MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Test flights of the Katran unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is capable of carrying weapons, will begin in fall, according to Russian Helicopters Holding General Director Andrei Boginsky.
"Katran is undergoing ground trials for now. They will end this fall, and flights will begin," Boginsky told Interfax.
"We are expecting to complete the test flight program in 2019," he said.
A number of weapon systems are being considered for the drone, Boginsky said.
"The design and performance characteristics of Katran enable it to carry reconnaissance gadgets and various types of armaments," he said.
"The Russian Defense Ministry has placed no orders for the drone, but we have a contract with the Almaz-Antey company and will supply it with two vehicles after the tests are over," Boginsky said.
The new reconnaissance-and-attack drone designed by Russian Helicopters to carry up to 150 kilograms of weapons and major surveillance systems made its premiere at the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9.
The drone is a product of the engineering center of the Kumertau Aircraft Plant of Rostec's Russian Helicopters Holding.
On January 31, 2018, Rostec announced the beginning of trials of Russia's first reconnaissance-and-attack unmanned coaxial helicopter with a takeoff mass of up to 500 kilograms.
"This drone is capable of carrying major surveillance systems and armaments, which present-day helicopters are unable to lift," Anatoly Serdyukov, the industrial director of the Rostec aircraft cluster, said.
According to Boginsky, the new unmanned aerial vehicle is one of a kind in Russia.
"Our specialists have made much headway, and we intend to begin test flights of this complex in the second half of 2018," Boginsky said.
Two prototypes have been built and undergoing the first stage of trials, Rostec said.
The drone can travel at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour, stay in the air for up to four hours, and carry payloads of up to 150 kilograms. The drone is transported and controlled by an autonomous ground station mounted on a KamAZ truck.