MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Serial production of Russia's first domestically produced 45 kW engine for heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles will begin in February, Executive Director of the Spektr Design Bureau (Novosibirsk) Andrey Bratenkov told TASS.

"The Spektr Design Bureau, Istok Research and Production Enterprise, BAS TO Research and Production Center, and Gorny-TsOT are preparing for the serial production of the ED 9060, the largest electric aircraft engine to date, using domestically produced Sm-Co magnets, in February. The engine will be installed on the Ilya Muromets transport octocopter, which is capable of carrying a payload of 250 kg over a range of approximately 250 km," Bratenkov said.

According to him, a small-scale production run of 20 engines is planned for February. "We hope that the project will attract the attention of specialists from the Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies of the Russian Defense Ministry," Bratenkov added.

It was previously reported that the cost of Russian-made engine for heavy UAVs would be lower than that of foreign equivalents.