Sterkh-BM

The Sterkh-BM is a Belarusian unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Minsk Aircraft Overhaul Plant. Powered by a gasoline piston engine, it can take off, navigate a preset route, and land without any operator input, and it is capable of operating from nearly any surface. The UAV weighs 65 kilograms, has a wingspan of 3.8 meters, and reaches a cruising speed of 120 km/h, with a top speed of 200 km/h.

Its maximum range is 240 kilometers, and its service ceiling is 3,000 meters. The aircraft obtains positioning data through GPS and can switch to GLONASS if needed; if GPS signals are disrupted, a ground-based module can simulate the signal. Several units have reportedly been assembled, with plans to produce up to ten per year, though batch production was initially targeted for 2013.

The plant intends to sell the Sterkh-BM primarily to Belarus’s Defense, Interior, and Emergencies ministries, to which proposals have already been sent, and it also aims to market the UAV within the CIS and CSTO. The plant’s CEO, Evgeni Vajtsekhovich, has stated that Cuba is interested not only in purchasing the Sterkh-BM but also in establishing joint assembly of the aircraft there. The design cost of the UAV was approximately US$500,000.