Russia’s state-owned company Rosoboronexport has launched an international marketing initiative for the Garpia-A1E, a new long-range loitering munition manufactured by peer enterprise Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Corporation.
Alexander Mikheev, the company’s director general, verified that the unmanned aerial system has already drawn interest from potential foreign customers following live evaluations.
He added that Rosoboronexport is open to discussing direct export supplies as well as localizing production of the suicide drone within nations “friendly to Russia.”
At the same time, Almaz-Antey has scaled up series production, enabling the defense industrial base to complete foreign military sales under strict schedules.
“When conducting contract and supply work regarding Russian military products, Rosoboronexport primarily considers the need for the manufacturer to fulfill its obligations to the Russian Ministry of Defence,” Mikheev said.
“Almaz-Antey has mastered the series production of the Garpia-A1E system and reached a level that enables it to fulfill contracts with foreign customers within competitive timeframes without compromising the country’s defence capability,”
Offering 1,000-Km Range
The Garpia-A1E measures 3.4 meters (11 feet) long, has a total takeoff weight of 250 kilograms (551 pounds), and has a 3-meter (10-foot) wingspan.
The platform is built on Almaz-Antey’s proprietary BLA-D gasoline-powered attack drone, which utilizes a flying-wing configuration and a pusher propeller to strike fixed targets at coordinates programmed in advance.
The aircraft reaches a top speed of 170 kilometers (106 miles) per hour, has endurance exceeding six hours, and has a service ceiling of 50 to 2,500 meters (164 to 8,202 feet).
“Today, the Garpia-A1E is the only loitering munition on the global market with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles),” Mikheev stated.
“It can carry a warhead weighing over 50 kilograms (110 pounds), and its circular error probability does not exceed four meters (13 feet).”
