Another week, another Russian drone makes its first successful take-off. The defense ministry published footage of the maiden flight of a high-endurance reconnaissance UAV called Altius-U. Altius-U is the final form of this unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), created as a result of the development and testing of a number of prototypes. The flight took place for 32 minutes at an altitude of up to 800 meters in fully automatic mode at one of the test aerodromes. All systems of the complex worked properly, the Ministry of Defence noted. The 6-tonne drone is meant as a high-endurance reconnaissance platform. It can remain airborne for more than 24 hours and has a satellite uplink for control, allowing it to be piloted from a great distance.
According to the report, the complex is capable of performing an entire spectrum of reconnaissance missions using optical, radio engineering and radar and can stay in the air for more than a day. A feature of the complex is the use of a satellite control channel, making the radius of its application practically unlimited.
Altius-U is said to be the final design that came out in the project so far. After lagging behind for years, Russia is trying to catch up on drone technology. In the recent past, it has revealed a number of drones under development – from attack to reconnaissance. The video shows the drone’s flight and maneuvres in the sky, as well as landing.