Russia Develops Modular UAV 'Lesnik' for Agriculture and Environmental Protection

The new Russian-made hexacopter is designed to deliver cargo, monitor farmlands, and assist in environmental surveillance.

Engineers from the Russian company Technovation Concern have unveiled a new modular hexacopter UAV named 'Lesnik,' built for cargo transport, environmental protection, and agricultural monitoring. The news was reported by RIA Novosti, citing the press service of the National Technology Initiative (NTI) platform.

Technovation Concern is a resident of the Parma-UAS scientific and production center for unmanned aerial systems and a participant in NTI’s Aeronet market. Development began last year, starting with custom software for all critical systems. The UAV includes a domestically made flight controller and microcomputer, radio modules with frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) and anti-jamming coding, antenna-feeder systems, optical navigation to counter GPS spoofing, and computer vision technologies.

Lesnik boasts superior technical specs compared to its peers, with an operational range of up to 40 kilometers and a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 100 kilograms. Built from lightweight materials, the drone is powered by six brushless electric motors and can stay airborne even if one motor fails. It can carry cargo at speeds up to 60 km/h, hover for video and photo capture, and fly for up to 45 minutes. Lesnik is also capable of creating digital terrain maps to optimize logistics.

The prototype has passed initial tests, and developers are currently trialing its radio communication systems. Multiple variants are being designed to meet different customer needs.