Individual pistol-launched reconnaissance system Glaz to equip Russian troops

Last Sunday (27th January), an unofficial source in the Russian defence industry, quoted by TASS news agency, said that a new system makes it possible to promptly receive photo and video data on emergency occurrence sites and battlefields or in areas where information acquisition by conventional means is complicated or jeopardizes human life. Russian armed forces will receive the individual reconnaissance system Glaz (‘Eye’), a mini device with a high-resolution camera launched from a signal pistol. However, there is no official confirmation to the report.

Russian troops in Syria already tested the Glaz reconnaissance system (Picture source: Russian MoD)

“An individual tactical reconnaissance system Glaz was developed for the Russian army, which is a mini-device on a parachute,” a source in the national defense industry was quoted by TASS. “Russian units in Syria made experimental tests of the device,” he said. A soldier on a battlefield fires a rocket projectile from the signal pistol, which climbs to the height up to 300 meters and ejects the reconnaissance device with the high-resolution camera, the source noted. While the device is descending with the parachute, the camera transmits images to the soldier’s tablet. The system is anticipated for use in street fighting, for example, when the adversary is beyond the direct visibility zone.

Glaz undergoes factory tests now, the source said. The weight of the signal pistol for the device launch is not above 400 grams. The length is about 300 mm. Image data is transferred in real time, with the area of about 0.5 square kilometers in the camera’s field of vision at the maximum height, he added.