“Almost unlimited range of application”: the Russian drone Altius-U made its first flight

Russian Altius-U military drones with long flight duration first flew up to the sky, the Ministry of Defense reported, having published a video of the first UAV flight. It is noted that the aircraft for more than half an hour was in the air above one of the test airfields.

The flight took place in fully automatic mode at an altitude of up to 800 meters, and during the test all the systems of the unmanned vehicle worked normally.

"Altius-U" - the final appearance of the UAV, created as a result of development and testing of a number of prototypes. The complex is capable of fulfilling the entire spectrum of reconnaissance missions using optical, radio engineering and radar means and is in the air for more than a day, ”the Ministry of Defense said.

It is noted that the weight of the UAV reaches about 6 tons. The main feature of the Altius-U complex in the press service of the military department was the use of a satellite communication channel, which makes the radius of its use “practically unlimited.”

The development of such UAVs will allow units of the Russian army to conduct more thorough and effective reconnaissance, said military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin.

“Our attack and reconnaissance drones will be able to fly not just a few hours, but for a whole day and retire to distances of up to 5 thousand km, to use for this all the necessary technological, reconnaissance, aviation devices, modern avionics, to have detailed information about the likely the adversary, ”said the interlocutor of RT.

Litovkin emphasized that in the modern armament structure, drones do not perform a purely search task, but work closely in combination with other combat arms and types of troops.

“Modern drones do not just fly and search for something, they are connected in a single circuit with the strike systems that are on the ground, with the aircraft that are in the sky, and allow the complex use of weapons using the information that comes from the UAV,” - explained the expert.

"The industry is on the wing"

In turn, a military expert Ivan Konovalov, in a conversation with RT, noted that in recent years Russia has done significant work on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles.

“In general, over the past ten years, the Russian UAV industry has taken a wing,” he said. “We are talking about light and medium reconnaissance drones, and strategic UAVs are the final part of what our defense industry should come to.”

Recall that in early August 2019, the first flight was made by the heavy hunter “Hunter” drone. Under the operator’s control, he flew over the airfield several times in 20 minutes at an altitude of about 600 m, and then made a successful landing. This is the first such device created in Russia. It was developed by specialists of the P.O. Dry.

The Ministry of Defense reported that the “Hunter” was made using the “flying wing” technology from materials that make it practically invisible to detection tools. It is noted that the main task of the UAV will be reconnaissance, for which it is equipped with optoelectronic and radio equipment.

Work on this device was carried out in priority order. This was announced in December 2018 by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Alexey Krivoruchko.

“Work on this project is a priority, it is going at a good level. This is a serious task for us, ”the Zvezda television channel quoted him as saying.

Commenting on the latest tests of Russian drones, Ivan Konovalov recalled that UAVs “were the prerogative” of the US and Israel before, but the situation in this area has changed recently.

"In recent years, many countries have joined the" unmanned arms race. " The fact that Russia managed in an amazingly short time to achieve such serious success in this, this indicates that our defense industry remains at the Soviet level, when we could do everything, ”the expert added.

Konovalov also noted the fact that Russian UAVs showed their best side during anti-terrorist operations in Syria.

The adoption of such systems in service indicates that the Russian army receives the most advanced developments that maintain parity of military power with other leading countries, Litovkin is convinced.

“Our army receives the most modern weapons, the most modern combat support systems that our probable opponents have. We are in no way inferior to them in combat effectiveness and power of our armed forces, ”he stated.