Russian Helicopters has received 5 billion rubles ($160 m) from the Russian Federal Budget for the development of three types of unmanned aircraft systems.
After charging that smaller domestic developers wasted public funds – and pointedly purchasing Israeli drones for military trials – the Defense Ministry has switched to a big holding with sufficient capacity to develop and produce indigenous UAS.
According to the Gazeta.ru portal, the company has been contracted by the Russian Defense Ministry to develop light-, medium-, and heavy-weight rotary UAS for reconnaissance, strike and transportation purposes.
A prototype of a short-range unmanned helicopter, Ka-135, with carrying capacity of up to 100 kg, must be developed by 2015. A heavy-weight UAS, dubbed Albatross, is expected to be developed by 2017. It can be used for strike or transport purposes. The most recent contract envisions the development of a medium-weight UAS with operational range of up to 300 km.
If successful, Russian Helicopters may receive additional funding in the future to develop two more types of UAS to be delivered to the military and police.
Source: Ria Novosti