Sokol Altius
| Altius-U | |
|---|---|
| Role | Reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle Unmanned combat aerial vehicle Electronic warfare |
| National origin | Russia |
| Manufacturer | OKB Sokol |
| Design group | OKB Sokol, Tranzas[1] |
| First flight | 2016[2] |
| Introduction | 2021[1] |
| Status | In production |
| Primary user | Russian Aerospace Forces |
| Number built | 3[3] |
The Sokol Altius is a medium-altitude long-endurance Russian unmanned combat aerial vehicle developed by OKB Sokol (formerly known as Simonov Design Bureau) and Tranzas to perform reconnaissance, strike and electronic attack missions on behalf of the Russian Air Force and Navy.[1] The program started in 2011 and thus far 3 prototypes have been built.
The Altius is comparable to the striking and reconnaissance capabilities of the US-made MQ-9 Reaper and RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs.[4]
Development
The Altius program started in October 2011 after the Russian Ministry of Defense awarded a 3 billion Ruble contract and resulted in three demonstrators. The first one, called Altair, was unveiled in 2014 and flew for the first time in 2016, while the second demonstrator, the Altius-M, was spotted for the first time in 2017. The third demonstrator, the Altius-U, is considered the final evolution of the project, and made its maiden flight in 2019. The drone entered service in 2021.[3][5]
The development of the Altius had known several technical delays because of practical setbacks and cost increases, such as losing the right to use French engines, forcing Russia to develop their own engines for the drone. Altius was originally planned to be fully operational by 2018.[6] In April 2018, the authorities arrested the Director General of OKB Sokol, Simonov Alexander Gomzin, whom the investigation suspected of embezzlement of 900 million rubles allocated for the development of the Altius drone.
The Altius will be the backbone of the fleet of Russian heavy drones, the Izvestia daily reported in September 2019.[7]
On 21 February 2021, it was reported that a state contract had been signed between the manufacturer and the Russian MoD for the supply of the first batch of Altius, with delivery expected in 2021.[8]
Design
Altius is built according to the classical aerodynamic design with a highly located wing of a large scope and a V-tail. It is known that Altius was built with the wide use of composite structural materials. Altius uses two new VK-800C turboprop engines developed at the Klimov Design Bureau.
Variants
- Altair
First demonstrator.
- Altius-M
Second bigger demonstrator.
- Altius-U
Third and last demonstrator, showing the final design of the Altius drone when in serial production.[9]
- Altius
Final serial production variant.
Specifications Altius-U
Data from globalsecurity.org[10]
General characteristics
- Crew: 0
- Empty weight: 6,000 kg (13,228 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)
- Payload: 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
Performance
- Range: 10,000 km (6,200 mi, 5,400 nmi)
- Endurance: 24 hours
- Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
Armament
- Bombs: Grom-1, Grom-2
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- ^ a b c "Ancile".
- ^ "AРоссийский "Альтаир" начал летные испытания".
- ^ a b "Russian Altius-U Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flies for the first time". August 24, 2019.
- ^ Ioanes, Ellen. "Russia's new high-altitude drone just flew for the first time, and they want to arm it with one ton of bombs". Business Insider.
- ^ https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12399937@egNews [bare URL]
- ^ Atherton, Kelsey (December 26, 2018). "What does 2019 hold for Russia's drones?". C4ISRNET.
- ^ "Altair / Altius-M / Altius-O". www.globalsecurity.org.
- ^ "Подписан контракт на поставку МО РФ первой партии тяжёлых БПЛА "Альтиус" » Авиация России". 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Russia Tests Altius-U Long-Range Military Drone".
- ^ John Pike. "Altair / Altius-M / Altius-O". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
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