Russia's Kalashnikov Concern Shows Upgraded Self-Destructing Drone

KUBINKA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2019) Russia's Kalashnikov Concern presented on Monday a new self-destructing aerial drone that bears a small charge and can seek out and hit a target in a wide radius.

An earlier model of the so-called kamikaze drone, Kub, was unveiled at the IDEX military show in Abu Dhabi in February.

"After the presentation of the first product we received a lot of requests that the operator maintain a video contact with the aircraft until the impact. We present a world's first, a second model in a series of ZALA Lancet strike drones," Vladimir Dmitriev, the company's CEO, said.

The drone can find and hit a target autonomously within an operational range of 25 miles, according to its description on the Kalashnikov website. It transmits video which allows the operator to confirm successful engagement.

The presentation is an overture to this week's Army 2019 defense industry forum in the town of Kubinka near Moscow. The show will begin on Tuesday and will run through Sunday. Rossiya Segodnya news agency is its official media partner.

In addition, Dmitriev told reporters that the Russian Defense Ministry had commissioned a robotic complex called Soratnik.

"The first complex was rolled out a few years ago. We tested it through a pilot operation and have recently received an R&D order. It will be called Soratnik, a completely new product," he said.

The previous project that bore the name Soratnik, which stands for brother-in-arms, was an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle. Dmitriev said experience gained during the production of this combat vehicle would be used for an altogether different robot.