By KYIV. Oct 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Slovenian drone maker C-Astral recently provided reconnaissance systems to Ukrainian troops, the Defense News reported referring to the company’s statement.
“It [the drone] is in fact being used by the Ukrainians and has been for some time. We do have some communication channels with the troops using them to get feedback and make improvements accordingly,” Jernej Moderc, a Bramor drone pilot at C-Astral, said.
Moderc could not disclose when and how many of the drones reached Ukraine, but did say it was fairly recent and involved several systems.
It’s also unclear whether the systems were sent directly and solely by the company, or if the Slovenian Defence Ministry provided the technology from its own inventory, as the country operates the drone type. The ministry declined to comment for this story.
The Belin drone is entirely manufactured and assembled in Slovenia by C-Astral. It is an unarmed aircraft primarily intended for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions as well as to follow convoys. Launched from a catapult, the system has a maximum endurance of three hours and can operate out to a distance of 40 kilometers (25 miles) via a line-of-sight communications link.
