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Russian tech firm unveils Grom folding recon drone at Army forum

The latest recon drone is expected to be eventually tested in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine

© Ekaterina Adamova/TASS

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 18. /TASS/. A Grom (Thunder) folding quadcopter designed to ferret out targets and drop munitions was unveiled at the Army 2023 international arms show, Vitaly Dolgov, head of the Laboratory of External Piloting and UAV Operation at the Kartsev Research Institute of Computer Systems, told TASS on Friday.

"This is a new vehicle and we are demonstrating it for the first time. The Grom is a mobile folding drone. The vehicle folds with just a few movements and easily fits into a backpack. The assembly and disassembly takes five minutes. The aerial vehicle weights just 4 kg without its combat payload. It is also distinguished by its low cost. Its price is not disclosed for the time being but it is quite low," Dolgov said.

The latest recon drone is expected to be eventually tested in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine, he added.

The Grom features flight endurance of 40 minutes and can carry a maximum payload of 4 kg. It can operate within a range of 12 km and accelerate to 60 km/h, he said.

The Army 2023 international military-technical forum is running at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center, the Alabino training ground and the Kubinka airfield outside Moscow on August 14-20. About 1,500 leading Russian defense enterprises and 85 foreign companies and businesses from seven countries are participating in the forum’s expositions and business program.

The forum has been organized by the Russian Defense Ministry. TASS is the forum’s strategic media partner.

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