August 18, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

Demonstration of the UAV “ELECTRON 7” at the flight competitions of the Ministry for Emergency Situations

On August 12, the specialists of UVR LLC demonstrated the light unmanned helicopter “ELECTRON 7” to the participants of the competition of UAV operation crews of the MES of the Republic of Belarus. The event was held on the territory of the “Institute of Retraining and Professional Development”, a branch of the University of Civil Protection of the Ministry for Emergency Situations in Borisov District – https://mchs.gov.by/glavnoe/397262/

UVR LLC specialists informed the participants of the competition and the leadership of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the country, represented by Deputy Minister Major General A.F. Khudoleev and the Chief of Aviation of the MES, Colonel T.I. Kursevich, of the capabilities of the drone, including the use of various payloads applicable to the tasks solved by the units of the MES.

Demonstration of the UAV "ELECTRON 7" at the flight competitions of the Ministry for Emergency Situations

A special interest of the servicemen of the MES of the Republic of Belarus, as well as the guests of the event – specialists from the Headquarters of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, was focused on the radiation control equipment manufactured by ATOMTEX SPE (Minsk), which can be used in integration with the carrier manufactured by UVR to monitor the radiation situation at various facilities and at territories affected by the Chernobyl powerplant accident.

In addition, the specialists – UAV operators of the Ministry for Emergency Situations expressed their wishes regarding possible payloads for ELECTRON 7, which may be required in their work. Major General Khudoleev, for his part, proposed to draw a technical task (specification) for the drones of this type in order to speed up the process of their implementation.

The exchange of views between UAV developers and potential users was useful to both sides and will undoubtedly lead to speed up the cooperation between the company and the government agency.

August 16, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

Delegation from India Learns about the Innovative UAVs Developed by UVR LLC

In August UVR LLC was visited by a delegation of government and business circles of India from Delhi and Bangalore as part of the visit to the Republic of Belarus.

During the meeting, UVR demonstrated flights of the light unmanned aerial vehicle “ELECTRON 7” with various payloads and of the heavy UAV “COMBO”. In addition, preliminary negotiations were held on the possible promotion of UVR products in India, as well as on cooperation with Indian companies.

Delegation from India Learns about the Innovative UAVs Developed by UVR LLC

The Indian guests highly appreciated the success of our company in the development and production of unmanned helicopters. Delivering goods to remote areas of the country and cooperation with agricultural producers were the topics of particular interest.

August 3, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

New Training Drone for UAV Operators

UVR LLC has created a new training drone for the training of operators of the UAV Electron 7, as well as for the initial training of helicopter-type UAV operators of a larger payload (SAKAVIK and COMBO). The training drone fully reproduces the functions of Electron 7, making it possible to carry out instructing and training of UAV operators at a lower cost, as well as to test new software without wasting the resource of commercial UAVs.

At the same time, UVR LLC specialists have developed new methods for training operators and improved the existing ones, which makes it possible to significantly increase the level of training in the future.

In July this year a foreign specialist was successfully trained using the above system – a certified UAV operator from the UAE Gavin J. Ittyerah. The training course will allow him to quickly switch to flying light helicopter-type UAVs.

New Training Drone for UAV Operators
July 27, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

Manufacturing of Rotor Blades for UAVs

UVR LLC designed and manufactured an autoclave for the production of components from composite materials. This unit was developed as part of a program to create rotor blades for a helicopter-type UAV with a take-off weight up to 500 kg. The autoclave has been successfully tested. Its characteristics make it possible to make products from composite materials with overall dimensions up to 0.5 m in diameter and up to 4 meters in length, the generated overpressure is up to 6 atmospheres. The temperature inside the chamber can rise up to 120o C, with the possibility of adjusting according to a given program.

The operation of the autoclave is controlled by the authentic software, which, with the help of electric valves, temperature and pressure sensors, maintains a set technological process.

The use of the autoclave is planned both for the company’s own needs and as outsourcing for the manufacturers of products from composite materials that do not have such equipment.

Manufacturing of Rotor Blades for UAVs
July 22, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

Successful Testing of a Prototype Radio Modem

UVR LLC has developed a radio modem for UAVs control and transmitting telemetry, and successfully tested its prototype. The communication range of the device is 50 km in line-of-sight conditions at a data transfer rate of 57.6 kbps. Based on the prototype test results, two types of radio modem modules were developed:

– a radio modem module for the installation on a ground control station (GCS),

– a small-size radio modem module for the installation on a UAV.

