MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. Russian specialists are going to test a cutting-edge drone Inspktor-01 boasting an estimated fuel endurance of 42-45 hours, the chief of a laboratory at the Chemical Physics Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yuri Dobrovolsky has told TASS.
The drone’s unique feature is its new generation hydrogen-air fuel element of domestic manufacture. This technical solution has never been used in drones before. Also, the proposed drone is equipped with an electric motor, which makes the device noiseless and leaves no heat trace.
"The first tests have been carried out already. A test prototype spent 30 hours in the air. By the autumn its non-stop flight time is to exceed 40 hours. I hope that its fuel endurance will range 42-45 hours," he said.
One of the drone’s configurations will be apt for operation in the Arctic.
Three test samples have been built so far. In the long term the devices can be used for reconnaissance and monitoring. The Defence Ministry has taken interest, Dobrovolsky said.
"We hope to be through with this program by 2017. From that moment on it will be available to potential customers. Batch production is due to begin in 2017," he said.
The Inspektor-01 drone is a joint product of the Chemical Physics Institute, the United Aircraft-Building Corporation and the Central Institute of Aircraft Engine Engineering.