The Russian military-industrial holding company "Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant" (KMZ) has created the first unmanned boat (naval surface drone) for the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The vessel, which received the working title "Dandelion", will soon be sent for combat testing. This was announced by the managing director of KMZ, Mikhail Danilenko.
"Dandelion" is a high-speed unmanned carrier boat. According to Danilenko, by the end of 2023, the plant will produce a pilot batch of 10 such naval drones.
Previously, www1.ru wrote that the first unmanned boats will develop speeds up to 80 km/h, with a range of 200 km. It can accommodate up to 600 kg of TNT or other explosives on board.
It is noted that the boat can be used as a platform for launching a flying drone or for placing means of suppressing drones.
Russia is creating naval drones not only for military but also for civilian purposes. Earlier, the "Technosphere" center in Sakhalin presented a surface hydrograph drone, which is needed for constructing maps of water body depths, and collecting soil/water for analysis.