The St. Petersburg joint-stock company Kotlin-Novator has introduced a new unmanned aerial vehicle named “Veter” designed for reconnaissance and has begun mass production. This was communicated by Vladislav Udaltsov, head of the company’s unmanned aerial vehicle laboratory, in an interview with TASS (attribution: TASS).
Looking ahead, the company plans to optimize and update the drone as part of its ongoing development program. The plan for 2024 envisions producing around 100 sets per month, with the scale of output contingent on demand and the pace of production expansion (attribution: TASS).
Wind UAV was developed as an alternative to Chinese drones. During the year spent on this project, Udaltsov highlighted several challenges facing Russian unmanned aerial systems, including shortages of electronic components, unsecured radio control channels, and rising costs for consumables. He noted that these issues were identified and subsequently addressed as part of the project’s progress (attribution: TASS).
The “Veter” UAV is described as a compact, short-range quadcopter-type aircraft with a mass of 1.8 kilograms and the ability to carry a payload of up to 1 kilogram, highlighting its role in close-range reconnaissance missions (attribution: TASS).
In related developments, Russia has recently seen the creation of a new drone suppression system aimed at countering aerial threats (attribution: TASS).