The new drone developed by Hardberry-RusFactor is called Lovkiy (which can be translated from Russian as “dexterous” or “agile”) and is designed to perform reconnaissance and artillery spotting missions.
According to the drone’s designers, Lovkiy is essentially an unmanned convertiplane that flies as a fixed-wing drone and uses the copter mode for takeoff and landing.
This design allows the drone to attain a maximum speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour, whereas most quadcopters currently in use in the Ukrainian conflict zone have a maximum speed of about 85 kilometers per hour, Hardberry-RusFactor claimed.
The materials the drone is made of also make the craft practically invisible to enemy air defenses.
How Fast Are Russian Drones?
Lovkiy’s convertiplane design makes it faster than other more conventional copter drones at Russia’s disposal.
For example, the Russian FPV drone Upyr can reach a speed of up to 100 kilometers per hour while doing what it does best: delivering explosive payload of up to 2 kilograms (such as a rocket-propelled grenade) to enemy positions.
The famous Geranium-2 kamikaze drone has a maximum speed of about 180-200 kilometers per hour, although veteran Russian combat aircraft pilot Vladimir Popov revealed last month that an upgraded jet version of this UAV can reach a speed of about 450-600 kilometers per hour.
Meanwhile, the Orion fixed-wing drones, which can be used to conduct both strike and reconnaissance missions, can also attain a speed of up to 200 kilometers per hour.
For its part, the S-70 Okhotnik (Hunter) developed by Sukhoi can reach a speed of up to 1,000 kilometers per hour.