F-Drones unveils low-cost F-CAPTAIN middle-strike drone: what are its specs
Drone Industry
Ukrainian company F-Drones has expanded its product line and unveiled its F-CAPTAIN middle-strike unmanned aerial system. It was designed specifically to operate amid enemy electronic warfare countermeasures.
This was reported on the manufacturer’s Facebook page.
"Middle-strike drones have already become genuine game changers at this stage of the war. The key targets for our CAPTAIN are radars, air defence systems, depots, command posts and enemy logistics. Striking these particular targets significantly degrades the enemy’s capabilities," said Stanislav Khutor, CEO of F-Drones-UA.
The F-CAPTAIN strike system is reportedly designed to engage stationary and moving enemy targets at an operational and tactical depth of up to 100 kilometres, bridging the gap between short-range weapons and strategic long-range systems. It combines high precision with sufficient destructive power to eliminate high-priority enemy targets. With a maximum take-off weight of 27 kilograms and a wingspan of three metres, the drone can carry a payload of up to 10 kilograms. It is equipped with a quiet electric propulsion system, as well as daylight and thermal-imaging cameras for round-the-clock reconnaissance and terminal guidance.
"The F-Drones middle-strike system was specifically designed to operate in challenging conditions of enemy electronic warfare jamming. Thanks to proprietary navigation and control software, the system can operate without a GPS signal and can also be easily integrated with radars, air defence systems and GIS platforms. To ensure uninterrupted communications, its secure channel supports Starlink as well as digital and analogue video feeds. Even if communication is completely lost during the final stage of the flight, the integrated autonomous target recognition system and Last Mile module still ensure a high-precision strike on the target," the company said.
The developers explained the name of the strike system by referring to a clear hierarchy within the military drone structure.
"FPV drones are the ‘sergeants’ on the front line. Heavy deep-strike platforms are the ‘generals’ operating against targets deep in the rear. CAPTAIN is a mid-ranking ‘officer’ that effectively keeps tactical-depth combat operations under control. Conducting combat missions at distances of up to 100 kilometres with standard FPV drones is ineffective, while using strategic deep-strike systems is impractical from an economic and logistical perspective. CAPTAIN perfectly fills this gap, making the destruction of enemy equipment and logistics systematic and precise," F-Drones stressed.
- It was previously reported that Ukraine had exported ready-made combat drones to the United States for the first time. A total of 2,000 F10 strike FPV drones manufactured by F-Drones were shipped to the United States under the Drone Dominance project being implemented for the US Department of War.
- It was also reported that the Ukrainian defence company F-Drones had been selected by the European Commission as one of the founding members of the newly established EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance.
