Russia's UEC Partners with Reynolds LLC to Develop Gas Turbine UAV Engines

Rostec-owned United Engine Corporation (UEC) and Reynolds LLC have officially disclosed their merger to develop small-sized gas turbine engines tailored unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with thrust capacities up to 200 kgf.

Plans to form a merger was revealed at the Innoprom international industrial exhibition.

The agreement, signed by Vadim Badekha, General Director of JSC UEC, alongside Nikita Gusev and Nikita Korolev, founders of Reynolds LLC, outlines a strategic roadmap for integrating both entities. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2024, this merger aims to leverage Reynolds LLC's expertise in developing turbojet engines ranging from 40 to 150 kgf thrust and turbogenerators since 2017.

"The goal of the merger is to establish a specialized center within UEC for the serial production of advanced small-sized turbojet engines for UAVs of various applications," stated Vadim Badekha. He emphasized the consolidation's potential to streamline operations, optimize costs, and expedite market entry with competitive pricing.

As part of the merger, Nikita Gusev will continue as General Director of Reynolds LLC under UEC, while Nikita Korolev will retain his role as General Designer. Both entities expressed optimism about bridging public and private sectors' technical complexities to drive forward aviation technologies.