American SAR Radar Successfully Tested on Ukrainian Raybird Drone

The Ukrainian company Skyeton has tested American SAR radar on its Raybird reconnaissance drone.

This was reported by the General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces, commenting on international cooperation in the defense sector.

In a comment to Militarnyi, Skyeton noted that the tests of the American-designed SAR radar were successful. Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a radar for remote sensing of the Earth.

It creates highly detailed images of the surface using radio waves. Its main feature is its ability to obtain clear images at night and through clouds, fog, or rain.

Earlier it was reported that Raybird is equipped with the SAR radar from Radionix.

Radionix developed all SAR modes in close cooperation with the aviation manufacturing company Skyeton. This year, it was also announced that Ukrainian drones will receive reconnaissance SAR radars from the French company Harmattan AI, which allow reconnaissance even in cloudy or foggy conditions. 

The Raybird drone was approved for use by the military back in 2016, and since 2018, it has been officially in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

It is designed for long-term missions and search and rescue operations.

In a single flight, the 23 kg UAV (of which 5 kg is payload) is capable of covering a distance of up to 2,500 km at an altitude of up to 5,500 meters.

The operator can directly control the aircraft at a distance of up to 220 km. The Raybird’s cruising speed is between 80 and 140 km/h.