Article Posted on : - Aug 10, 2011

A file photo of Sigma 5 aircraft on which the Lutch UAV is based.

MOSCOW (PTI): Trying to catch up with the Americans, Russia Tuesday announced it will unveil its first armed UAVs at the next weeks MAKS-2011 airshow.

Named 'Lutch' (Ray), the UAV, its makers said, can carry up to 150-170 kgs load of guided weapons on fuselage pylons including missiles.

The pilotless aircraft is designed for optical reconnaissance, radar, radio-relay and electronic reconnaissance missions, its makers Vega said.

Russia will thus join the US in becoming a second nation to field armed UAVs. Israel, France and UK are also at an advanced stage of making such weapon platforms, which have proved lethal in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen against militants.

"We will show a full-scale mock-up of the medium-range UAV at MAKS- 2011," a Vega official was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

Based on the Sigma 5 aircraft, Lutch has a 250-350-kms surveillance range, which can be augmented to 500 kms.

It can stay in air for no less than 18 hours and extra fuel supplies would increase it to 30 hours.

With 800 kgs of maximum take-off weight it flies at speeds of up to 270 kms per hour.

The Russian military, traditionally trained to fight over vast Eurasian expanses, have been a late entrant to this frontier technology.

Russian military experts saw little application for UAV's until the five day Caucasus war with Georgia in August 2008 in which the US trained Georgian army had effectively deployed Israeli UAV's against the Russian Army.

Russia has already bought some UAV's from Israel and the Defence Ministry has appointed Sukhoi as the main contractor for developing drones for precision strikes at longer range, local media reported.