Aviation / Aerospace

Sukhoi Zond (Series)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) [ 2015 ]

The Sukhoi Zond series of UAVs will cover a spectrum of useful communications relay and environmental monitoring roles for Russia.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/09/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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The Zond family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is being developed by Russian mainstay Sukhoi OKB. The family consists of the Zond-1, Zond-2 and Zond-3 - each charged with varying non-military roles. The Zond-1 will primarily be used in communications relay and transmission of television signals at low-to-medium altitudes (up to 18,000 meters) through a radar and Phased Array Antenna (PAA) and TV link relay suite. The Zond-2 will undertake environmental monitoring tasks related to the earth's surface and upper atmosphere utilizing a sideways-looking synthetic aperture radar system, infrared and television monitoring at medium-to-higher altitudes (up to 24,000 meters). The Zond-3M is scheduled as something of a combination of both preceding Zond vehicles - monitoring environmental and atmospheric events and changes as well as communications relay. The Zond-3 will be dimensionally smaller when compared to the full-sized Zond-1 and Zond-2 series vehicles and be designed for operations at altitudes below 12,000 meters

Design of all three air vehicles will be largely the same save for a few notable physical differences. All versions will sport a Global Hawk-type nose profile with low-mounted straight-set wings with clipped tips. The Zond-1 and Zond-2 will sport a maximum take-off weight of 12,000kg compared to the Zond-3's 2,000kg MTOW. The Zond-1 and Zond-2 will also share the same empennage assembly, featuring a pair of outward-canted vertical tail fins in a Vee arrangement. The Zond-3 will be given a similar assembly though of an inverted Vee design. The Zond-1 will sport a triangular radar assembly on a strengthened support along its fuselage spine. The Zond-2 will be characterized by its fuselage underside assembly which will promote a deeper profile appearance. Unlike the Zond-1 and Zond-2 models, the Zond-3 will be powered by a lighter propeller-based powerplant set in the pusher configuration. The Zond-1 and Zond-2, comparatively, will feature a (presumed) turboshaft engine within the fuselage and side-mounted air intakes. It is assumed that all three designs will make use of a retractable undercarriage.

Specifications

Service Year

2015

Origin

Russia

Crew

0
UNMANNED

Production

0
UNITS

Sukhoi - Russia

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Russia

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Special Forces
Serving Special Forces / Special Operations elements and missions.

✓ Unmanned Capability
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.

Length

42.7 ft
(13.00 m)

Width/Span

114.8 ft
(35.00 m)

Height

18.0 ft
(5.50 m)

MTOW

26,455 lb
(12,000 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Sukhoi Zond-1 production variant)

Installed: 1 x turbofan engine (Zond-1; Zond-2) OR 1 x propeller engine in pusher configuration (Zond-3).

Max Speed

155 mph
(250 kph | 135 kts)

Ceiling

49,213 ft
(15,000 m | 9 mi)

Range

7,456 mi
(12,000 km | 22,224 nm)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Sukhoi Zond-1 production variant. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

None. Fitted with a payload of antenna, communications equipment, relay systems, electro-optical systems, infrared, synthetic aperture radar and similar.

Zond-1 - Communications relay/TV transmissions; triangular radome on fuselage spine; Vee-style tail assembly.

Zond-2 - Radar-equipped; IR/TV systems; atmospheric surveillance; Vee-style tail assembly.

Zond-3 - - Radar-equipped; IR/TV systems; atmospheric surveillance; communications relay systems; inverted Vee-style tail assembly.

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