Il drone intercettore “Octopus” che sarà coprodotto in Gran Bretagna. Nelle prime fasi si prevede che verranno prodotti circa 2.000 droni al mese, che saranno trasferiti alle Forze armate ucraine.

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1981762945731190824?t=EjYvVDizpBf8pmRgu2Yv1Q&s=19

Will 2000 be sent per month?

Its good news bit a basic and anticipated design with a lot of potential improvements.

As generally being seen lately the cruciform propellor pylons are evolving into wings and generating lift, reducing gravity drag that previously was achieved via thrust vector.  That is energy taken from max speed and range. 

With the need for 2 or 3 drones to hit one target, the reason is largely a result of limited speed and range and difficulty finding the target in a short period before the battery fails. 

Reducing drag thereby improves this ratio. It isnt just the cost of the drone but the need for depth of defenses against swarms and limited numbers of pilots available, defenses can thereby be swamped more easily if it take 3 drones to knock out the target.

Placement of propellors on the wing tips allows removal of all control surfaces, greatly improving wing aerodynamics, by differential thrust giving all 3 axis of control. 

Also it interferes with and reduces lift induced drag from the tips of the wing, important here as they are so short and therefore quite highly loaded.

Placing the propellors in pusher formation behind the wing is technically lower drag, several % drag reduction is possible in total  mainly due reduced parasitic drag. Pusher config also reduces lift induced drag, but possibly not as much as in puller config. Blowing over the wing can increase lift, making a shorter lighter wing. However it depends on speed where its best to put it, in front or behind. A higher speed means parasitic drag dominates and lift induced drag declines. Then it would be prefereable to have pusher config. The high thust to weight means it can get to that high velocity and then smaller wings are able to generate all lift.

An oblate spheroid is the most efficient shape for the body.

To increase thrust efficiency and top speed if needed, the propellor pitch should be selected for cruise speed only. The device can catapult or trolley or track launch to reduce launch energy requirememt and start its free flight at a mid point velocity so the propellor can be tuned for the top end rather than static thrust requirement. These designs tend to think its best to ground launch from tail sitting and purely on their own power. But as you go faster, the more important it is to optimise for the peak speed. 

Ducted fans are also worth looking into for improved high end performance. 

WONDERFUL NEWS!