A Russian heavy transport drone is being tested by the military. The large quadcopter aircraft can lift up to 200kg of payload and is touted as an affordable frontline logistics solution.
Called ‘Perun’ after the Slavic god of thunder, the drone was showcased by the Defense Ministry on Monday, which released footage of the vehicle in action.
The video shows two distinct versions of the aircraft, one of them featuring coaxial rotors that generate enough lifting power to fly an armed person on a wire. According to the ministry, it uses domestically-developed software. The video shows a maneuver in which it countered the swinging motion of a passenger before he was lowered to the ground.
There is also footage of a different model of the drone with what appears to be a shoulder-launched Fagot anti-tank missile mounted on top. The weapon was fired both from the ground and air in the short clip, which has circulated on social media since at least January.
Perun is reportedly the result of a Russian effort to develop a platform similar to Ukraine’s Baba Yaga drone. Kiev’s forces have militarized a relatively large six-rotor agricultural drone model and are using these aircraft in the conflict with Russia to supply troops and drop small munitions on opposing forces.
The Russian version apparently has greater carrying capacity and can be used for medical evacuations from the front line, according to the Defense Ministry. It is also being considered for transporting small commando teams for surprise attacks and as a weapons platform. The military plans to test it with a machine gun and a standard air-launched rocket.