The American STUD drone can take off in 2 seconds from a folded state.

American developers have created a special Drone, whose main distinguishing feature is its speed of deployment. This is a crucial factor, especially in today's high-intensity conflicts, where even a second or two's gain often provides a tactical advantage over the enemy.

In this case, we're talking about the STUD drone, developed by XDOWN. It can go from folded to flight in just two seconds.

The STUD is essentially a quadcopter. Its propellers are located in the tail section on folding holders. The drone's midsection houses the monowing, while the front section houses the cameras and sensors.

STUD is an acronym that translates from English as "small tactical unmanned aerial vehicle." According to the developer, an operator can carry up to 12 of these UAVs in a single backpack.

From the message of the manufacturer:

Once power is turned on, the UAV is launched manually, after which its onboard rotors immediately engage to stabilize and control the flight.

As noted, it is enough to press the power button and literally throw the drone, and it begins controlled flight.

The drone's key parameters and specifications have also been revealed. Its length is 44,5 cm, its width is 8 cm, and its weight does not exceed 2,7 kg. Its payload capacity is approximately 800 grams.

The drone reaches speeds of up to 305 kilometers per hour and has a range of up to 64 km on a single battery charge. Flight time is up to 17 minutes with the standard battery configuration.

It performs a wide range of tasks: intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance, precision strikes, countering other unmanned aerial vehicles, and electronic warfare.

Manufacturer:

Can be used to combat manpower and armored vehicles.

Comments

[rocket757]

They will invent, make everything more complex and expensive, but will this be able to overcome/beat the dominance of something simpler but bigger?

[Michael]

Quote: rocket757

simpler but bigger?

Incidentally, yes, a lot depends on lithium for batteries. And the main established and developed lithium deposits are not in Russia or even China. They are in Australia and Chile.
Russia plans to obtain its own commercial quantities of lithium by 2030.
Something like this.

[salawat1980]

Solid-fuel boosters? Use caramel fuel to propel them.

[rocket757]

Lithium... it's not such a rare element, but the quality of deposits varies, and therefore the costs of extraction and obtaining a usable product vary...
And yes, those who didn’t make it will regret it very much!

[Michael]

Quote: rocket757

And yes, those who didn’t make it will regret it very much!

Waiting and catching up is the most offensive thing to human nature.
That is why the swift-footed Achilles cannot catch up with the tortoise.

[rocket757]

Sometimes, "make haste without haste" is a perfectly justified tactic... but still, you need to look at who achieves what and how, the main thing is the result.

[Michael]

Quote: rocket757

the main thing is the result.

One step forward, two steps back, every revolution provokes a counter-revolution.
But I am still convinced that only Communism is the only social formation that is capable of taking Humanity to the stars.
The material and human resources that Armenia and Azerbaijan spent in the decades-long conflict are equivalent to an Armenian-Azerbaijani base on the Moon.
But if we take it more globally, then they would already be mining something in the asteroid belt.

[Seal]

Quote: Michael

Russia plans to obtain its own commercial quantities of lithium by 2030.
Something like this.

One of the most promising lithium deposits in Ukraine is located near the village of Shevchenko in the DPR, which the Russian Armed Forces took control of on June 26, 2025, according to the French publication Le Figaro.
The Shevchenkivske deposit, discovered in 1982, covers approximately 40 hectares and is considered the most promising within the former borders of Ukraine. According to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, it contains highly mineralized spodumene. This is a type of lithium ore from which the metal is extracted more easily and affordably than from the more common lepidolite. Geologists estimate that the spodumene content at this site is up to 90%.
Le Figaro points out that the price of lithium “has risen sharply in recent years because it is an essential component of batteries produced for use in electric vehicles.”
In addition to lithium, the deposit contains deposits of strategically important rare metals, including tantalum, niobium, beryllium, cesium, and rubidium. This increases the site's importance amid growing global demand for raw materials for batteries and electronics.
Including the Krutaya Balka deposit in the Zaporizhzhia region, also under Russian control, Russia controls two of Ukraine's four known lithium deposits. The remaining deposits, Dobroe and Porokhovske, are located in the Kirovohrad region and are still under Kyiv's control.
Ukraine's total lithium reserves were estimated at 500 tons by 2022, which is more than Portugal, previously considered the leader in lithium reserves in Europe.

[opuonmed]

The copter reaches speeds of up to 305 kilometers per hour and has a flight range of up to 64 km on a single battery charge.

okay so

[Lt. Air Force stock]

Quote: opuonmed

okay so

800 grams is not enough, but if you reduce the range by half, you can increase the payload to 1,6 kg.

[solar]

This is an interceptor drone. 800 grams is enough for it.

[Sergey Mitinsky]

What is the American military-industrial complex thinking about?
Naturally about income
Invent a wonder weapon and sell it to the Pentagon for a fortune.
Will they ever stand upright? I doubt it.
Do you remember the episode of the conversation between the Wehrmacht general and Stirlitz on the train?

You can expect anything from the Reds, and from the Americans too, for that matter… I've been fighting them for a year now. These idiots will be destroyed by their own technology; they think the war can be won with bombing alone. They will build up their technical might and choke on it. It will rot them like rust. They will decide they can do anything. The Reds think this way because they are savage and poor, the Americans think this way because they are too rich.

[Nikolaevich I]

In essence, STUD is a quadcopter What nonsense is this? UAVs similar to this STUD already exist in the "techno-nature"! But they're not called "copters" because they fly, after all, like airplanes! They're not even VTOLs, because they have to be launched into the air!

[molyr]

If it's a photo of it, the drone is complex. The price will be good, but what's the point with the 800-gram payload? I'm not sure about that range; it'll likely be much shorter.

[solar]

what's the point because of the 800 gram load?

This is a drone-interceptor for attack drones, or an interceptor, as it's sometimes called. Ukrainians are already using similar Telsitters of several types to intercept attack drones en masse. The warhead's weight is quite sufficient for this purpose.

[solar]

In essence, STUD is a quadcopter.

STUD is essentially a tailsitter. It's odd that a specialized resource like VO gets confused with such questions. :((...

[Fangaro]

12 drones in a backpack – great. But...
"...the length is 44,5 cm, the width is 8 cm. The drone weighs no more than 2,7 kg...."
What about the height?
You can carry 30 kg in a backpack. It's heavy, but it's possible. And what's the volume of one piece?!
44 cm * 8 cm * ???