The Kronstadt company has created a flying model of the Fregat unmanned tiltrotor. Vladimir Voronov, Deputy General Director of the company and head of the Center for Advanced Studies, spoke about this in an interview with the RIA Novosti agency.

Kronstadt has created a drone that can fly both as an airplane and as a helicopter. Thanks to this quality, its flight range is tripled compared to a helicopter drone,” Voronov said.

He noted that due to the combination of the qualities of an aircraft and a helicopter, the flight range of the drone will be increased. According to Voronov, this design of convertiplanes is a global trend. “The VTOL is the holy grail of modern aviation. Agusta Westland and Lockheed Martin, as well as other world aviation leaders, are working on this,” Voronov emphasized.

“The creation of a flying model demonstrates the feasibility of the concept of creating an apparatus of such a scheme as a whole, which in turn paves the way for the start of work on heavier versions of UAVs - unmanned aerial vehicles,” Denis Fedutinov, an expert in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, told the agency.

The convertoplane "Fregat" is designed for air monitoring, delivery of goods and performance of aviation work at a great distance from the places of basing troops. Depending on the configuration, the takeoff weight of the vehicle during vertical takeoff ranges from 500 kg to 1400 kg, with horizontal takeoff from 650 to 1800 kg.

The payload of the drone varies from 125 to 300 kg. The wingspan is from 4 to 7 m. The flight speed is on average 60-70 km / h. Flight range ranges from 1.5 to 3 km. The duration of the flight is from 4 to 7 hours.

Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces (VKS) of Russia, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, that in Russia they began to work on the creation of heavy UAVs and convertiplanes for army needs.

“Work in Russia is going in all directions: both small and medium, and a large drone, and convertiplanes,” Bondarev said. According to him, in the future, drones will work in a single control system and perform tasks in a “flock”. He noted that the creation of such a network-centric system will further reduce the cost of training drone operators.

“The unmanned theme is developing. Be that as it may, it is more expensive to train a pilot than to put a good autopilot on a plane. If already now an operator can control one or two drones, then over time, with the development of the ground component, he will be able to control five or even ten devices, so it will be even cheaper, ”added the commander-in-chief of the airborne forces.

During the International Aviation and Space Salon MAKS-2015, the Kronstadt Group held a presentation of a promising high-speed unmanned aerial vehicle Fregat without an airfield base.
As part of the program for the creation of unmanned aerial systems, JSC Kronstadt begins the development of a high-speed UAV without an airfield base Fregat. According to the technical design, the Fregat will combine the versatility of vertical takeoff and landing with the flight performance of an aircraft scheme, which will make it possible to perform aerial work in areas with undeveloped aviation infrastructure at a great distance from the bases, the company explained.

The Fregat UAV, designed to solve the tasks of aerial reconnaissance and cargo delivery, will be able to carry up to 1,700 kg of payload when taking off by plane and up to 1,000 kg when taking off by helicopter. The maximum flight altitude will be 8000 meters, the expected duration is about 10 hours.
The project will be implemented in several stages. At the first stage, a flight demonstrator model is created to test the main technical solutions. At the second stage, the development and testing of an experimental model of limited capabilities based on a serial aircraft engine is being carried out. Depending on the results of the second stage, a decision will be made on the implementation of R & D to create a prototype, the company noted.

At all stages of the project, the resources and competencies of the Kronstadt Group, obtained during the implementation of other projects in the development, production and operation of unmanned systems, will be used.
“The development of a UAV without an airfield base “Fregat” meets modern trends in the development of aviation technology,” said Nikolay Dolzhenkov, General Director of the unmanned direction of Kronstadt JSC. “A device with similar characteristics has serious prospects and will be in demand by a wide range of consumers to perform various tasks: from aerial monitoring to prompt delivery of goods.”
“Serial production of the Frigate will be launched in 2022,” Dolzhenkov added.

SPECIFICATIONS
Span, m: 19, with folded consoles - 10;
Height, m: 3.1;
Flight duration, h: 10;
Practical range, km: 5000;
Max payload during airplane takeoff, kg: 1700;
Max payload during vertical takeoff, kg: 1000;
Takeoff weight during vertical takeoff, kg: 7000;
Flight speed range km/h: 0-600;
Maximum flight altitude, m: 8000

