The German Economy Ministry has permitted the company Donaustahl to manufacture and export MAUS drones.
The company has stated that the new drones will be delivered to the Ukrainian Kraken unit. The Kraken Special Unit is an independent reconnaissance and sabotage formation of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The unit was established a week and a half before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Ukrainian soldiers anticipated that Russia was preparing for war, so they began forming an underground resistance in advance.
According to the company, the MAUS system can be used to attack personnel and armored vehicles. The MAUS platform is a versatile quadcopter capable of performing both reconnaissance and strike missions. MAUS is designed as an FPV drone. It is described as “fully modular, economical, reliable, and easy to operate,” requiring minimal operator training, according to Militarnyi.
The technical specifications of the MAUS say that a drone can carry a payload of up to 2.7 kg and has a flight range of five to seven km. The drone is equipped with a high-resolution camera, allowing it to perform missions even at night. It can also be armed with various types of ammunition.
Unlike commercially available drones, the MAUS is made not from carbon but from specially treated wood, which makes the loitering munition platform approximately 10% heavier than standard FPV drones but also approximately 75% cheaper in terms of frame production costs.
Earlier, Zelenskyy noted Ukraine was developing its own deep-strike capabilities, including drones, in response to the delays and will use its own weapons if the allies do not grant full permission.
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