Technical characteristics of the radio modem modules are the following:

– Frequency range of the modem: from 960 to 1020 MHz.

– Transmitter output power: up to 2W.

– Maximum data transfer rate: up to 300 kbps.

– Supply voltage range: from 5 to 105 V.

– Radio modem module interfaces for the GCS: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB, CAN (2 pcs.), UART.

– Interfaces of a small-size UAV radio modem module: CAN (2 pcs.), UART.

– Overall dimensions of the radio modem module board for GCS: 75 x 57 x 12 mm.

– Overall dimensions of the small-size UAV radio modem board: 57 x 40 x 12 mm.

Successful Testing of a Prototype Radio Modem
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June 16, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

UVR Participation in the International Arctic Summit

UVR LLC took part in the 6th International Arctic Summit “The Arctic: Prospects, Innovations and Regional Development”, which took place on June 8-10, 2022 in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The summit was attended by representatives of the administrations of several Northern regions of the Russian Federation, public and educational organizations, as well as the real sector of economy: resource-extracting, transport and other companies. More about the participants: Участники — АРКТИКА 2022 СПБ (arctic-summit.ru)

The booth of UVR was located in the 3rd building of St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University (“LETI”). The booth demonstrated UAV model “ELECTRON 7” with various payloads.

The model aroused interest among a wide range of forum visitors – from university students to heads of regions and organizations.

UVR Participation in the International Arctic Summit

Various thematic sessions and round tables worked within the framework of the summit. During the session “Development of Science and Technology for the Development of the Arctic”, a representative of UVR LLC made a report on the topic “Perspectives and problematic issues in the development of helicopter-type UAVs used in the Arctic”. The information was greeted with interest by the audience.

UVR Participation in the International Arctic Summit

The contacts and knowledge gained during the summit work will certainly be useful for the development of the company and the promotion of its products on the Russian market.

June 16, 2022 | Sergey Litvinov

ELECTRON 7 Successfully Demonstrated in the United Arab Emirates

In early June the UVR team, with the assistance of uScovery DMCC and participation of ITOD Aircraft Manufacturing, successfully demonstrated the flights of the helicopter-type drone “ELECTRON 7” in the United Arab Emirates.

A sample of the unmanned aerial vehicle was presented to high-ranking officials and businessmen from the UAE in a remote area of the emirate Ras al-Khaimah in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the UAV in monitoring infrastructure, delivering of small cargo and security observing.

During the demonstration flights the drone completed tasks that included flying out of sight in a mountainous area, detailed inspection of a communication tower and monitoring road traffic. The high air temperatures, that caused certain inconvenience to those present at the show, did not affect the performance of the drone and confirmed its suitability for operation in the local hot climate.

ELECTRON 7 Successfully Demonstrated in the United Arab Emirates

January 27, 2022 | Mila Stepanova

Helicopter drone solves the problem of logistics in mountainous regions

In freight logistics, there are tasks that are difficult to realize with traditional transport. For example, cargo delivery to settlements, resorts or construction sites located in the mountains. UVR creates a solution that would be effective for the logistics of hard-to-reach regions, both in terms of delivery speed, safety, and cost.

For this purpose, our specialists converted a manned helicopter Ch-7 and created a cargo drone Sakavik, which flies without a pilot in fully automatic mode. 

Sakavik is unique in the segment of cargo drones due to its high performance:

  • a payload capacity of up to 180 kg (including fuel) allows it to deliver not only light parcels and postal items, but also essential goods and even repair equipment;
  • long range with cargo makes it possible to perform tasks over large areas, long linear objects, as well as in near-shore areas.

In this video, with as an example of Switzerland, we have shown that the drone’s characteristics allow it to logistically serve the entire country, delivering goods from large cities to small settlements and mountain resorts. 

The safety of the Sakavik drone speaks for itself. Autopilot allows you to make the flight even if GPS signal is lost, to select a safe zone for landing, and to fly around obstacles. Human involvement is minimal: takeoff, en-route flight, and landing are fully automatic.

The Ch-7 Kompress was selected for conversion as an optimal model in terms of design, reliability, and cost. An important advantage was the helicopter’s ability to fly at altitudes of up to 5 km, which allows the drone to be used in mountainous terrain and perform tasks at high altitudes.

