Vietnamese unmanned systems company RT Robotics has unveiled an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system that is capable of dropping up to nine grenades per sortie.
The system, which has been dubbed as the Hera ‘individual combat drone’, is man-portable and propelled by four rotor-wings.
RT Robotics is a subsidiary of Vietnamese conglomerate CT Group, which also has business in real estate, finance, construction, and technology sectors.
Speaking to Janes at the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition (VIDEX) 2022, which is taking place in Hanoi from 8 to 10 December, a representative from the company, Quoc Luong, said that the Hera UAV has been fully developed in-country by Vietnamese engineers.
“Compared to similar UAVs manufactured by Israel, US, and NATO countries, the Hera is the most capable [in terms of the number of grenades that can be carried]. It is also more portable as it weighs only 9 kg and is the lightest [in the class of similar UAVs]”, Quoc said.
In addition, the UAV is relatively silent and can be deployed almost clandestinely against enemy positions such as fortified forward bases and vehicles.
The UAV is foldable and can be carried by a single personnel via a custom-designed backpack. It can be unfolded and deployed in under a minute, Quoc added.
When folded, the UAV measures 56×35×23 cm, and when unfolded it measures 105×114×62 cm. It has a maximum take-off weight of 30.5 kg.
Source: Janes