Czech engineering company PBS and Ukrainian engine designer Ivchenko Progress signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a compact turbojet for small UAVs and cruise missiles this week at Le Bourget. The AI-PBS-350 will produce 765 pounds of thrust but weighs only 112 pounds. Measuring only 9.7 inches long and 11.5 inches in diameter, it will feature a four-stage axial compressor and a single-stage axial turbine.
PBS manufactures eight small turbojets and a turboprop engine used for UAVs, microjets such as the Sonex Aircraft SubSonex kit-built single-engine jet, and helicopters. It also makes APUs and environmental control systems and has been cooperating with Ivchenko since 2006. “We will learn from each other on this new high-level engineering project,” said Marek Fiala, PBS director of marketing.
Ivchenko is based in Zaporizhzhia, one of the cities most heavily attacked by Russia during the war against Ukraine. Ivchenko general director Ivor Kavchenko told AIN that his factory had suffered damage, like many others, but it continues to operate. The company employs 3,000 people and because it is designated an essential industry, only 100 of them have left to join the military.