The Polish Military Group has unveiled the ReconSea, a high-speed naval strike drone that uses hydrofoil technology.

Militarnyi’s reporters got a closer look at the development at MSPO 2024.

At the MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition 2024 in Kielce, the Polish company presented a prototype of a light strike drone equipped with a 50-kilogram warhead.

The ReconSea design uses hydrofoil technology, which is exotic for the niche and consists of three downward-facing hydrodynamic surfaces and a submerged propulsion system.

When stopped or slowly moving, the drone is in a semi-submerged position like a normal vessel. However, it rises to an altitude of 50-80 centimeters above the water at high speed due to the lift generated by its “wings.”

This reduces water resistance, allowing the vessel to reach much higher speeds and making its course much more economical and stable during sea waves.

The disadvantage of hydrofoils is that they cannot be used during strong waves. Nevertheless, this does not significantly affect the tactics of use, as such limitations apply to all surface drones.

Equipped with a 9 kW electric motor, the drone can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h. At cruising speed, the naval drone’s range is about 100 km.

The ReconSea naval drone can be controlled by an inertial navigation system with satellite signal correction or by fiber optic cable directly from the operator’s control panel.

Representatives of the company said that the sample presented at the exhibition is only a prototype undergoing research tests. They plan to complete the tests in a few months by presenting a refined model.

The Polish Military Group has also created its own ecosystem for drones, which should allow the use of a coordinated swarm of drones in the future.

As previously reported, Ukrainian Armor presented the UGV Protector (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) at the MSPO International Defense Industry Exhibition in Poland.