Russia’s Advanced Research Fund is developing a deck-based vertical take-off and landing drones, Head of the Fund’s National Center for the Development of Technologies and Basic Robotics Elements Oleg Martyanov told Russian TASS agency on 29th June.
“Now we are developing an aircraft-type aerial platform (drones) with the possibility of its vertical take-off and landing on the deck. This is a very interesting task: a drone is required to take off, accomplish its mission, return and land on the ship, which sways on the waves in the conditions of the side wind and the ship’s movement,” he said.
The Advanced Research Fund is cooperating with the company Novik from Yegoryevsk in the Moscow Region under this project, he said.
As Martyanov explained, the drones are being developed for existing naval ships and vessels, for example, corvettes and icebreakers. Currently, specialists are testing the possibilities of multiple drones’ take-off and landing on a limited site and automatic algorithms.
“We will develop the conceptual design of such a drone within the next 1.5-2 months and will already set more serious requirements for this system,” the Center’s head said.
Russian Navy has been focusing on the unmanned systems lately. The second drone submarine to serve as a basic carrier of Russia’s Poseidon nuclear-capable underwater drones will be floated out approximately in late June. The drone, Khabarovsk [Project 09852], is expected to be floated out in late June at the earliest.
