The Yakovlev PCHELA-1T (Пчела-1Т meaning bee) is a unmanned aerial vehicle

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

 (UAV) manufactured by the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Yakovlev

Yakovlev

The Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...

 Design Bureau. Its primary use is for surveillance and observation in battlefield environments with downlinked video. Other implementations and uses include target designation and as a training target.

The PCHELA is launched using rocket assist by two solid-propellant booster rocket engines, and it is recovered via parachute

Parachute

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...

.

The Pchela-1T has a range 60 km (37 mi), flies at 100-2500 m (328-8,203 ft) altitude at 120-180 km/h (75-112 mph). The Maximum Take-Off Weight

Maximum Take-Off Weight

The Maximum Takeoff Weight or Maximum Takeoff Mass of an aircraft is the maximum weight at which the pilot of the aircraft is allowed to attempt to take off, due to structural or other limits. The analogous term for rockets is Gross Lift-Off Mass, or GLOW...

for the vehicle is 138 kg (304 lb). Yak lists the vehicle endurance at two hours.

External links

• Yakovlev Design Bureau - English
• A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau - Russian
• Yakovlev RPVs
• PCHELA