KRASNOARMEYSK, September 16 (RIA Novosti) -Russia's first classic unmanned airship, designed by the Dolgoprudny Design Bureau of Automatics (DKBA), has passed factory performance tests and is now at the corrections stage, DKBA's deputy Director General Alexander Kolesov told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
"Russia's first classic unmanned DP-29 airship has just finished its factory performance tests; the defects, identified during these tests are being rapidly eliminated. This airship can be used to provide information to forest workers, the Ministry for Emergencies, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Russian armed forces," Kolesov said.
Kolesov said that unlike the aerostat, which is unpopular in Russia, the unmanned airship is able to perform more maneuvers. According to Kolesov, the unmanned DP-29 airship can reach a height of up to one kilometer (0.62 miles) and spend three hours in the air, carrying cargo weighing up to 10 kilograms.
DKBA has presented unmanned airships before. In 2011, the bureau conducted demonstration flights of the DP-27 Anyuta robotized lenticular airship.
From September 15 to September 17, the town of Krasnoarmeysk, Moscow Region, is hosting a conference devoted to topical issues within robotics. The conference is being held at the "Geodesy" research institute. The list of participants includes delegations from Russia's Federal Security Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry for Emergencies, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Communications, state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom, state-run defense and industrial group Rostech, as well as the directors and chief designers of the Russia's leading military-industrial enterprises.
At the conference, representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense will elaborate practical recommendations for the further development of military and special-purpose robotics.
