Russia continues its Arctic development program to ensure safe navigation along the Northern Sea Route (NSR, the shortest sea route between the European part of Russia and the Far East - editor's note www1.ru). The NSR Directorate is preparing the final tests of a drone for monitoring ice conditions by the end of December 2023.
The drones will become part of the Unified Information Ecosystem, which will also include 9 space satellites (managed by Roscosmos), onboard systems, and a unified digital services platform (ECPS).
MIPT engineers were tasked with creating a drone capable of operating in the harsh conditions of the Arctic. The university's engineers modified the drone of a technology partner, replacing the power plant, fuel system, and control system. The prototype, weighing 60 kg, combined the capabilities of an airplane and a quadcopter.
The drone has wings with a span of 4 m, a tail assembly, and four propellers in the horizontal plane. The MIPT development turned out to be hybrid: it flies on gasoline, while the propellers run on batteries.
It is equipped with a radar for obtaining detailed radar images with a coverage of up to 10 km. These images are transmitted to the control station every few seconds, where they are compared with data on the geographic information system server. Using this data, the operator creates ice maps and offers the icebreaker captain a safe route.
It was previously reported that in 2024, Rosatom will order the construction of four diesel icebreakers for navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Their creation may be undertaken at the Zvezda plant.