It runs on regular aviation kerosene
At Samara University. Korolev started testing a prototype of a compact gas turbine engine for jet drones. As Ivan Zubrilin, director of the Engineering Center of Samara University, said, the MGTD-22 «Kolibri» engine designed for small, but high-speed and load-lifting jet unmanned aerial vehicles. Now the prototype has already been assembled and equipped with an experimental prototype of the control system.
Specialists plan to conduct tests for about three months in order to experimentally confirm the calculated characteristics of the engine in various operating modes. The advantage of «Hummingbird» compared to piston units of a similar size, there is a high thrust-to-weight ratio: according to calculations, a small UAV with such an engine with a total take-off weight of 45 kg will in the future be able to reach speeds of up to 800 km/h with a maximum flight altitude of 9 km. MGTD-22 also has a built-in, rather than separate, control system and electric start; the engine runs on traditional aviation fuel — kerosene.
At the same time, a whole line of small-sized gas turbine engines is being developed in the university laboratory. MGTD-22 «Hummingbird» — this is the first, smallest model of the series; work is also underway on the MGTD-40 «Chaika» and MGTD-100 «Eagle», which will surpass the compact version in size, thrust, power and a number of other characteristics. According to the creators, the new engines will allow the implementation of projects such as a high-speed cargo drone with vertical takeoff and landing in any weather and any terrain.