Ukrainian Army Receives UAV System Manufactured by the Domestic Industry

BpAK-MP-1 system consists of portable control modules and light UAV’s that may be launched by hand, while landing is realized with the use of a parachute. The UAV in question, with a wingspan of 3 meters and length of 129 centimetres, with maximum take-off weight of 5.5 kilograms, is capable of carrying 1.5 kilograms of payload. At an airspeed of 120 kilometres per hour, the Ukrainian airframe is capable of achieving flight endurance of up to 2 hours.

Our UAV systems are three times cheaper to manufacture than their western counterparts. (...) In the current situation, in which Ukraine is, low price, budgetary savings, quality and good technical specification all constitute a significant advantage which may also be a source of success within the foreign markets.

At the moment, all of the manufactured UAV’s are to be received by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fighting against the Separatists, in the Eastern region of the country. Three UAV’s have been manufactured, along with a system for control and data transmissions. These elements of the whole system have been transferred to the Armed Forces. The complete course of development, from design to the final product, has taken a relatively short time - shorter than one year. The UAV is going to be completely based on domestic production.

In the future, the Ukrainian companies of the Ukroboronprom group, which work within the area related to the UAV systems, including the “Meridian” Design Bureau, and the Kiev University of Technology, are going to create a consortium which would be specialized in realization of similar programmes. Numerous UAV designs are being developed at the moment. The initiatives in question are currently at the initial phase of the design process. The above also refers to a variety of UCAV systems.