The International Specialized Exhibition and Conference is taking place from January 20 to January 22 in the United Arab Emirates
The United Engine Corporation of Rostec State Corporation presented small—sized engines and the latest promising developments at the UMEX 2026 International Specialized Exhibition - demonstrators of a hybrid power plant, an energy node and a high-power battery module. They can be used as part of advanced aircraft.
At the UMEX International Exhibition in the United Arab Emirates, UEC demonstrates innovative developments that develop a promising area — UAVs of various types.
The UEC exposition presents a 500 kW hybrid power plant (HSU) demonstrator, which is a unique development in Russia. The GSU demonstrator was developed by the ODK-Klimov company based on the VK-650V helicopter engine. Thanks to the use of a sequential control system, it is possible to create aircraft with new functionality: aircraft with vertical or ultrashort takeoff and landing, tiltrotor planes.
The GSU includes gas turbine and electric motors, an electric generator, rechargeable batteries and power electronics. The combination of gas turbine and electric engines provides the main advantage of the GSU 500 relative to purely electric power plants — an increase in the range and duration of flights.
"A five-year research project has been completed at the ODK-Klimov enterprise. Its result was the successful creation of a 500 kW GSU demonstrator, which passed bench tests and confirmed the underlying technical solutions. A 35 kW power unit and a 25 kW high-power battery module have also been developed. In the wake of the development of heavy drones, we are witnessing the active growth of hybrid and electric technologies, and the presented developments will become an important solution for promising UAVs. We have already noticed a keen interest on the part of Russian and foreign developers of unmanned vehicles in the GSU, the power plant and the battery module," said Mikhail Shemet, Director of Advanced Development and Chief Designer of ODK—Klimov.
The 25 kW high-power rechargeable battery module is used as part of promising hybrid and electric power plants of various types of aircraft. Among its advantages is an immersion liquid cooling system, a duplicated monitoring and control system with active balancing. This is a proprietary development of the ODK-Klimov company, which has no analogues in Russia.
The uniqueness of the immersion cooling system used in the battery is that it provides a long battery discharge at peak power, fast charging, and a longer service life. Such technical characteristics are the optimal solution for GSU aircraft, and can also be used on land transport.
An energy node based on a 35 kW piston engine is an effective alternative to rechargeable batteries and is designed to provide power to electric motors of multirotor unmanned aerial vehicles and special ground transport platforms. It can also be used as a gasoline generator to generate electrical energy. The ability to use it at temperatures from -40 °C to +55 °C makes it versatile. Unlike batteries, the energy node has higher energy parameters, which makes it possible to increase the range and duration of UAV flights.
The exhibition also features small-sized UEC turbojet engines in the power class from 40 to 150 kgf, which have high fuel efficiency, an easy-to-operate lubrication system and a low weight compared to their counterparts. The RH50 turbogenerator powered by kerosene is also demonstrated. The developments are being installed on Russian UAVs of various layouts and airframes and can be used in promising aircraft.
The UMEX 2026 International Specialized Exhibition and Conference is taking place from January 20 to 22, 2026 in the United Arab Emirates as part of the Abu Dhabi Aviation and Space Week. The exhibition is a unique platform for the international exchange of experience in the field of unmanned vehicles, drones, robotics, components, as well as simulation and training technologies.
