Exposed: First Syrian rebels DIY unmanned aerial vehicle (that may never be able to fly…)

David Cenciotti
2 Min Read

The following video shows what is believed to be the first Free Syrian Army drone.

According to the speaker, the DIY Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is equipped with a camera and is capable of carrying 50 kg of explosive “against Assad forces”.

Three meters in length with a 3 m wingspan, it features a 6-blade (each measuring 10 cm) propeller (that is quite similar to a car radiator fan…) connected to an engine capable of 4HP at  3,600 RPM.

http://youtu.be/8kAeJcWGjSI

Indeed the engine seems to work.

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However, the drone lacks an actual airframe and it seems to have been assembled using car parts. Hard to believe it can safely fly, be launched and recovered (look how fragile the landing gear seems to be) and effectively target with a certain accuracy Assadist forces on the ground unless (much) more engineering and development work is done.

H/T to Fred Enaj for the heads-up and thanks to @troublejee for the translation

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