Russia unveils a small reconnaissance drone that flies at an altitude of 5 km

INA- SOURCES

 Russian engineers have designed a new unmanned military reconnaissance aircraft “Merlin VR” that can fly at an altitude of 5 kilometers.
The new small drone is also able to monitor the atmosphere continuously, automatically or semi-automatically, for 10 hours.
The maximum useful payload weight of the drone was 6.5 kilograms. This payload may include different types of radars of small dimensions operating in the optical or infrared.
 
 
It is very difficult to detect the drone when it is flying at a high altitude, thanks to the fact that it is equipped with a hybrid engine.
 
A source told “Novosti” news agency in the Russian Defense Industry Complex that the drone was presented to experts in the Ministry of Defense, where they are now studying the possibility of conducting tests for it.
 
It is noteworthy that the Russian Institute of Information Technologies was responsible for designing the Merlin drone. And he had previously revealed an earlier project for a drone “Flybuster”, which was also equipped with radar and various sensors. But its dimensions and useful payload were smaller, compared to the Merlin drone, as well as its lower flight altitude (“flybuster”) and shorter flight time.