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First flight of Russia's heavy UAV Okhotnik planned for July-August — source

A source in the aircraft manufacturing industry said that the first flight of the Okhotnik UAV will be performed at the aerodrome of the Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant

© Yury Smityuk/TASS

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MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/. The first flight of Russia's heavy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Okhotnik is planned for July or August, a source in the aircraft manufacturing industry told TASS on Wednesday.

"As part of factory testing, the Okhotnik UAV will make its first flight at the aerodrome of the Novosibirsk Aircraft Plant in the summer, preliminarily in July or August. The flight will not last for long — several dozens of minutes at the maximum," the source said.

The source added that the UAV will perform its flight independently, in accordance with a flight task in its onboard computer. "However, teams on the ground will intervene if necessary," the source noted.

TASS does not have an official confirmation of the information provided by the source.

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