Grom (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Гром, lit. '

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

') is a Russian

unmanned combat aerial vehicle An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircra ...

(UCAV) being developed by the

Kronshtadt Group The Kronshtadt Group (also romanized as Kronstadt), is a Russian manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. History Kronstadt began the development of the Kronshtadt Orion in 2011 as part of the Russian MoD-funded Inokhodets ...

. It was first unveiled at ARMY-2020 forum.

Development

A full size mockup of the Grom UCAV was unveiled at Army-2020 by Kronshtadt. "Grom" is being designed to operate in conjunction with fighters such as

Su-35 The Sukhoi Su-35 (-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E/M, occasionally nicknamed "Super Flanker") is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable, 4.5 ge ...

and

Su-57 The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth aircraft, stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical comp ...

; according to main designer of Kronstadt, the main task of this UCAV is to save the lives of pilots and piloted aircraft themselves. "Grom" will be able to carry

Kh-38 The Kh-38/Kh-38M () is a family of standoff air-to-surface missiles meant to succeed the Kh-25 and Kh-29 missile families. The Kh-38 also serves as the basis for the Kh-36 unpowered and powered glide-bombs. Design and development The basic co ...

air-to-surface guided missiles. The weapons will be placed on four hardpoints - two under the wings and two inside the fuselage. The

Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) (, КТРВ) is a major Russian holding company for the manufacturers of military weapons (especially missiles), headquartered in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast. History Tactical Missiles Corporation was found ...

has developed air-to-surface missiles for this drone, prepared the Izdeliye 85 guided missile, as well as KAB-250 and KAB-500 guided bombs. The Grom drone will be capable of not only operating with its own weapons, but also controlling a swarm of 10 units of Molniya strike drones launched from another carrier. During Army-2022 forum Kronshtadt representatives confirmed that government contracts for the development of the drone were signed, and it was at the stage of preliminary design. Durinhg the Army-2024 forum Kronshtadt presented an altered design of the Grom.

Specifications (Grom)

References

{{Soviet and Russian UAVs, state=expanded Single-engined jet aircraft Unmanned military aircraft of Russia