Russia manufactured its first prototypes of advanced short-range UAV Korsar 42212153

Defence & Security News - Russia
 
Russia manufactured its first prototypes of advanced short-range UAV Korsar
The first five prototypes of advanced short-range unmanned aerial vehicle Korsar have been manufactured in Russia, Alexander Yakunin, director general of the United Instrument Corporation (UIC, a Rostec subsidiary), told TASS in an interview on Tuesday. "We keep on working on setting up a manufacturing facility on the premises of the Luch design bureau in Rybinsk to produce Korsar short-range UAVs," he said.
     
Russia manufactured its first prototypes of advanced short range UAV Korsar 640 001Korsar unmanned aerial vehicle
     
He also said UIC, which had developed and made the prototypes, was contemplating an annual production of four systems of medium-range UAVs with a combat radius of 500 km.

According to UIC, the Korsar is to become the first mass-produced short-range UAV for the Russian Army. Its primary purpose is to keep the battlefield under observation. The aircraft is expected to pass its tests in 2016 and enter full-scale production as soon as 2017. A prototype was unveiled at the Army 2015 forum in June this year.

As was reported in the press, Russia is devising a UAV development program to coordinate UAV-pertinent efforts under the 2016-2025 armament acquisition program. If it is approved, the government will have received several hundred Russian-developed UAVs by 2025.

According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, almost 320 billion rubles ($4.5 billion) have been earmarked for the program on fielding UAVs with the armed forces before 2020.

As was reported in the press, Russia’s advanced small-size reconnaissance UAV Korsar from the Luch design bureau in Rybinsk has been in flight trials aimed, inter alia, at testing its payload, including its radar.

The Korsar carries a radar from Russian radar manufacturer Phazotron-NIIR. It is very likely that the Korsar will be powered by the APD-500 piston engine from NPO Saturn. Its production entry is slated for 2018. An APD-500 prototype was unveiled at the Russian Defense Ministry Innovation Day 2015 show in Kubinka (Moscow Region). It is Russia’s first two-stroke gasoline piston engine. It weighs about 30 kg and takes the UAV to an altitude of more than 6,000 m. According to open sources, the Korsar has the twin-boom configuration with the pusher propeller and inverted-V tail, which is traditional to aircraft of the type.
     
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