RuAviation

The Albatros company from Korolev near Moscow has started assembling reconnaissance UAVs of aircraft type of its own design, which are designed to track and monitor the movement of enemy equipment and manpower in the zone of the Defence Forces. This was reported in the press service of the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Science of the Moscow region.

The Albatross M5 UAV is designed as a “flying wing” with a pair of keels under the fuselage. The wingspan is 3.3 metres. Flight duration is not less than 4.5 hours. The propulsion system is a collectorless electric motor, which drives the thrust propeller. It is powered by four Li-Ion batteries.

The Albatross has a cruising speed of 72 km/h and a maximum speed of 120 km/h, with a range of operating altitudes from 80 to 1000 metres. In one flight, the maximum route length can reach 300 km, and the area of the surveyed territory – up to 20 square kilometres. The radio communication equipment installed on the UAV provides communication at a distance of up to 50 km, and at line of sight – up to 90 km.

The maximum take-off mass of the UAV is 15 kg, maximum payload mass is 5 kg. On-board telemetry data is recorded continuously during the entire flight. Take-off is performed by means of an elastic or pneumatic catapult, landing – by parachute. Albatross M5 is resistant to wind gusts of up to 18 metres per second. The operating temperature range is from -30ºC to +50ºC.

Photos and video from the UAV camera are transmitted in real time. For aerial photography 24- or 42-megapixel Sony cameras mounted on a fixed platform are used. Video monitoring is carried out by 10x or 30x Sony or Tamron cameras with thermal imaging module on 2- or 3-axis gyro-stabilised platform.

In January 2023, Albatros LLC became a resident of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, where the company’s head office and drone production are located. The company’s subdivisions are also located in Korolev, St. Petersburg, Tyumen, Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar and Stavropol.