The uniqueness of the tests consisted in taking off and landing in real conditions from the helipad of a drifting nuclear icebreaker of FSUE Atomflot
MOSCOW, July 4. /tass/. The software and hardware complex of ice reconnaissance based on a deck-based drone has been successfully tested in Arctic conditions. As the press service of the Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) of Rosatom reported on Tuesday, the uniqueness of the current stage of testing was that the drone took off and landed from the helipad of a drifting nuclear icebreaker.
"In the water area of the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug - approx. The second stage of testing of the ice reconnaissance complex on the basis of a deck-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was successfully carried out. <...> The uniqueness of the tests was to perform take-off and landing in real conditions from the helipad of the drifting nuclear icebreaker FSUE Atomflot," the press service reported.
As part of the tests, two route flights were performed, during which images of the underlying surface were obtained in the visible and radar ranges. The operation of on-board systems, geolocation linking of images, transmission of radar images of the ice situation to the operator's workplace and display on the geoinformation server were demonstrated.
According to Maxim Kulinko, Deputy director of the Directorate of the Northern Sea Route of the Rosatom State Corporation, the complex of operational aerial ice reconnaissance is one of the constituent elements of the digital ecosystem of the NSR, which is being created by Rosatom. In addition to the UAV, this system will include a single platform of digital services and a data fund, as well as on-board measurement systems. According to Kulinko, the creation of a digital ecosystem of the NSR will improve the safety of navigation, as well as the economic efficiency of sea cargo transportation in the Arctic. The digital ecosystem should be created in 2024 and fully commissioned in mid-2025.
The first test of the software and hardware complex of ice exploration was conducted in February 2023 at the Rybinsk reservoir, still covered with snow and ice, in conditions of strong wind, solid clouds and high humidity. The device, equipped with radars and a video camera, flew 70 km at an altitude of 1 km. Tests have confirmed that the device is well controlled even at a great distance, and radar data is transmitted to the control panel.
For the second stage of testing in Arctic conditions, a significant revision of the power plant and service systems of the UAV was required. The thermal regulation of the internal combustion engine was implemented, the magnetic compass was excluded from the control system, the batteries were prepared for operation in Arctic conditions and many other improvements were made.
At the next stage, it is planned to introduce a system of fully automated landing on the deck without the participation of an operator, after which repeated tests will be carried out in a natural environment with landing on an icebreaker in motion in pitching conditions. After flight tests and elimination of the identified shortcomings, it is planned to launch serial production and begin deliveries of aviation complexes to Atomflot nuclear icebreakers.
