Ukrainian State Company Unveils Tube-Launched Aerial Drone

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Ukrspecexport, a Ukrainian state-owned company based in Kiev, debuted a tube-launched unmanned aerial vehicle here at the IDEX show.

The five-kilogram Sokil-2 UAV is designed to be launched from combat vehicles that are also equipped with anti-tank missiles, explained Yaroslava Zhuraved, senior foreign relations and marketing specialist at the company.

It is fully encapsulated in a launch tube that has a small booster charge at the bottom. After firing, the wings spring open. It has a range of 20 kilometers and can fly for about two hours, she said.

It carries a Japanese manufactured camera that searches for enemy tanks, vehicles or other targets. The remotely controlled aircraft uses GPS to navigate and mark the targets, she said. It does not carry a laser designator. Once an enemy target is spotted, then the home fighting vehicle can deploy its anti-tank missiles. A command-and-control center can also monitor its video feeds.

The UAV is not ready for export because the Ukrainian armed forces are still testing it, she said.