Irkut Corporation is participating in the Moscow International Forum and Exhibition entitled, "Unmanned multipurpose vehicle systems" (UVS-TECH 2009), being held in the Central Exhibition Complex, Expocentre Fairgrounds, an Irkut spokesman said.

Irkut will display a number of civil-purpose unmanned systems including the Irkut-2, Irkut-10, and Irkut-850, which are already approved for deployment — these unmanned systems are ready for series production. Various unmanned Irkut Corporation aerial systems underwent industrial trials at JSC Gazprom in 2007-2008. These trials demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of modern piloted and unmanned aerial vehicles systems for use in monitoring gas-transporting structures such as pipelines and surveying adjacent territories, including for anti-terrorism, environmental, and evaluation purposes.

In co-operation with JSC Gazcom, more than 4,500 kilometers of gas pipelines were kept under surveillance from the air. TV and IR cameras, photo-cameras and side-looking radar with synthetic apertures acted as payloads. As a result, a great number of video, photo and radar input was acquired and broadcast on various channels including satellite transmissions. The systems under development, such as unmanned aerial vehicle systems based upon KOAX X-240 and NEO S-300 MK II helicopters, are also being showcased at the Moscow exposition.

The Irkut Corporation products are on display as part of the combined exhibition of Russia’s leading defense companies. Among them are JSC United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), JSC Concern Almaz-Antey, JSC Vega Radio Engineering Corporation, JSC Oboronprom, and FSUE Promtechaero. Irkut Corporation is a prime contractor in civil-purpose unmanned programs within the UAC, fulfilling a number of state contracts on development and delivery of UAV systems.

(Photo, courtesy IRKUT, is of a UAV mockup)