The production cost for the Sokil-300 project is far less expensive an option compared to similar drones manufactured elsewhere.
Oleksandr Mamay / Facebook.com
Ukraine’s military export agency, Ukrspecexport, which is part of the Ukroboronprom defense giant, has unveiled the Sokil-300 (Falcon-300) strike drone at the biennial International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in UAE.
The Sokil-300 surveillance and reconnaissance UAV with strike capabilities has been developed by the Kyiv-based LUCH Design Bureau for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Defence-Blog.com reports.
The Sokil-300 is armed with four guided missiles with a range of up to 10 km. It is able to bear a payload of up to 300 kg, it has a maximum takeoff load of 1,225 kg, and boasts of a max speed of 335 kmh.
The drone is 8.57m-long, with a wingspan of 14m.
As noted by the LUCH designers, the UAV’s baseline version includes the MC-500B engine manufactured by Zaporizhia-based Motor Sich, while an advanced version features the Austrian, turbo-charged Rotax 914 engine with a maximum flight time of 26 hours, a range of 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles).
Earlier in November 2020, LUCH’s chief designer, Oleh Korostyliov, said the project’s total development costs are expected to reach 40-45 million Ukrainian hryvnias ($1.4-1.6 million), a far less expensive option than for the similar drone systems produced elsewhere.
(c)UNIAN 2021
Wow, nice. Able to carry up to 4 75kg missiles? Don’t sell them until the Moskali occupation is ended. That will off an incentive to countries that would like to buy them and also arm our forces. I suppose with a couple hundred of these in the air it would disturb the toilet thieves!