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Project to design multi-purpose far-range UAVs about to be completed in Russia

The source did not name the project that he was talking about

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. A project to design multi-purpose far-range drones is nearing completion as part of Russia's state armament program, Head of the Russian General Staff's Office for UAV Development Maj. Gen. Alexander Novikov said in an interview published on Friday.

"As part of the state armament program, a project is about to be completed to design advanced systems featuring multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with longer range and duration of flight, whose specifications surpass those of their foreign rivals," the official said in an interview with the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

He did not specify what project he was talking about.

Currently, more than 1,900 drones are in service with the Russian armed forces. The most popular of them is the multi-purpose Orlan UAV, which can travel at the distance of about 600 km.

Novikov said that since the start of the anti-terrorism operation in Syria, Russian drones performed over 23,000 flights, lasting 140,000 hours in total. In particular, Russian drones provide 24-hour monitoring of the ground situation, covering almost entire territory of Syria.

He also said that the use of drones "ensured efficient use of high-precision weapons against international terrorists’ infrastructure, at the same time reducing to zero possible victims among the civilian population."

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said in early May that the Kazan-based Simonov Design Bureau plans to complete its work on the Altair heavy drone this year. The aircraft can carry a payload of up to two tonnes. According to unofficial sources, its range is up to 10,000 km. Besides, open sources also reported that the Sukhoi design bureau is currently engaged on a project to build the Okhotnik (Hunter) strike drone with a range of about 3,500 km. Similar projects are run by other companies as well.