The company Terminal Autonomy (formerly the One Way Aerospace startup) has published photos on its LinkedIn account that may indicate that the Defense Forces of Ukraine have already received a batch of long-range kamikaze drones called AQ 400 Scythe.
In addition, the company notes that it has completed the necessary procurement of components for serial production of this weapon with an initial production capacity of 100 units per month. The company also announced that it is able to increase this number five times in the future - up to 500 units per month. The company does not specify the terms of implementation of this project.
Read more: Ukraine’s Warriors Make Record Strike by FPV Drone Destroying russia’s Newest S-350 SAM System (Video)
Apparently, in its AQ 400 Scythe drone, the Terminal Autonomy company managed to implement the concept of a cheap, mass and affordable means of defeat, which can be supplied to the Defense Forces of Ukraine in hundreds of units.
The range of the AQ 400 Scythe UAV is declared at 750 km. This, under the condition of production of hundreds of drones per month, allows regular strikes on objects on the territory of the russian federation.
The take-off weight of the drone is 100 kg, of which 32 kg is the warhead (the total payload is 43 kg), and this figure can be increased to 70 kg by reducing the flight range. For comparison, the new warhead of the Shahed kamikaze drones, with which the russians terrorize Ukraine, is 40 kg.
Other tactical and technical characteristics of the AQ 400 Scythe UAV are as follows:
- wingspan is 2.3 m;
- cruising speed — 144 km/h;
- flight duration — 6.5 hours.
The drone can be launched from a catapult or from the runway. The company does not disclose other development data.
In fact, it is not excluded that this drone has already been tested on the battlefield, taking into account the recent intensification of massive drone attacks on objects in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Although, of course, it is possible that other long-range UAVs, which are in service with the Defense Forces of Ukraine, took part in these attacks.
As Terminal Autonomy (One Way Aerospace) previously reported, the AQ-400 Scythe kamikaze drone should become an intermediate link for the company before the appearance of an affordable cruise missile.
The range of such a missile should be 1,000 km, the speed should be 350 km/h, other details were not reported, in particular, what kind of warhead it might be. And the estimated cost of a unit of such weapons was declared to be less than 100 thousand dollars.
As Defense Express reported, Сost, Possible Production Rate of New Ukrainian UAV for Long-range Strikes on russia’s Territory Has Been Revealed. We also wrote, that Production, Supply of HE-FRAG Ammunition for FPV Drones Was Established In Ukraine.
Read more: Ukraine Confirms Works on New "Long Neptune" Missile