They will be used for ice guiding and marking of icebergs
Unmanned aerial vehicles «Hornet» have been created in Russia. multi-rotor type and «Stork» vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), which will be used for ice navigation and marking of icebergs on the Northern Sea Route.
«The company has developed a hybrid unmanned aerial vehicle "Hornet" for marking icebergs, its tests will be carried out in 2024 jointly with Sovcomflot. In addition, we have developed an unmanned aerial vehicle "Stork" VTOL type, capable of flying for up to five hours, for ice guiding tasks», — stated in the organization «Drone Solutions».
In 2023, as part of the accelerator «Arktech» the company took part in a pilot project in the interests of «Sovcomflot» on marking icebergs on the Northern Sea Route to ensure the safety of ship traffic: «As part of the project, in July-September 2023, the "Hornet" drone was tested. on the Northern Sea Route in the Kara Sea».
Based on the test results, it was decided to increase the flight duration of the device. «Hornet» received a generator and an 11-liter fuel tank, which allowed it to fly for up to three hours. During the tests, one of the devices ended up at a 150-meter depth in the Kara Sea: «In the future, we carried out work to increase the flight duration of the drone», — stated in «Drone Solutions».
Due to vertical take-off and a full-fledged internal combustion engine, the UAV «Aist» is capable of staying in the air for up to 5 hours, performing assigned tasks. The website states that its price is 4.5 million rubles.