This is the first successful UAV rocket launch performed with rocket technologies made in Ukraine, says rocket enthusiast Serhii Pipko on his Facebook page. And the Tu-141 "Strizh" does not count since it was made in the USSR, he adds.
The location, the drone used for testing and other details are not disclosed due to security concerns. For the same reason, Defense Express cannot provide actual footage and hereafter uses illustrative images instead.
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The rocket launch testing was supervised by Serhii Pipko, a leading specialist of the National Aviation University and head of NAURocket design bureau of rocket research-and-making enthusiasts.
In his personal blog, he also pointed out the advantages of a rocket-assisted launch for an unmanned aerial vehicle: it can be launched from a very short of even without a catapult, right from the spot, which enables a swift drone start from a truck or pickup; the elevation angle can be bigger, thus the drone can be launched from a forest line or a trench; the UAV can take more payload, and its body can be less bulky. Here's a video from one of the rocket propeller tests, dated February 2022:
During the research, the Ukrainian rocket specialist referenced US solutions for a rocket-assisted launch, such as the ones used for the AAI RQ-2 Pioneer or the Model 324 Scarab, with the rocket itself being inclined from the body of the vehicle and its nozzle pointed slightly down so that the rocket doesn't damage the propeller after it falls after the launch.
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