Maksim covers aerospace developments in Central Asia for Aviation Week. He has worked for Russia's Air Transport Observer magazine and was in charge of several ATO sister aerospace publications after working for the Moscow-based CAST defense think tank.
Maksim has a degree in international relations from MGIMO University, Moscow.
Russian ground forces are preparing to field new unmanned aircraft, plugging a capability gap in their arsenal that was highlighted during the 2008 conflict in Georgia. The Russian military has opted for three unmanned systems to be evaluated for a trial period, after a downselect from a larger set of candidates. Shortlisted are the Orlan-10, built by St. Petersburg-based Special Technology Center (STC); the Zala-421-04M Lastochka, designed by a Zala Aero/Vega Concern team; and Eleron-10, developed by Enics from Kazan.
Representatives of the Russian ground forces have begun a competition to select unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for use in reconnaissance and target designation. The UAVs are also expected to be compatible with a tactical troop command and control (C2) system that is under development.
