A new fixed-wing drone that can be built from salvage is being developed by the Russia-based engineering firm Spektr Design Bureau.
The drone, whose flight tests are scheduled to take place in December, is planned to have a range of up to 30 kilometers and will be able to carry up to 10 kilograms’ worth of payload, Spektr’s Executive Director Andrei Bratenkov told local media.
The production of the new UAV is expected to be relatively cheap as the drone’s parts are supposed to be made from plastic granules and plastic waste via 3D printing.
According to Bratenkov, the drones could be produced directly at the frontline due to the fact that a 3D printer can be brought there via virtually any vehicle and the materials needed to print the drone parts are cheap and relatively easy to procure.
While some of the new drone’s flight controllers were procured in China, the rest of the parts, such as propellers and the engine, are domestically made, Bratenkov added.