Sirius (attack drone)

2023: Start of flights

The newest attack drone "Sirius" (another name is "Pacer-RU") made its first flight. This was reported in the company "Kronstadt" (developer of this drone) in mid-August 2023.

The first flight of Sirius took place, flight tests of the drone continue, - said Kronstadt JSC (quoted by TASS).

Attack drone "Sirius"

"Sirius" has two engines and an increased takeoff weight. Sirius will be able to carry KAB-100 bombs, high-explosive FAB-100 bombs, free-falling RBK-500U bombs, and a volume-detonating ODAB-500PMV bomb. It is also assumed that Sirius will be able to carry guided and unguided aircraft missiles. The marine version of the UAV will be able to act as a search and rescue vehicle and reconnaissance. Serial deliveries were planned to begin in 2023.

According to data previously published by Kronstadt, the Sirius UAV belongs to the class of medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles of long flight duration. The wingspan will be up to 23 meters, the flight duration should reach 20 hours. The maximum declared flight altitude is 7,000 meters, the cruising speed of the device will be 180 km/h. The total weight of the combat load of Sirius is 300 kg.

The development of this drone was carried out quite quickly. Obviously, Kronstadt used the developments made according to its previous unmanned system "Pacer." It is also very likely that the heavy version will inherit a number of subsystems that were originally developed for the younger model, - said Denis Fedutinov, a leading expert in the field of unmanned aviation, in a conversation with RIA Novosti in June 2023.

According to him, from the stage of flight tests to entering mass production, the drone has a long way to go, which will probably take at least two years.^[1]

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