Russia To Showcase Forpost-Re, KSI Transport Drone, Supercam S180 At Dubai Airshow-2025

Russia will unveil three new unmanned systems — the Forpost-RE strike-capable UAV, the KSI modular transport drone, and the Supercam S180 high-speed reconnaissance UAV — at Dubai Airshow 2025 as part of a joint national exhibit.

The Forpost-RE is the export version of Russia’s upgraded Forpost-R UAV, redesigned during the military campaign in Ukraine with a new engine, fully domestic electronics, a new radar, and a composite wing and tail assembly. The manufacturer says all imported subsystems have been replaced, leaving only the original airframe shape from the Israeli Searcher II. The UAV carries modular ISR payloads and can deploy glide bombs, loitering munitions, and guided missiles.

Manufacturer spokeswoman Ekaterina Zgirovskaya told media in Abu Dhabi that the radar provides monitoring of land and maritime activity and supports target acquisition for Russian forces, including the navy. New manufacturing processes have reduced labor intensity for the export variant.

Forpost UAVs have been used in Syria and later in Ukraine, where the Ministry of Defense released footage showing strikes on artillery systems, armored vehicles, and other equipment. Analysts note the platform’s use for border and maritime monitoring. Military analyst Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia that UAVs provide a lower-risk solution for intercepting unmanned boats in contested waters.

The KSI UAV, developed by the Center for Autonomous Robotic Systems (JSC CARS), will also be displayed abroad for the first time. It is a multirotor transport platform carrying up to 25 kilograms for logistics, emergency delivery, aerial inspection, and surveillance tasks. Its modular architecture allows rapid role changes through hardware swaps. The manufacturer says its carbon-fiber structure supports operations in hot environments.

Another premiere is the Supercam S180, introduced by the Unmanned Systems group under Rosoboronexport. The exhibit will also include the Supercam S350, SX350 tiltrotor, and Supercam X4 multirotor. Supercam UAVs have been used by Russian and Belarusian forces in CSTO and “Zapad-2025” exercises based on recent combat scenarios.

Belarusian operators told national media that the S350 is resistant to interference and can operate without satellite navigation. The manufacturer says the system recently received an FPV drone detection and suppression module undergoing operational evaluation in Ukraine.

Russian military reports describe the S350 providing targeting data against armored vehicles, artillery systems, and air-defense platforms. Naval reports cite its role in transmitting real-time coordinates to aircraft during Black Sea fleet drills.