MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian specialists have designed a micro helicopter enabling soldiers to quickly overcome minefields and water obstacles, Chief Designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions Dmitry Kuzyakin told TASS.

"Specialists of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions working jointly with advanced Russian engineering groups have developed a piloted micro helicopter. This fundamentally new vehicle is capable of flying below trees, maneuvering between obstacles like a sports bike. Today soldiers promptly move in the special military operation area, using small highly mobile ground vehicles like ATVs and off-road motorcycles. However, they have one problem: they move on the ground and thus depend on terrain, the condition of roads and are vulnerable to enemy mines and loitering drones. They cannot leap over obstacles, water barriers and forest belts," Kuzyakin explained.

The new technologies have made it possible to combine the maneuverability of an ATV and a helicopter, he said.

"The vehicle is assembled on site within half an hour. The minimal flight altitude reduces the risks of serious injuries upon a fall, if something goes wrong. With the observance of flight rules, it is safer by several times to move aboard this vehicle in a combat zone. Of course, this helicopter can be shot down by a drone but any ground equipment can also be subjected to an attack. However, a micro helicopter has greater chances to overcome a dangerous sector faster than the enemy is able to respond," the chief designer said.

The micro helicopter is simple to operate, he said. "Most combatants with the experience of operating FPV drones in the piloted mode will easily change them for this helicopter. A helicopter simulator has been developed to speed up training and gain necessary skills before sitting at the wheel," he said.

The extremely small helicopter has a coaxial rotor design, Kuzyakin said.

"The reduced size does not deprive it of the advantages offered by the coaxial helicopter configuration: high maneuverability, compact dimensions, shorter main rotors and reliability. Russia has always possessed the highest competences in the field of coaxial helicopter-building. Soviet and subsequently Russian specialists in the field of the coaxial helicopter design are without an exaggeration a hallmark of helicopter-building on a global scale," the chief designer stressed.

As the experience of the special military operation shows, "victory is forged by a combination of solutions," Kuzyakin said.

"Today we have a new tool in the package of innovations for the military designed to make the service of our soldiers safer, far more effective and lethal for the enemy. If we manage to make this aerial ATV mass-produced and enable our guys to ‘fly,’ the frontline situation will quickly change. The technical characteristics are not disclosed but it is enough to say that a helicopter can carry an armed and fully equipped soldier from a local settlement to a district center and back at the height of roadside poles and below trees," the chief designer said.