Altius-M

Description: The Altius or Altius-M is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) developed by Tranzas and Sokol to perform reconnaissance, strike and electronic attack missions on behalf of the Russian Air Force and Navy. The Altius program started in October 2011 after the Russian Ministry of Defense awarded a 3 billion Ruble contract for its development along with the Inokhodyets UAV system. The 5-ton Altius-M aircraft system uses a modular approach with a variety of payloads to perform strike, reconnaissance and electronic warfare (EW) missions using the Khibiny or Borisoglebsk-2 jamming systems. The aircraft system features a long wing design with two under-wing turboprop engines and a V-shaped tail. By its size and weight it is similar to the United States Air Force (USAF) MQ-9 Reaper. The Altius-M first flight was completed during 2014 with testing to be carried out during 2015. Enter into service is planned for 2016 or later.