Helicopter drone solves the problem of logistics in mountainous regions

UVR launched the Sakavik project in 2021, after the having converted two extra heavy drones with a payload up to 1,090 kg.

Our specialists dismantled the onboard equipment of the manned aircraft and developed components and assemblies for the drone. This was followed by assembly, long checks, fine-tuning and, of course, testing. The first successful drone flight took place on October 13, 2021. Currently the technical team improves the automatic control system. Despite the cold season and harsh weather conditions, that reduce the number of flying days, in February’22 we are planning to proceed with the test flights.

Sakavik is versatile not only in logistics, but also in other industries:

  • emergency management (fire detection, search-and-rescue operations, etc.)
  • energy industry (inspection of pipelines, power lines, and other facilities);
  • precision agriculture and forestry (pest control, forest firefighting and other aerial operations);
  • security provision for large objects and territories.

The Sakavik unmanned aircraft system is already available for pre-orders.

March 31, 2021 | Mila Stepanova

UVR proved the ability to transport heavy cargo on an unmanned helicopter

Developers of aerial drones compete to be at the forefront of the freight segment. This doesn’t include parcel delivery and, instead, refers to heavy cargo of over 150 kg.

Assessing the development news, those companies are leading who create cargo drones by retrofitting manned helicopters.

Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane recently has been converted into a drone. In terms of carrying capacity, it is the leader among dual-use unmanned helicopters. Almost at the same time, UVR completed the series of payload tests for the #1 among civil. The UVR Combo Drone, which was previously a Ka-26 manned helicopter, has already performed flights with heavy cargo.

UVR proved the ability to transport heavy cargo on an unmanned helicopter

At the beginning of 2021, UVR team performed tests at the company’s airfield near the village of Kukhtichi, Minsk region. Representatives of transport logistics operators were invited to the flights, as prime customers of an unmanned freight solution.

The Combo worked as a flying crane, carrying cargo on an external mount. Such functionality is required to transport an oversized cargo or provide delivery to locations where other transport is unlikely to be able to reach. A frequent task, for example, is the delivery of cell tower parts to the installation site and its erection on mountainous terrain.

UVR Combo Drone performed a flight in automatic mode. The total weight of the cargo, including fuel, was 750 kg, and the take-off weight was 2970 kg out of the maximum allowable 3250 kg.

Combo performed flights with loads of 200, 400 and 600 kg. The video is about how we have raised the bar and made it 750 kg.

The drone in hovering mode precisely and smoothly lowered the load to the ground. In a manned operation, hovering while holding a precise position is a difficult maneuver. A drone can do so with ease.

Another form of transportation was also tested, using the transport cabin. The drone carried 860 kg (including fuel) out of the maximum allowable 900 kg. The test took place in difficult weather conditions – frost, snowfall, and limited visibility. These circumstances did not prevent the drone from completing the flight task.

Unmanned helicopter flight with a 860kg load in extreme weather: frost, snowfall, limited visibility, and risk of icing
Weather conditions that are extreme for a manned helicopter, allow a drone to operate normally.

In addition to cargo transportation, Combo performed a flight with a landing at a site different from the takeoff one.

The purpose of the tests was to prove that Combo is not an experiment of enthusiasts, but a commercial product ready to perform real tasks. Earlier in 2020, the Combo drone automatically lifted and sprayed 300 liters of water simulating firefighting operations or aviation chemical works.

A fully automated flight with the payload for firefighting – 300 L of water.

UVR is now planning to operate the Combo in the real sector. In addition, the developer is obtaining documentation for the 2nd Combo with an increased payload of 1150 kg.

Original article in Russian: RoboTrends.

November 15, 2020 | Mila Stepanova

UVR turns 3 years old

For us, the UVR Combo Drone is like a most-loved child who is just turning 3 years old today.

If we consider that children usually accumulate 100-500 photos showing how they grew up by their first birthday, everything is slightly different for our unmanned heavy-lifter.

It is hardly possible to show the development of autopilot, electronic components and display numerous hours of test flights frame-by-frame. What we can show is the result of our work – the most powerful civil drone in the world and, so far, the only one of its kind. By the end of the year, we plan to change this by expanding the Combo family with another converted helicopter.

Thank you to everyone involved in the project and the entire team, which has grown to almost 100 people in 3 years.

  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old
  • UVR turns 3 years old