The project manager of UZGA said that the Baikal unmanned aircraft will appear by 2040
Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) is working on a light aircraft with autopilot. In 2040, Russia plans to create a fully unmanned version of the LMS-901 Baikal. This was told by the head of UZGA projects Arkady Pyannikov, RIA Novosti reports.
"Our plan for LMS is as follows: first, the creation of a manned version with autopilot in 2024, then the start of work on providing assisted piloting, there will be no pilot on board at all for cargo transportation, or a robotic complex will function together with one pilot. Our global plan is 2040, the transition to fully autonomous flight," he said during the National Exhibition and Forum of Civil Aviation Infrastructure NAIS 2022.
LMS-901 Baikal was developed by Baikal-Engineering. The light aircraft is designed to replace the AN-2 multipurpose aircraft. Serial production of the LMS-901 is planned to begin in 2024.
In January, Baikal made its first flight. LMS-901 took off from the airfield in Yekaterinburg and stayed in the air for about 25 minutes. The aircraft's systems worked normally.
In August 2021, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stressed that Russia can produce aircraft for regional aviation, and not buy foreign products.
