Partizan (transport drone)

2024: Product Announcement

In mid-February 2024, the S. A. Chaplygin Siberian Aviation Research Institute (part of the N.E. Zhukovsky Institute) conducted the first flight tests of a heavy transport unmanned aerial vehicle of ultra-short takeoff and landing. The drone was named "Partizan." The project is being implemented by order of the Advanced Research Fund (FPI).

As the head of the FPI project Grigory Makeich told TASS, the first flight of Partizan was carried out with the participation of the pilot. This is done for safety reasons, as well as for recording flight data for subsequent training of the automatic control system developed on the semi-standard stand.

source = SibNIA

The first flight confirmed a significant increase in take-off and landing characteristics compared to aircraft of this class. The placement of an active blowing system on the aircraft along the entire span of the lower wing will allow Partizan to significantly reduce the runway distance and provide stable control at ultra-low speeds up to 50 km/h, Makeich said.

According to him, the flight lasted 20 minutes. The drone flew at an altitude of 200 m, developing speeds from 50 to 200 km/h. FPI General Director Andrei Grigoriev noted that based on the results of the work, it is planned to create a universal aircraft, the piloting of which will be optional.

Thanks to the presence of an automatic control system, both fully autonomous cargo transportation in autonomous mode and passenger transportation in manned mode can be organized, "he said.

The developers expect that the device will be able to carry goods weighing up to 1 ton over distances of up to 1000 kilometers. At the same time, for take-off and landing, he will have enough 50-50 meters platforms.^[1]

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