Belarus has Developed Advanced UAV

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The work on a new Group 1-class unmanned aerial vehicle is nearing completion. The Berkut-3 UAV is manufactured by a Belarus company, AGAT Control Systems, a subsidiary of a state-owned corporate. The UAV and its critical equipment – such as navigation systems and batteries – is manufactured in-house, to differ from earlier UAVs produced by the company.

The system comprises a UAV and a set of modular payloads – including a digital still camera, infrared camera, or TV camera – ground control station (GCS), datalink, and ruggedised storage container.

The Berkut-3 has a wingspan of 3 m and a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) 11 kg, and has the ability to carry a 2 kg payload. It can be assembled within 10 minutes and launched and recovered via a catapult and a parachute respectively, according to janes.com.

The UAV is powered by four Li-ion batteries and features a nose-mounted electric motor with a tractor propeller that enables it to attain level flight speeds of 65 to 120 km/h.

According to company specifications, the Berkut-3 offers a control radius of more than 50 km and can operate to a service ceiling of 13,123 ft (4,000 m). It can operate in wind conditions of up to 10 m/s, and in temperatures from -40°C o 40°C in moderate rain and snow.

The Berkut UAV series also includes tactical UAVs 1E and 2E.