Russia invents terrifying ‘flying AK-47’ by strapping machine guns to drones for ‘aerial drive-bys’
Russian arms makers have unveiled designs for a terrifying flying machine
RUSSIAN designs for a killer attack drone with an assault rifle strapped to it have surfaced online.
The unmanned flying machine is essentially a fully functioning AK47 housed inside a set of wings, with the gun's barrel jutting menacingly from the front.
It was devised by experts at Russian arms maker Almaz-Antey, which filed a patent for the ridiculous contraption in February, 2018.
With no obvious way of propelling itself, it's unclear how the system would fly, though two bulbs on the wings may act as supports for a propeller system.
Control systems have been designed into the vehicle's rear stabilisers to help it steer.
But the meat of the package comes in the form of an iconic AK47 wedged into its frame.
This is protected by metal netting, with the gun's curved 30-round magazine poking out the bottom.
A standard AK47 rifle can fire 600 rounds per minute at targets up to 300 metres away.
Russia has unveiled a number of unusual drones in recent years.
One underwater gizmo revealed last year was designed to fend off military divers using an attached assault rifle.
The Kremlin showed off exploding kamikaze drones last month at Dubai's international IDEX arms exhibition.
But while impressive in their ambition, many of these gadgets feature serious design flaws.
When it comes to Almaz-Antey's AK47 drone, it's hard to imagine how it would ever be useful in combat.
For one thing, the contraption has no way to reload, meaning it can only fire 30 rounds before it needs to head back to base.
The gun's recoil would also likely cause the light aircraft to spin wildly out of control.
As the AK47 only works against people or unarmoured targets, the drone would need a skilled pilot – flying the machine while firing at small targets would be far from easy.
Defence contractors often file strange patents for wacky military devices and don't always follow them through, so it's unclear if we'll ever see the gun-drone in action.
Yesterday we revealed that Putin is building a "ground force" of killer robots, including deadly swarms of bomber drones and self-driving tanks.
Super-strong robots that "make the Terminator look puny" are also on the way.
And here's how the Ancient Greeks predicted killer robots, driverless cars and even Amazon Alexa speakers.
Do you think the flying AK will ever reach the battlefield? Let us know in the comments!
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