• 11 Nov 2024 06:26 AM
• 0

Sukhoi Displays S-76 Atlas Cargo Drone

On Aug. 12, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation showcased an outdoor display of its S-76 cargo drone prototype, built by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, at Russia’s Army International Military-Technical Forum in Moscow. Sukhoi has already completed initial flight tests with the hybrid-electric lift-pluscruise eVTOL aircraft; the pusher propeller is powered by a gasoline engine for forward flight.

The S-76 is made from carbon fiber and has a high wing with an 11-m (36.1-ft) span, plus four booms with a total of eight vertical propellers and an inverted V-tail. The eVTOL aircraft is expected to have a cruise speed of 180 km/h (112 mph), a range of 1,000 km (620 miles) and a cruise altitude of 4,000 m (13,120 ft). Cargo is loaded at the front of the aircraft (the nose is hinged on the side), where cargo rollers make it easy to load a maximum payload weight of 300 kg (661 lb). The Atlas has a 2-m³ (71-ft³) cargo hold and the maximum takeoff weight is 1,500 kg (3,300 lb). Aviation Week reported that to test the electric lift system, Sukhoi built a demonstrator — designated the S-76(D) — that was just a simple truss frame that made its first hover flight on Dec. 7, 2023. See the entries on the VFS World eVTOL Aircraft Directory at www.eVTOL.news/aircraft for more information.