Ukrainian defence company F-Drones has unveiled the five-inch F5 FPV drone, designed specifically for assault units. The drone is intended for short-range operations in challenging environments, including tree lines and urban areas, as well as for supporting positions and assault operations. The company announced the development on social media.
“Our new F5 is a compact five-inch FPV for operations on the frontline. The F5 is a compact strike FPV drone by F-Drones, designed primarily for assault units. It is suited to short-range operations and challenging environments: tree lines, built-up areas, supporting positions and assault groups. Its principle is simple: deploy quickly, strike quickly. The lightweight five-inch carbon platform can carry a payload of up to 1 kg and is ready for immediate use on the frontline when every second counts,” F-Drones said.
The company said the new FPV drone is produced in two versions – with a jam-resistant radio link and a fibre-optic connection.
“The drone comes in two versions – with a jam-resistant radio link and a fibre-optic control link (completely immune to electronic warfare). In the fibre-optic configuration, the drone can fly around 6 km. In the radio version, the F5 has twice the tactical range, reaching up to 13 km. Its compact size directly affects logistics: several drones can be carried in a single backpack,” F-Drones said.
The company said the new drone has already been tested and codified by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
“Like all our birds, the F5 comes with our codified Opera initiation electronics board. The UAV has been tested and codified by the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. We have found the right balance between compactness, range and payload. We hope the enemy will appreciate it,” the company said in a post. In an interview with DOU, F-Drones CEO Stanislav Khutor said the F5 can also be mounted on unmanned ground vehicles, with one UGV able to transport up to nine FPV drones.
“The F5 can also be mounted on unmanned ground vehicles. We have developed a modular platform that can be adapted to different UGVs, provided they can carry the required weight. One robot in this configuration can transport nine drones. They can wait at the position and support defensive or assault operations. That means nine separate sorties without the direct risk to a person who would otherwise have to carry the drones themselves,” Stanislav Khutor said.
F-Drones, a Ukrainian company, produces tens of thousands of drones per month and has several hundred engineers and IT specialists on its team. It was also the first Ukrainian company to receive permission to export 2,000 ready-made drones to the US Army. In recent months, the company has unveiled the F-CAPTAIN middle-strike system and the upgraded LITAVR+ jet-powered Shahed interceptor, and announced plans to launch licensed drone production in Ohio, where 300 people will work.