Small, radio-transparent, easy to control and simply beautiful – this is how the developers briefly describe the Sirko drone, which they were working on in Kharkiv during the constant shelling of Russian troops. So far the UAV has been tested and can be put into service soon.

About the characteristics of the aircraft and the history of its creation – in the Ukrinform material.

KHARKIV BRAINS AND MODERN POLYMERS

Sirko is the first creation of “Science and Production Company Skyassist” created after the full-scale invasion. It was founded by volunteers who quickly realized one of the most important needs of Ukrainian defenders.

“The army needs eyes.” How did we do it? A KB, the brainchild of our enterprise, was created in Kharkiv. These are nine experts. Almost everyone worked here because our city is home to very smart people who are very angry with Muscovites. This is a very powerful combination. We are very motivated. We gathered, drew, discussed” – the story of Ihor Krynychko, chairman of the company’s supervisory board, begins.

The engineers set themselves three main tasks: to create a mass-produced, functional but inexpensive drone. Now they claim to have achieved their goal: pressing molds have been developed, so the drone has an unassembled body.

“We use polymer (name not disclosed – ed.), produced abroad. It allows you to stamp planes very quickly. Two in 18 minutes. So, the possibility of production is simply insane. Now the workshop in Kiev is set to produce a thousand parts a month and we can still scale up,” says Krynychko.

The circus costs $3,000 without the ground station. The company offers a complex of a station and three drones for $9,250.

EASY TO CONTROL AND CAREFUL FOR THE OPERATOR

The wingspan of the Sirka is very small compared to drones with similar functionality – only 93 centimeters. Of course, this is an important advantage. The closest foreign products to “Kharkov” are 1.67-1.7 meters long. It weighs about 1.4 kg.

“God forbid, if the soldiers start shooting, then “Sirko” hides in a bag behind his shoulders – and the soldier escapes. Larger drones need to be disassembled: remove one wing, the other and it’s time,” says Krynychko. In addition, the polymer used is radiolucent.

“There are two flight modes – automatic and manual, as, for example, in the well-known Maviks to Ukrainians (Mavic is a series of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Chinese company DJI – ed.), people control it by remote control. These remote controls emit radio waves that the enemy can see. Meanwhile, the soldier driving the car is not protected, the enemy closes him with mortar fire and we have losses among our men as a result. With this in mind, we have taken some precautions. The aircraft can be controlled from a distance of up to 30 kilometers. And the “burning” is the ground station, not the person with the control panel. And indeed, the operator can hide in the bunker and control the flight in a safe enough situation. The enemy blows up this antenna. This is not scary! The important thing is that we save lives,” explains Krynychko.

According to him, learning to run the Circus is not as difficult as foreign products.

“If we talk about FPV flying, that is, hand-flying, then to get a pilot who will do quality reconnaissance, he needs to fly 150-200 hours. One week of training is enough in our school – and he will lead the “Sirko”. Because all the flight parameters are set on the computer. Experienced pilots skills are not required. And device losses are minimized,” Krynychko said confidently.

ART BECOME A WEAPON

According to the chairman of the supervisory board of Skyassist Scientific and Production Company LLC, his own funds for the creation of the drone quickly ran out, so he turned to all his school and university friends and acquaintances, and they turned to themselves. The volunteer chain eventually made the implementation of the project possible. The first Sirko took off three months after the designers began work, and about a month ago the device passed the tests of the Ministry of Defense.

Kharkiv-based architect, artist, poet Oleksandr Bayever is one of those who support the developers. The artist gives the lion’s share of the proceeds from the sale of his watercolor and printed albums last year. Although Kharkiv was damaged by bombardment, Bayever’s drawings do not contain images of destroyed buildings or people’s suffering. The works are bright, sunny, dreamy and tender. It includes ordinary courtyards and streets, as well as recognizable and favorite places of Kharkiv residents. The author emphasizes that he is not a documentarian, he tries to show that life goes on in Kharkiv.

“It’s very important to see a beautiful, beautiful cityscape. Our city, our Kharkiv. Not because it was destroyed, but because it’s alive. And it’s especially important for those who aren’t in the city right now,” Bayever said.

Recently, the artist presented a collection of poems with translations from English, Italian, Latin, Greek, Japanese and Hebrew. Proceeds from the sale of the book will also benefit the release of unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Actually, I was almost arguing so that Oleksandr would keep something to himself. Artists also have to live for something. But thanks to such people, we were able to create “Cirka” – says Ihor Krynychko.

According to him, the company is currently working on a pulse version of the drone.

Yulia Bayrachna, Kharkov

Photo of the author and Vyacheslav Madievskyi