Large mining and geological exploration companies showed interest in the Alpha-E helicopter-type drone at the Mining Forum and Exhibition MINEX Russia 2026, which is taking place in Moscow. This was reported by the press service of the Kalashnikov concern.
A number of private and state-owned gold mining and subsoil exploration organizations have requested commercial proposals from OOO "GK Tikhiye Krylya".
GK Tikhiye Krylya (part of the Kalashnikov concern) presented modern approaches for searching and assessing the mineral potential of regions at the forum. This involves collecting information using the Alpha-E drone:
- aerial photography
- airborne laser scanning
- aeromagnetic survey
- aerogamma spectrometry
The company's specialists process the received data themselves and provide the result. Aerial surveying is significantly faster than ground-based information collection, emphasized the Kalashnikov press service.
The performance of Alpha-E is 290 linear km/day. This is the highest indicator in the country for drones of this type weighing up to 30 kg.
The helicopter is capable of high-precision magnetic surveying, contouring the terrain at extremely low altitudes in the mountains across a wide range of scales from 1:1,000 to 1:50,000. Using various methods, GK Tikhiye Krylya obtains maps of anomalous magnetic fields, which are used to refine the geological and structural-tectonic structure of the studied area. With their help, it is possible to more accurately predict locations for drilling and mining operations.