Russia Develops New Tactical Reconnaissance Drone System – Source

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia’s research and manufacturing association Aviation Systems has developed the TAKR 7001 tactical reconnaissance drone system, which comprises fixed-wing and multi-rotor unified unmanned aerial vehicles, a source in the company told Sputnik.

According to the source, the fixed-wing drone, dubbed K-0106, is a high-wing monoplane powered by a single turboprop in tractor configuration. The drone has a takeoff weight of up to 6.5 kilograms (over 14 pounds) and can stay in the air for up to 1.5 hours.

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The multi-rotor drone, dubbed K-0107, is a quadcopter with four rotors placed on folding radial beams. The UAV has a takeoff weight of up to 5.1 kilograms (over 11 pounds) and can fly for about an hour.

Both drones use a communications system developed by the Aviation Systems company, which allows ground operators to maintain control over the vehicles at a distance of up to 15 kilometers (over 9 miles). The drones are equipped with a unified optical reconnaissance system that is capable of identifying people at a distance of 1.5 kilometers at daytime and one kilometer at night.

Russia is currently carrying out a large-scale rearmament program, announced in 2010, to achieve a 70-percent modernization of its military hardware by 2020.