At the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom, Ukroboronprom unveiled a reusable variant of the An-196 Liutyi long-range strike drone for the first time at its booth.
Previously, it had only been seen in a single-use kamikaze variant, carrying a 50–75 kg warhead over a range of 1,400–2,000 km. Now, however, the An-196 Liutyi has been unveiled for the first time in a reusable configuration designed to carry missiles, according to Oboronka.
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The booth featured a new variant of the An-196 Liutyi equipped with four missile models, while photographs of the aircraft taken during test flights were also on display. Judging by the design of the missiles shown in the published photographs, they appear to be cruise missiles.
It is reported that they have a maximum range of 200 km and a flight speed of over 500 km/h, which is apparently achieved by a jet engine mounted inside the fuselage. No further details regarding either the An-196 Liutyi itself or the missiles have been disclosed at this time.
Given the small size of these missiles, they clearly have a small warhead or some other small payload. It is possible that their primary purpose is to overwhelm and penetrate russian air defenses.
In terms of design, they resemble the Barracuda-250 cruise missiles from the American company Anduril, which have a maximum range of over 370 km and a warhead weighing just 18 kg.
The decision to develop a reusable variant of the An-196 Liutyi may be driven by competition. The fact is that the FP-1 has firmly established itself in the long-range strike drone market. According to available information, it offers comparable or even better performance at a significantly lower cost.
Therefore, it appears that a decision has been made to develop a multifunctional platform based on the An-196 Liutyi, which can return and be reused after completing its mission.
The new variant of the An-196 Liutyi may also be capable of carrying other types of weapons and payloads in addition to these unidentified missiles, including certain types of bombs, drones, and more.
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