A combat tracked amphibious drone has been developed in Omsk, which, in its operating principle, resembles a scaled-down version of the BMP-3. The new design has already been patented in the FIPS database.
The main difference of the development is full control on water. While most similar platforms use one or two waterjets without effective course change, Omsk engineers proposed installing a swivel flap on the waterjet.
It changes the direction of the jet, allowing the drone to maneuver even with a single propulsion unit.
Control is carried out remotely. The operator receives an image from a video camera, and commands are transmitted via radio. On land, the vehicle moves on tracks, and on water, it uses a waterjet with a swivel flap.
The authors note that this scheme makes the platform more versatile compared to existing amphibious vehicles and allows maintaining maneuverability when moving on water without a complex dual-waterjet design.