Russia Is Exporting a 1,500-Km Harpiya-A1 Strike Drone—and Offering Buyers Their Own Factory

Russia is pushing an export version of its Harpiya-A1 long-range strike drone onto the international weapons market—and is offering friendly countries more than finished aircraft: Moscow says it is prepared to help manufacture them locally.

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport began an international marketing campaign for the Harpiya-A1E in August, with the export drone expected to be shown to potential customers at defense exhibitions in Vietnam and China, Militarnyi reported on September 29.

Russian officials claim Almaz-Antey has already established serial production of the export model and has enough manufacturing capacity to fulfill foreign orders alongside domestic demand.

The company is also offering potential customers localized production, which could allow foreign buyers to manufacture parts or potentially assemble the system inside their own countries.

The original Harpiya-A1 is associated with Almaz-Antey enterprises, including the Kupol Electromechanical Plant in Izhevsk.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, or HUR, has also linked another Russian company, VNIIR-Progress, to the drone’s production chain. The firm manufactures the Kometa family of satellite-navigation modules designed to resist electronic warfare interference.

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According to specifications published by HUR, the Harpiya-A1 has a maximum takeoff weight of up to 300 kilograms, can reach speeds of approximately 185 kilometers per hour and has a range of up to 1,500 kilometers, or about 930 miles.

The drone can reportedly carry a payload of up to 150 kilograms.

Images of the new Harpiya-A1E export configuration also appear to show a different navigation antenna from earlier versions. The visible system resembles a four-element Kometa-M4 array.

Previously, Russian forces began using a new version of the Geran-5 attack drone equipped with an optical navigation system that allows it to navigate using reference images of terrain.

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