On March 2, 1993, the first experimental Russian rotary-wing UAV Ka-37 took to the skies.

This event is a starting point in the history of unmanned helicopter technology in our country.

The Ka-37 project was carried out by the legendary domestic design bureau of Nikolai Kamov with the financial support of the South Korean company DHI.

As Maxim Kondratiev, director of the Center for Unmanned Aviation, adviser to the Russian Academy of Engineering, said in an interview with RT, the creation of the Ka-37 was a significant achievement of Russian specialists, since the helicopter direction in the UAV segment in the world was just beginning to develop actively.

"Kamovtsy" developed an original product, using the highest competencies that they had.

Ka-37 is a large, serious unmanned helicopter.

Its first flight can be considered a turning point in the history of unmanned helicopter aviation in our country, ”Kondratiev explained. 

The Ka-37 was made according to the "proprietary" for the Kamov Design Bureau coaxial scheme with two rotors rotating in opposite directions.

Its application made it possible to produce a compact drone with decent maneuverability.

Takeoff weight of the Ka-37 was 250 kg, normal payload weight - 50 kg, cruising speed - 110 kg, service ceiling - 3.5 km, flight range - 88 km.

The rotary-wing drone was equipped with two P-037 piston engines, a ski-type chassis, interchangeable on-board equipment for aerial photography, broadcasting and relaying television and radio signals, environmental monitoring, cargo transportation, as well as for eliminating accidents and disasters in hard-to-reach areas.

An automatic control system was installed on the Ka-37, which ensured flight along a given trajectory with limited operator intervention.

As the Kamov specialists themselves noted in the 1990s, helicopter-type UAVs are best suited for patrolling and surveying vast territories.

At the same time, it was emphasized that the coaxial scheme implemented on drones provides very tangible advantages - including high propeller efficiency, no power loss to compensate for jet torque, small dimensions, high aerobatic and maneuvering qualities.

"Revival of interest"

The Ka-37S and Ka-137 drones became a further development of the brainchild of the Kamovites.

The latest model had a spherical body with three compartments: gear, motor and electrical equipment.

Construction of this drone began in 1994, and a life-size mock-up was made in 1996.

The Ka-137 received a four-bearing landing gear, unusual for helicopter technology, with springs for springing. 

  • UAV Ka-137

  • © Russian Ministry of Defense

The device surpassed the previous drone in speed, practical ceiling height, flight duration and range.

In addition, he could move in any direction, regardless of weather conditions and without changing speed.

The Ka-137 was designed to perform a wide range of tasks and could be equipped with sophisticated on-board equipment, including a digital automatic control system, a navigation system, a radar, thermal imaging or television cameras.

It was supposed to use several Ka-137 units as part of the MBVK-137 multi-purpose complex for use from land, air and water.

However, nothing is reported about the fate of the drone in open sources.

According to experts, the project was not developed due to lack of funding.

“Many promising projects in unmanned aviation in Russia in the 1990s were not completed due to financial difficulties.

Nevertheless, some of the specialists who dealt with UAV issues have found themselves in projects that have been launched since the end of the 2000s, ”Denis Fedutinov, editor-in-chief of the Unmanned Aviation publication, said in a conversation with RT.

As Maxim Kondratiev emphasized, the efforts of the Kamovites were not in vain.

First of all, Russian designers proved the prospects and viability of the widespread use of unmanned helicopter technology.

“This area has been developing very difficult due to the lack of sufficient funding and the necessary components.

The situation began to change with the revival of interest in the topic of unmanned helicopters among businesses, which saw great prospects for the use of this category of UAVs, primarily in cargo transportation.

There was also demand from the military,” Kondratiev explained.

So, a few years ago, a helicopter version of the Corsair drone was created for the needs of the RF Armed Forces.

The device is capable of taking off and landing in the field from unprepared sites, as well as using guided weapons.

Another development in the field of unmanned helicopter technology was the Katran drone.

The UAV was first demonstrated to the public in 2018.

The device is designed for the use of strike weapons, reconnaissance equipment and electronic warfare.

In 2021, at the Army-2021 International Military-Technical Forum, at the booth of the Kalashnikov concern, a reconnaissance-strike unmanned helicopter-type complex (UAV-VT) under the code "Termite" was presented.

The length of the drone is 5 m, the height is about 2.3 m.

  • Helicopter UAV "Termite" at the forum "Army-2021"

  • RIA News

  • © Evgeny Biyatov

According to the developers, the key advantage of "Termite" lies in the possibility of off-aerodrome basing and operation from unprepared sites.

"Termite" can hit stationary and moving objects with known coordinates, as well as go on the so-called free hunt.

This was previously stated in a RT commentary by the head of the special design bureau of the Strela research and production enterprise (part of Kronstadt JSC) Boris Trunov.

“The target is captured by the operator.

He puts it on escort, then the drone acts autonomously - the artificial intelligence algorithms embedded in the logic of the weapons control system are turned on, but at the same time, the final decision on launching the missile is made by the operator, ”Trunov said.

"Faster and Cheaper"

Along with the military segment of unmanned helicopter technology, the civil sector has also developed in recent years.

At the end of December last year, the heavy UAV BAS-200 developed by the National Center for Helicopter Construction (NCV) "Mil and Kamov" received a certificate from the Federal Air Transport Agency.

This drone has become the first certified drone in our country.

Commenting on this event, Sergey Chemezov, General Director of Rostec, said that it opens up new opportunities for the use of such equipment in the interests of the population, business and the state.

“The BAS-200 helicopter-type drone can be used to perform a variety of tasks: delivering cargo and monitoring the area in the interests of geological exploration, forest protection, agriculture, search and rescue activities and many other areas of activity.

The drone is capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h and carrying a payload weighing up to 50 kg.

The Russian Post is showing interest in the BAS-200 and other rotary-wing UAVs.

According to the organization’s calculations, the use of helicopter-type drones will increase the volume of cargo traffic tenfold and at the same time reduce the cost of transportation by almost half.

Thus, drones will replace manned aircraft and road transport when it is necessary to quickly transport goods weighing several tens of kilograms.

Along with the NCV, the Aeromax company is developing helicopter UAVs in Russia.

The product line of the enterprise includes drones of the SH type with a take-off weight of 350 kg to 3 tons and a payload of 50 kg to 1 ton.

  • Drone SH-450

  • © Aeromax

“Undoubtedly, the main scope of helicopter-type UAS is cargo delivery to remote destinations.

Our developments make it possible to do this even in conditions of poor visibility and difficult climatic conditions, as well as faster and cheaper than traditional ground transport, ”explains on the Aeromax website.

In addition, the company says that, depending on the payload, the drones can carry out firefighting, search and rescue missions, carry out environmental reviews on land and above the water surface, “as well as monitor the state of infrastructure and the construction of new facilities.”

In a RT commentary, the executive director of the AviaPort industry agency, Oleg Panteleev, said that the potential for the use of civil unmanned helicopters of the Russian Federation will be revealed as legal restrictions on their operation are removed and the industrial base for the mass production of this aircraft is developed.

According to the estimates of the Association of Employers and Enterprises of the Industry of Unmanned Aerial Systems Aeronext, by 2035 in the Russian Federation the volume of services for the transportation of goods by drones can reach 600 billion rubles a year. 

“Helicopter-type unmanned aerial systems will certainly find the widest application.

Today, the development of the industry is constrained by legislative restrictions on the operation of UAVs, the lack of domestic electric motors, microelectronics, batteries, sensors and other onboard equipment.

However, this issue is now being addressed.

Our engineers already have the necessary components at hand,” Panteleev summed up.