The Kronstadt group presented at the exhibition Robotization in the Armed Forces a complex of unmanned systems, including a promising airfield-based UAV Fregat, Stanislav Vartanyan, head of the external communications department of the Kronstadt group, told Zvezda TV channel. and combines the capabilities of a helicopter scheme - vertical take-off, as well as the advantages of an aircraft scheme - high speed and flight range, ”said Vartanyan.“ Frigate ”is designed for dispersed use of aviation forces and assets in areas with no airfield infrastructure, as well as when deck-based for solving the problems of ships and formations of the Navy. Vertical takeoff and landing are provided by rotary high-pressure fans. The device is presented in two dimensions. The model with a wingspan of seven meters has a maximum flight range of 3,000 kilometers and a maximum takeoff weight in vertical takeoff of 1,400 kilograms. At the same time, the Frigate can stay in the air for up to seven hours. Vartanyan specified that the use of the Frigate, which is being developed as part of the Aeronet roadmap of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, is not limited to the military sphere. “Its use is quite wide - any tasks associated with unmanned aerial vehicles in conditions of limited ground infrastructure. Since the vehicle does not need a runway, it can perform tasks in hard-to-reach areas of the Arctic, where there is no developed airfield infrastructure,” Vartanyan explained. “In this case, deck-based can be expressed in an oil platform, and the helipad that platforms are usually equipped with is quite enough to complete the entire set of aviation tasks,” Vartanyan said. So far, according to him, the state order for the device is not yet available, but interest in it is quite large. In addition, Vartanyan said, the company presented at the exhibition an unmanned complex of small dimensions "Vyakhir", which allows you to perform any range of tasks that are not associated with a large payload. This device can monitor buildings and structures, monitoring of the traffic situation and public events, ecological real monitoring, monitoring in the interests of agriculture, as well as solving a whole range of tasks in search and rescue operations. The device, weighing six kilograms, can carry an infrared camera, a digital video camera, a high-resolution camera, a multispectral camera and measuring equipment. for the unmanned aerial vehicle industry. One of these developments is an airborne radar complex,” said a representative of the Kronstadt group. In addition to unmanned systems, the company presented at the exhibition a universal manipulator that allows you to control manned UAVs. It is a robotic arm with which the operator controls the UAV and payload.
Photo: Group "Kronstadt"

09.02.2016


The Kronstadt Group will demonstrate innovative solutions in the field of unmanned systems for the civil and military sectors within the framework of the conference "Robotics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation".
In the congress and exhibition center of the military-patriotic park of culture and recreation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation "Patriot", specialists and guests of the forum will be presented with a static display of promising samples of robotics at the exhibition site.
The exposition of the Kronstadt Group presents the most relevant developments of the Group's companies. The airfield-based unmanned aerial vehicle "Fregat" is designed for dispersed use of aviation forces and assets in areas with no airfield infrastructure, as well as deck-based to solve the problems of ships and formations of the Navy. The onboard polarimetric radar complex solves the problems of all-weather and round-the-clock remote sensing of the Earth for the purposes of exploration, oceanography, monitoring of ice conditions, research of the Earth's natural resources, monitoring of emergency situations. The booth also presents a complex with an ultralight remotely piloted aircraft "Vikhr", a complex with a remotely piloted aircraft of an aircraft type and a multifunctional control unit for unmanned aerial vehicles and payload.
Group "Kronstadt"

10.05.2016

The flight model of the airfield-based Fregat drone has successfully passed tests, confirming a number of its characteristics, RIA Novosti said on Tuesday during the SOFEX-2016 arms exhibition, a representative of the UAV developer company, the Kronstadt Group.
The Fregat UAV project was first presented at the MAKS-2015 aerospace show in Zhukovsky. According to the technical concept, it will combine the versatility of vertical take-off and landing with the flight performance of an aircraft scheme, which makes it possible to operate UAVs in areas with undeveloped infrastructure at a great distance from their bases.
“We have proposed an aerodynamic design of an aircraft with rotary fan propellers, aimed primarily at achieving a long flight range (2-3 times greater than the range of modern helicopters) and high speed (at least 500 kilometers per hour). A flying model was created and its flight tests were carried out, which confirmed the fundamental feasibility of high-speed flight with vertical takeoff and landing,” the agency’s interlocutor said.
It is expected that the "Fregat" will be able to carry up to 1,700 kilograms of payload when taking off "like an airplane" and up to one ton - when taking off by helicopter. The maximum flight altitude will be 8 thousand meters, the expected duration is about 10 hours. The UAV will perform a wide range of tasks: from aerial monitoring to prompt delivery of goods.
RIA News

SOFEX 2016 - 11th INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE OF SPECIAL FORCES

