vehicle helps artillery and missile units train in combat in a more realistic manner.

The first M96 (daytime flight) and M96D (nighttime flight) drones were fully manufactured by Vietnam in 1999. These two drone models were designed based on the Israeli DF-16 drone system, which the Air Force purchased.

After testing, the M-96 and M-96D were authorized for mass production by the military branch to serve in live-fire training for artillery and missile units. These flying targets are supported by TZK optical sights, are manually controlled, and fly within the range of visual observation.

To date, the Air Defense and Air Force Command has domestically produced thousands of M96/96D anti-aircraft artillery pieces for live-fire training exercises.

Despite being highly regarded and widely used, the M96 still exhibits some drawbacks such as short range, low ceiling, and slow speed. Therefore, it is considered unsuitable for missile troops' training operations.

In response to this situation, since 2004, the Air Defense and Air Force Engineering Institute has begun developing new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with longer flight ranges, higher altitudes, and greater speeds.

Based on that, the M100-CT and M400-CT unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) models were developed. The M400-CT, in particular, has a flight ceiling of 3,000m, a speed of 250-280km/h, and an operating radius of 30km.

According to Baodatviet