Russia will test fly its first domestically-produced strike unmanned aircraft in 2014, according to First Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Sukhorukov.
In February, Army General Nikolay Makarov, the chief of the Russian General Staff, said the drone would be first test flied in late 2012, a revision of the initial 2015 timeframe.
In early April, Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a technical specification for the development of the drone. The new aircraft is expected to have a modular structure and be able to carry various types of equipment and armament.
The Tranzas company will build the UAS on-board electronics as well as its navigation and control systems, while the airframe, which will weigh about five tons, will be produced by the Kazan-based Sokol design bureau. Russia’s Defense Ministry sealed contracts with Tranzas and Sokol worth an estimated 3 billion rubles ($101.9 million) in October 2011.
In late March, Russian Air Force commander-in-chief Colonel Gen. Alexander Zelin, told the Moskovsky Komsomolets tabloid that unmanned strike aircraft would enter service before 2020. He did not specify how many aircraft will be acquired.
Photo: UAVS BIZ
Source: Ria Novosti
Accepting that the image illustrates some Sokol UAV from some date in history, what is its relevance to this story?
It would be interesting to know how this image was acquired.
Roy,
You’re quite right it is quite an old Sokol.
The photo was chosen just to illustrate the story and to show that Sokol, the airframe builder for the new aircraft mentioned in the story, has a history…
The source of the image, which should have been credited, is: http://www.uavs.biz