21.05.2016
A prototype of the Fregat multi-purpose heavy vertical take-off and landing drone is planned to be created by 2020. Vadim Smirnov, General Director of JSC Technologies for Aviation (part of the Kronstadt group of companies), told TASS about this.
“We are seriously developing the project of a civilian version of the Fregat drone for multi-purpose use. Approximately in the region of 2020, a prototype will be created, ”he said.
"Fregat" refers to heavy drones, on its basis it is planned to develop a whole line of such devices weighing over 1 ton, Smirnov noted. Their range will be over 1,000 kilometers. Such a drone can stay in the air for up to 8-10 hours. According to Smirnov, an experimental flight model has recently been tested.
“It has a very serious carrying capacity and a flight speed of over 500 km / h, it belongs to an aircraft-type UAV, but it is able to land and take off both from a standstill and from limited areas with a short takeoff,” the agency’s interlocutor noted.
He clarified that the drone is being developed on an initiative basis, it can be offered to customers not only in Russia, but also abroad. “The scope of such a drone is extremely wide. These are the oil and gas industries, monitoring, transportation of goods,” the head of the company explained. According to him, the most effective use of "Fregat" will be in areas where the airfield infrastructure is not developed, for example, in the Arctic. At the same time, for law enforcement agencies, the possibility of its deck-based deployment is provided.
“The control of such a device is as automatic as possible, although in the future it is possible to create an optionally piloted version,” the agency’s interlocutor summed up.
TASS

02.10.2016

A Russian VTOL cargo drone weighing up to eight tons can be created by 2025 with appropriate government funding, Vladimir Voronov, deputy general director of the Kronstadt company, told TASS on Saturday.
Now the company is working on a civilian version of the Fregat unmanned vehicle, the mass of which will be one ton. This development was first presented at the MAKS-2015 air show, it should appear in hardware by 2020.
“We have created and tested a flight-research model of the Frigate. The feasibility of the selected aerodynamic scheme was confirmed. Based on the results achieved, it is planned to create a device weighing 500 kg - this will take one and a half to two years. Then, by 2020, create a drone weighing one ton. And somewhere by 2025, it is quite realistic to create an apparatus weighing seven to eight tons on its basis, ”said Voronov.
Thus, on the basis of the "Fregat" there will be a whole line of unmanned vertical takeoff and landing vehicles capable of high-speed flight over long distances. The largest device will have a wingspan of 20 meters, the source said. “According to our calculations, it will be able to lift up to two tons of cargo and transport it without landing over distances of about 2.5-3 thousand km at speeds up to 500 kilometers per hour,” he specified.
According to Voronov, Kronstadt has a significant technological backlog in the field of creating heavy drones that can be used, including in the oil and gas industry. “But the funds that we can spend on advanced research and development are quite limited. The pace of creating a heavy off-airfield-based drone in Russia will depend on state funding, ”said the deputy head of Kronstadt, without specifying what funds are needed.
At the same time, Voronov said, a “very large reserve” has already been created for the ground complex, on-board equipment and software for the heavy Frigate. “According to my assessment, more than half of the work in this direction has already been done,” he said.
TASS

15.05.2017
The Kronstadt group has created a preliminary design for a medium vertical take-off drone of the Fregat family. The CEO of the company Armen Isahakyan spoke about this in an interview with TASS.
“We have already confirmed the performance characteristics of a medium-class VTOL UAV of the Fregat family on scale models, carried out full-scale field work, made a preliminary project - in a word, we are fully prepared to implement this project,” he said.
The general director of the company emphasized that the launch of the average Frigate on the market directly depends on the degree of market maturity. “I rate it as low so far. And the reason is, first of all, in matters of regulation, security, technology readiness, product economics,” Isahakyan listed.
In addition, the Kronstadt group has long been engaged in the subject of a heavy drone.
TASS

31.08.2019


The Fregat unmanned tiltrotor being developed today by the Russian Kronstadt group is an aircraft of a fundamentally new type, which in the future will replace helicopters and airplanes, the company's CEO Sergei Bogatikov told RIA Novosti during the MAKS-2019 air show.
Today, the Fregat UAV, first presented at the MAKS-2017 exhibition, exists in the form of a flying model with an articulated wing. The device is capable of vertical take-off like a helicopter and develop high speed and maneuverability like an airplane. In the future, it is planned that the device will weigh seven tons, the payload is one ton.
“When the Frigate project is implemented, the world around us will change: there will be a new mobility within and between cities, this is a serious replacement for both helicopter and aircraft technology. At the same time, the cost of operation will be significantly lower than that of aircraft of these types. The speed limit for such a machine is 550 kilometers per hour, and the cost of a flight hour corresponds to the price of an aircraft, ”said Bogatikov.
The interlocutor of the agency noted that this project should become a large state program of the “second generation supersonic level”, the implementation of which will require new technologies, materials and power plants.
"Frigate" refers to the aircraft of the next generation, which we will not be able to do with the help of one group "Kronstadt". This is a work at the national level, it requires support, industry institutes and energy companies should participate in it. Above this scheme - vertical take-off and then "aircraft" flight - the whole world will work for the next 10 years, ”Bogatikov emphasized.
Speaking about the development of similar technologies in other countries, the CEO of the company noted that the United States already has a similar experimental device.
RIA News

In terms of energy, a three-stage implementation is envisaged:
-demonstration model with electric drive;
- a model with a diesel engine, which will allow to realize a dimension of about 1500 kg;
- in the end, the TV7-117 engine will be used, which will ensure the operation of the UAV in dimensions up to 7000 kg, while propeller thrust will be provided - 2 x 4.3 t.s., fenestron - 125 kW, rate of climb during vertical takeoff - 5 m/s.
At all stages, an existing (serial) main engine will be used to reduce the cost of work.

