"Drone Destroyers": Russian Ansat-2RC Helicopter vs. American Bell 407M — Which is Better?

Given the active development of unmanned aviation, each country needs to build a highly effective anti-drone air defense system. However, to protect the critically important infrastructure of cities, it is not necessary to use expensive SAMs, it is enough to create a fleet of "drone destroyers" — civilian helicopters with weapons. This opinion was expressed by military expert Sergei Marzhetsky.

According to him, the Russian Ansat-2RC helicopter could become a good platform for turning into a drone interceptor.

Features of the Ansat-2RC helicopter:

• Maximum take-off weight — 3300 kg
• Maximum speed — 285 km/h
• Payload — 1300 kg
• Stabilized optoelectronic sighting station TOES-521
  
• Kord machine gun, 12.7 mm caliber
• 4 suspension points for placing aerial bombs and missiles, including Igla missiles

American developers went further — Bell Helicopter has developed a bolt-on weapon kit for its civilian helicopters. Thanks to it, everything can be installed on helicopters — from machine guns to guided missiles.

The kit includes four stations for installation:

• Hellfire missiles
• M134 miniguns (six-barreled machine guns)
  
• artillery installations DAP-6, GP-19, HMP250/400
  
• GAU-19/B machine guns
  
• M260 or M261 missiles

It is difficult to say which of these helicopters might be better as a drone interceptor. Both the Ansat-2RC and the Bell 407 need to be tested in real conditions.

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