Ukraine starts producing Rubaka kamikaze drones with a range of up to 500 km
This UAV looks like an analog of the Shahed-136, but has one specific design feature
Images have appeared in the public domain that indicate that Ukraine has begun production of kamikaze drones called Rubaka, which can be called an analog of the Shahed-136 due to their features. Who is the manufacturer of such a UAV and what are the likely production rates – there is no publicly available data yet.
There are only indications that the units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine plan to use the Rubaka kamikaze drones, the cost of one copy is about 15 thousand dollars, and the declared flight range is up to 500 km. Estimates of the weight of the warhead in different sources range from 2-5 kg to 15 kg.
The very fact that such a kamikaze drone is at the disposal of the Ukrainian Defense Forces looks interesting not only because our military industry is expanding its UAV production line. But also because of some specific design elements of the Rubaka drone.
First of all, this is the only kamikaze drone in the world where the propeller powerplant is installed in the nose, not in the tail of the fuselage. This decision was probably due to the peculiarity of the engine for small aircraft, which is clearly used on such a kamikaze drone.
In addition, the Rubaka drone does not have an optoelectronic station, which may mean that this aircraft is designed to strike targets with known coordinates and has an inertial guidance system. Moreover, we can see an air pressure sensor in the right wing limb, which confirms the use of this particular guidance system.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that a Baykar service center will be opened in Ukraine to service Bayraktar TB2 drones, the launch of which could not be prevented by the full-scale invasion of Russia.
