Moscow, June 28 (Representative) Russia plans to produce attack helicopter drones weighing 750 kg to destroy enemy manpower and lightly armoured equipment, two sources in the Russian defence industry complex told Sputnik. “Russian Helicopters Holding Co (of Rostec State Corp) can become a manufacturer of 750-kg unmanned aerial vehicles. It is planned to produce drones that will be built according to a single-rotor scheme with a tail rotor, that is, like a regular helicopter,” a source said. “This is a multi-functional reconnaissance and attack drone that can be used for the searching and destruction of enemy personnel, lightly armoured vehicles as well as other targets,” the source said.
Another source noted that the drone would be able to carry a payload of up to 200 kg. “In its basic configuration, it will have a gyro-stabilized optoelectronic system, an aiming system, and six all-round cameras. The unmanned helicopter will be equipped with a tank version of the Kalashnikov machine gun with 550 rounds of ammunition, eight unguided rockets, and 16 anti-tank bombs,” the source said. As of today, there are no serial helicopter attack drones in Russia with a developed set of weapons, Denis Fedutinov, a leading military expert in the field of unmanned aircraft, told Sputnik, adding that such a machine would be useful, for example, in urban areas or in operations at sea.