MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The latest Privet-mini light short-range reconnaissance drone based on the flying-wing design is undergoing tests on the battlefield in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Oko Design Bureau told TASS on Thursday.
"A new Privet-mini cheap short-range light-wing hand-launched reconnaissance drone has been sent to the special operation area for tests in a combat environment. The aerial vehicle has been supplied to several units, including those with the successful experience of employing our Privet-82 drone," the design bureau said.
Aside from its low cost, the new drone is easy to operate, it said.
"The concept is to be simple and cheap and available for use at the company level with no need for an operator’s long training. Correspondingly, the aerial vehicle is outfitted with cheap cameras as the drone, considering its size, can operate from quite low altitudes of about 300-400 meters where it becomes actually acoustically and physically invisible. In addition, the drone has demonstrated its high resistance to enemy electronic warfare systems," the design bureau explained.
The Privet-mini is designed to ferret out targets at short distances, it said.
"The aim is to ‘fly and see,’ adjust artillery fire or provide recorded situational data rather than to hover in the air in the search for serious targets. The drone’s daytime and nighttime models have been engineered. They are distinguished by the color of their body, daytime and nighttime cameras and a thermal imager," the design bureau said.
Earlier, the Oko Design Bureau created the Privet-82 aircraft-type kamikaze drone designed for counter-battery warfare and assaults of strongholds. The design bureau is currently working on creating the drone’s reconnaissance version.