New MiniShark reconnaissance drone spotted in action with Ukraine’s Defense Forces

28 August, 2023 A MiniShark UAV in the hands of a Ukrainian soldier on the front line, August 2023. Photo credits: freeze frame from the video. The new Ukrainian MiniShark reconnaissance drone was first spotted in use by the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

The video with the drone was published by Ukrainian musician and Defense Forces soldier Andriy Khlyvnyuk on his social media. The video shows a UAV of the MiniShark system. This is the first of six systems for which Andriy and his foundation are raising funds.

It is known that Andriy Khlyvnyuk serves as a UAV operator in the Tor National Police unit. This drone was first demonstrated in April 2023 at the Ukrainian Brave1 defense exhibition. Later in July, it was also shown at the IDEF exhibition in Turkey.

The Mini Shark is a smaller version of the Shark UAV, which was developed by the Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems. The drone's main purpose is aerial reconnaissance and ground target detection. According to the developers, MiniShark was created because of the military's need for a lightweight, compact reconnaissance UAV.

Therefore, one of its advantages is hand-held launch and easy transportation. The entire system fits in two backpacks. Each system consists of the following elements:

• 2 Mini Shark drones,
• two USG-261 gimbals, equipped with an optical-electronic system with the 10x Auto Focus Optical Zoom,
• mobile control station,
• spare parts.

2023 year. Illustration: Ukrspecsystems

The drone with a wingspan of 2.6 meters and a length of 125 cm has a maximum take-off weight of up to 5 kg.

Its operating radius is 35 km and the flight duration is 2 hours. The declared cruising speed is 55 km/h, the maximum flight speed is 120 km/h. The working height of the flight is 1000 meters.

After completing the flight mission, the drone autonomously lands on the ground. To do this, the optical station is automatically hidden inside the fuselage before landing. Previously, it was only known about test flights of drones as part of field trials.

But now, apparently, the system has entered mass production.