"Frigate"
The presented project of the UAV "Fregat" is the development of a longer perspective.
“Its creation is carried out jointly with the Advanced Research Foundation (FPI) and Vnesheconombank (VEB). The device is a concentration of innovative technologies based on high-pressure lifting and marching fans developed jointly with TsAGI,” Nikolai Dolzhenkov described the highlights of the project. In addition, he attributed the manufacture of the airframe structure using coal infusion technology and a new integrated control system (CCS) to the advanced components of the project.
According to Dolzhenkov, the Fregat high-speed non-aerodrome-based UAV (the company prefers not to pronounce the term tiltrotor) will be able to combine the advantages of an airplane and a helicopter due to vertical takeoff and greater transport efficiency compared to a helicopter. The speed of the UAV will reach 600...700 km/h, which is unrealizable on the aircraft of a helicopter scheme. Vertical takeoff / landing will allow the use of the device in areas with poorly developed infrastructure, for example, in Western and Eastern Siberia, at a great distance from the base (practical range - 5000 km). The aircraft will be able to be used to solve the problems of aerial reconnaissance and cargo delivery, will be able to carry up to 1,700 kg of payload during takeoff in an airplane way and up to 1,000 kg during vertical takeoff. The maximum flight altitude will be 8000 meters, and the duration will be about 10 hours.
“A device with similar characteristics has serious prospects and will be in demand by a wide range of consumers to perform various tasks: from aerial monitoring to prompt delivery,” said Nikolay Dolzhenkov, General Director of the unmanned direction of Kronstadt JSC, regarding the range of potential customers and operators. “Marketing work has been carried out: we are talking with Gazprom on this topic, Yug-Neft, and other enterprises, and we see a certain interest.” Of course, this is not advertised, but such an ambitious project cannot be focused only on the civilian market, which is still limited to individual needs due to the specifics and price of such a UAV. Denis Fedutinov, a well-known expert in the field of UAVs, also points to this: “If successful, the device will be able to find application both in military tasks and in the civilian sphere.” Of course, it is only a coincidence that the stars of the Russian Air Force flaunted on the wing of the presented model.
According to the press release, the project will be implemented in several stages. At the first stage, it is planned to create a flight demonstrator model for testing the main technical solutions. At the second stage - to develop and test an experimental model with limited capabilities based on a serial aircraft engine. Further, depending on the results of the second stage, a decision will be made on the implementation of R&D to create a prototype. In words, Dolzhenkov described this process as follows: “we have a clear step-by-step work plan that ensures the creation of a conceptual model, a demonstration sample, R&D and entry into mass production after 2022.” Currently, the company is just starting to develop.
Already by the preliminary (by the way, patented) layout of the presented model, you can see that the device will have a very original scheme. Regarding the features of the power plant, it became known that two lifting-flight fans in a profiled ring will receive multi-blade variable-pitch propellers with an independently controlled rotation drive. The power plant will include one engine with a torque transmission unit (mechanical gearbox). Pitch control will be carried out using an engine with a fenestron located in the rear fuselage. Dolzhenkov noted that in terms of energy, a three-stage implementation is expected: a demonstration model with an electric drive; a model with a diesel engine, which will allow you to realize a dimension of about 1500 kg; Ultimately, the TV7-117 engine will be used, which will ensure the functioning of the UAV in dimensions up to 7000 kg, while propeller thrust will be provided - 2 x 4.3 t.s., fenestron - 125 kW, rate of climb during vertical takeoff - 5 m/s. At all stages, an existing (serial) main engine will be used to reduce the cost of work.

Characteristics of the Frigate UAV (tablet):
Wing - 19 m
Span with folded consoles - 10 m
Height - 3.1 m
Flight duration - 10 hours
Practical range - 5000 km
Max. payload, when taking off in an airplane way - 1700 kg
Max. payload, vertical takeoff - 1000 kg
Max. fuel mass - 2400 kg
Takeoff weight (vertical takeoff) - 7000 kg
Flight speed range - 0…600 km/h
Maximum height - 8000 m