UMEX 2022: Serbian company PR-DC showcases IKA-20 helicopter drone.

The multipurpose rotary-wing drone IKA-20 (codename RW-20), designed and produced in Serbia by PR-DC, has a hexacopter (6 rotors) configuration and carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy resin frame with a standard payload mount rail system. The product was launched in July 2021 and is currently in series production. Drones are available for testing and training at the company's training center near Belgrade, Serbia.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

PR-DC IKA-20 hexacopter drone (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The drone's empty weight (without battery) is 20 kg. Its optimal payload mass can reach 20kg too but the maximum takeoff mass is not less than 12kg. The payload mounting is a standard 12 mm rail system. Propulsion relies on six isolated propulsors, each consisting of a BLDC motor with a two-blade propeller. The 44.4-volt lithium-based has a total mass of 23kg.

The obstacle avoidance system is based on a camera and a LiDAR. The position control is based on GNSS (latest generation GNSS receiver (M9N) with an additional external RM3100 compass and CAN communication interface) and camera with LiDAR. The data and video transmission distance is as follows: FCC 20 km, CE/SRRC 12 km.

The system has a three times redundant micro-electro-mechanical inertial measurement unit and dual redundant CAN communication with peripherals. It has a large reserve of processing power and memory for future improvements (STM32H753 main processor and STM32F100 co-processor).

The drone is equipped with a payload power and communication connector for easy integration within the aircraft electronics system, allowing remote transmission and monitoring of data received from the payload, as well as payload control. Due to the mounting method, it is easy to integrate different payloads using an adapter (the manufacturer provides adapter design and manufacturing, as well as payload communication integration). Most payloads can be classified into one of the following categories: release and drop mechanisms, sprayers, seeders, cameras, radars and LiDARs, loudspeakers, lights, nets, and launchers.

In the field of defense, the range of missions that can be taken into consideration are target marking; distance measuring and photo/video capturing using normal and thermal imaging infrared cameras (using heavy optics); border security, monitoring and protection; reconnaissance and intelligence gathering; damage assessment; resupply, providing rapid situational awareness.