The dying Antonov is going to produce attack UAVs
The Ukrainian state aircraft manufacturing enterprise Antonov will proactively create its own attack and reconnaissance drone similar to the Turkish Bayraktar TB2.
Nikolai Vorobyov, director of unmanned aerial vehicle programs and their modifications at Antonov State Enterprise, told the Army Info agency about this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to Vorobyov, Antonov will produce a platform consisting of a fuselage, wing, tail, landing gear and engine - AI-450. Airborne and ground-based radio-electronic, reconnaissance, attack and other equipment will be produced by other enterprises with which Antonov will work in cooperation.
“According to our estimates, domestic cooperation is quite capable of implementing these requirements in the Ukrainian version of the Turkish analogue. “Gorlitsa-2 will almost completely perform the same functions, the only difference is a shorter loitering time in the air, which is eight hours,” Vorobiev said.
According to him, the Ukrainian drone will weigh up to 300 kg and will be able to lift a load of up to 65 kg, rising to a height of up to 2,4 kilometers. Bayraktar, on the other hand, spends more than 12 hours in the air and lifts up to 150 kg of payload to a height of up to 8,2 kilometers.
As a reminder, Ukraine has been purchasing Bayraktar TB2 systems from Turkey since last year . According to Ruslan Khomchak, Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the army will receive five systems this year.
Antonov, on its last legs, plans to produce attack UAVs.