New Russian UAV "Grom" / "Thunder"

QuadroFX

QuadroFX

Russia, Chelyabinsk
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Strike UAV destined to accompany manned aircrafts. Designed by "Krohnstadt" design bureau.

Length: 13.8m
Height: 3.8m
Wingspan: 10m
Max takeoff weight: 7000kg
Max payload: 2000kg
Maximum speed: 1000km/h
Cruise speed: 800km/h
Maximum altitude: 12000m
Combat radius: 700km

Armament: Kh-38ML, KAB-500S, KAB-250LG, izd.85 missile, and many more.

Thanks A.V. Karpenko for photos
 

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Not being a Russian speaker, is there any indication what engine is used?
Al-222 perhaps?
Edit: Is it a twin or single engine design?
 
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Indeed huge. Also has couple of more conventional HALE/MALE drones near, Orion
plus fuckload of mockups of small caliber guided munitions
 

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Silly question...but any indication this will eventually get a landing gear, or is it rocket launched and parachute recovered like Kratos' XQ-58?
 
Ha, more options to S-70. But considering the power of Sukhoi, would be a hell of a fight Khronstadt have to put to get this UCAV produced and maybe inducted to VVS.
 
stealthflanker said:
Ha, more options to S-70. But considering the power of Sukhoi, would be a hell of a fight Khronstadt have to put to get this UCAV produced and maybe inducted to VVS.
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I think bigger problem is getting Grom finished and ready for production/service, SR-10 trainer was given plenty of attention and funds, though later cancelled due to problems with technical development(it was a forward swept wing). And also, this a very different drone in concept than S-70, way better suited for Air-Air combat.

I think RuMOD would jump at this in my opinion, and would probably be a huge export success. But then again, biggest barrier is Kronshtadt own skill and production capacity. Making rather simple drones in terms of structure with off the shelf composites is a huge difference compared to a high speed jet-powered UCAV.

I'm also curious on how big of a problem engines will be, my guess it is either will be no problem at all or very significant. Kronshtadt has no engine development whatsoever so it will be off the shelf. Depending on its weight, and size, Maybe they can get away with Yak-130 and take advantage of its production and logistics.

Silly question...but any indication this will eventually get a landing gear, or is it rocket launched and parachute recovered like Kratos' XQ-58?
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Almost certainly landing gear. But I wouldn't count out a smaller rocket launched version to be used like a reusable cruise missile.
 
stealthflanker said:
But considering the power of Sukhoi, would be a hell of a fight Khronstadt have to put to get this UCAV produced and maybe inducted to VVS.
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I do not think that they are direct competitors here. Yet the S-70 is in a different weight category.
Rather, the MiG will be a competitor, because it has (like) its own drone.
 
GARGEAN said:
fuckload of mockups of small caliber guided munitions
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These are very interesting, if bewildering in their variety of aerodynamic configuration. The combat success of the Turkish MAM-L seems to have been an inspiration for the 25kg mini-munition, I also note how the use of Grad/Uragan MRLS warheads for the 50 & 100kg class bombs amounts to the inverse of the GLSDB evolution.
 
The mockup of a new iteration. Looks way simpler and therefore cheaper. The reason of making it cheaper is obvious: pricey aircraft would lose competition to the Su-70B.
It supposed to be driven by a single RD-33 (or -93) engine (with an afterburner?). There is a "radiation" sign on the nose cone.

Exterior of the aircraft is a bit like the Tu-141 now.
The root of the wing is thicc and reminds me of Boeing X-32 - designers looked for a space for a fuel.
Obviously it less stealthy than the previous iteration. But it still has some measures to reduce the radar cross-section, like an internal weapon bay and S-shaped intake.
k-1.jpg k-2.jpg
Who was the photographer I don't know. I found the photos here: https://t.me/infantmilitario/133510
 
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Looks like a change from kilzema-like simpler LW to a reusable supershahed almost.
 
Also i have heard the rd33 glows pretty bright along the infrared band. I think the grom is trying to focus on speed, minimal frontal silhouette and high internal load carrying capacity as well as cheapness. It is clearly using an afterburning engine. Anyone know if this thing is supposed to go supersonic?
 
raptor82 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1823074692246143189
View: https://x.com/muxelaero/status/1823074692246143189?s=46&t=5THFve96Abhx7VANdlTzrg
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This is a cheap-*ss mockup
Ainen said:
Looks like a change from kilzema-like simpler LW to a reusable supershahed almost.
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More like an unmanned JF-17 with an internal weapons bay and an over the fuselage intake.
TMA1 said:
Also i have heard the rd33 glows pretty bright along the infrared band. I think the grom is trying to focus on speed, minimal frontal silhouette and high internal load carrying capacity as well as cheapness. It is clearly using an afterburning engine. Anyone know if this thing is supposed to go supersonic?
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It's clearly meant to cheaply increase the available airframe numbers while still being in the sub-1m2 RCS category but I wonder how much cost difference is there between producing the first airframe and the last?

It is not the first UAV with an afterburner but how do you even keep the datalink with the drone alive when it's flying faster than the speed of sound? It's not like it can fly and maneuver on it's own but how do you tackle this problem with a potentially supersonic capable drone?

gtka66jb0aa7mk2-jpeg.735225
 
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snne said:
It is not the first UAV with an afterburner but how do you even keep the datalink with the drone alive when it's flying faster than the speed of sound? It's not like it can fly and maneuver on it's own but how do you tackle this problem with a potentially supersonic capable drone?
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Because radio signals propagate at the speed of light
 
I gotta say, the design change doesn't make sense at the dawn of wide spread low observability but she's a fine looker nonetheless...
 
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Not only photos show two different Grom designs (by Polyakov and older one by Dolzhenkov), but last 'hypotetical layout' is a pure BS.
 

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