The Apex Recordhunter is a battery-powered drone made by a company called Quantum Systems. The company makes a bunch of unmanned vehicles, mostly airborne, but this one has been engineered specifically to break speed records. Hence the name.
It helps that the company has the assistance of Porsche-linked battery company V4Smart. This might be what gives the Recordhunter an edge over blistering DIY efforts with a similar design. Quantum Systems’ drone has clocked a top speed of 699km/h.
Apex? Predator.
At this point, the airborne craft doesn’t need anything like an attached weapons system to be lethal. Whack anything at 700 kilometres per hour, and you’re going to leave a dent. The Apex Recordhunter isn’t explicitly a battlefield weapon, though Quantum Systems’ other craft take on that role. It’s no stretch to believe that this high-speed object will eventually have its tech co-opted into the Germany/Ukraine project’s outcomes.
The Recordhunter has zipped to 699km/h, perhaps unsurprisingly without giving away details of what the drone uses in terms of tech. When you see what else the company that makes these has in its sights, the secrecy might make a little more sense.
The awaiting-certification top speed was achieved in level flight. There are two more Ukrainian records also on the block — the STRILA Interceptor and SPYS records. These are the “[h]ighest speed achieved by an FPV interceptor drone carrying a 0.5 kg payload” and the “[h]ighest speed achieved by an anti-aircraft class FPV interceptor drone.”
Those records are unequivocally military in nature. Pretty much any drone is an anti-aircraft object if it’s in the right place. If it’s classed as an ‘interceptor’ and carries a payload, its purpose is far more clearly defined. Still, this bugger is quick. If Quantum Systems ever decides to be a little less secretive, we might even see it in action. On video rather than live and in person, for preference.
