The Russians want a drone that can deliver 1000 kg of cargo over 1000 km.
Russian specialized resources report that on February 16, 2024, the first flight of the “optionally manned” Partizan aircraft, created on the basis of the TVS-2DTS aircraft, a racist copy of the An-2 with a carbon fiber body, “sharpened” for a US-made TPE331-12 turboprop engine from Honeywell and a five-blade Hartzell propeller, took place.
According to the Russians themselves, the first flight of the Partizan took place with pilots on board, lasted 20 minutes at a speed of 50 to 200 km/h. The stated goal is to check the characteristics in order to further customize the control system of this aircraft.
The nuance is that the Russians want to get a heavy drone as part of the Partizan project, whose characteristics will allow it to deliver up to 100 kilograms of cargo over distances of up to 1000 kilometers, and at the same time land in a square measuring 100 by 100 meters.
At the same time, it is interesting that the Russians allow the Partizan aircraft to be used in manned mode, to transport passengers on local airlines. Another feature of this project worth noting is that not only does it use a “non-import-substituted” American turboprop engine, but it also has 8 low-power electric motors designed to improve the flight characteristics of the Partizan.
The Russians claim that after the full cycle of testing and launching into mass production, the “optionally manned” Partizan aircraft will allegedly find its application “in various sectors of the national economy.” However, the rashists do not say what they are going to do with the fact that it uses an American-made engine, the technology for which may no longer be available due to Western sanctions.
At the same time, we should not rule out the possibility that some of the developments on the Partizan aircraft project will be used by the Russians for military purposes, namely, as part of a possible project to convert old An-2s into target drones that will be pulled by Lancets.
