The new S-76 drone developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau (part of the UAC of the Rostec State Corporation), which was first shown at the Army-2024 forum in August, is capable of delivering cargo up to 200 kg to remote regions of Russia and hard-to-reach settlements.
As noted by the chief designer of the BAS S-76, Evgeny Rubtsov, the S-76 is optimal for such transportation due to its vertical take-off and landing skills: often there is no runway in such corners of Russia. According to Rubtsov, the most pressing need was «regular, daily delivery of goods weighing 100-200 kg to hard-to-reach settlements», these are «perishable products, spare parts, household goods».
However, such drones were able to appear only in the last few years thanks to a leap in scientific and technological progress.
For example, the vertical take-off and landing scheme cannot be implemented using internal combustion engines (ICE), only electric ones. And they, in turn, require such current sources that have appeared only in recent years.
Rubtsov emphasized that engines with high specific power characteristics have recently appeared. At the same time, high-voltage electrical power plants have not been used in Russian aviation at all.
It is known about the S-76 that it can take off vertically from a site of 17x17 meters. The payload of this drone is 300 kg, the flight range is 500 km. In August 2024, NRU "MEI" announced the development of its version of a hybrid power plant for the S-76.
It works like this. The drone has 8 propellers. They provide the possibility of vertical take-off and landing. There is a gasoline cruising engine in the tail section of the fuselage. It starts working after take-off and accelerates the aircraft to the speed at which the wing creates sufficient lift.
The power plant includes a control system and power converters for the electric motors of the UAV propellers. At the beginning of the cruising engine operation, the control system of the power converters stops and rotates the propeller blades. This reduces air resistance.
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