Russia’s ZALA Aero Unveils Tilt-rotor, hybrid-power Drones

Russia’s ZALA Aero (Kalashnikov Group Subsidiary) today unveiled three new small drones- a tilt-rotor, a hybrid engine 12-hour endurance drone and a quadcopter at the ZALA EXPO exhibition in Moscow.

The first is the ZALA 421-24 of a quadrocopter type. The device has a compact foldable design and is able to remain invisible in the air due to its low acoustic and visual signature. The device is controlled by a hand-held controller and can be operated from a mobile vehicle.

The second is a tilt-rotor ZALA VTOL. It combines the best qualities of an aircraft-type drone and a tilt-rotor, and also has the ability to change the configuration depending upon the task being performed.

The computing power of the on-board computer based on artificial intelligence makes it possible to process data in Full HD and transmit HD video and photo via encrypted communication channels to the ground control station.The drone is lightweight, and can stay aloft for up to 4 hours in an aircraft configuration.

The third new product is the  ZALA 421-16E5G equipped with a sequential hybrid power plant, which provides a guaranteed flight time of more than 12 hours. The unmanned complex is designed for long-distance flights and is capable of providing aviation monitoring at a distance of 100+ kilometers.

The ZALA 421-16E5G is equipped with a combined target load with an HD thermal imager and a 60x FullHD video camera. The video stream is broadcast in HD format, which allows the ground station operator to view the streaming image in great detail. Optionally, the drone can be equipped with a laser scanning module, a set of cameras for aerial photography or other equipment that requires power on board.

The power plant is equipped with a buffer storage battery, which ensures the operation of the apparatus in "electric" mode for an hour. Full recharge of the buffer battery in the air will take 2 hours.