Athlon Avia R&D Center LLC
Kyiv maker of the A1-CM Furia catapult-launched fixed-wing reconnaissance UAS, in Ukrainian service since 2015 with 4,000+ aircraft deployed.
Athlon Avia is a Ukrainian developer and manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems, best known for the A1-CM Furia, one of the first reconnaissance UAVs fielded by Ukrainian forces after 2014. The company is based in Kyiv. Its website names the producing entity as Athlon Avia R&D Center LLC. According to the company, it was set up in 2014 in response to the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas, and the first Furia flight tests were carried out that year with the volunteer "Donbas" battalion. Business Insider has identified Artem Vyunnyk as chief executive.
The A1-CM Furia is a catapult-launched flying-wing UAS used for target detection, reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustment. The company's product page lists a fiberglass, carbon-fiber and Kevlar airframe with a 2,000 mm wingspan and 900 mm length, electric propulsion on 66,000 mAh Li-ion batteries, and a takeoff weight of 6 kg. It also gives an operational range of at least 50 km, flight endurance of up to 4 hours, a cruising speed of 65 km/h, a route length of up to 200 km, and operation in winds up to 12 m/s. The aircraft is launched by elastic or mechanical catapult and recovered by parachute or conventional landing, with automatic and manual flight modes. A standard set includes three air vehicles, three daytime payload modules and two night payload modules with gyro-stabilized interchangeable optics. The company says the system's data links support missions at a tactical depth of up to 70 km.
The National Guard of Ukraine adopted Furia in 2015. A modernized A1-CM completed the full cycle of state trials and was adopted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2020, and the company received a Cabinet of Ministers prize for its work on mini-class UAVs. In 2026 Athlon Avia said that more than 4,000 Furia aircraft had been deployed and that more than 100 brigades use the system daily. Its users include the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police, the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. Its exhibitor listing for MSPO 2026 says it has carried out more than 20 contracts, most of them under the State Defense Order.
Athlon Avia has shown two further systems beyond the A1-CM. The A2-C Furia 2 is a larger catapult-launched reconnaissance aircraft with a 3.6 m wingspan, a 15 to 19 kg takeoff weight, interchangeable optical payloads of up to 4 kg and more than 4 hours of endurance. The ST-35 Silent Thunder is a loitering munition with vertical takeoff from a multicopter carrier, a 9.5 kg takeoff weight, a 30 km range and up to 60 minutes of flight. It uses TV/IR automatic target guidance and can carry fragmentation-explosive, cumulative or thermobaric warheads of 3.5 kg. Ukrainian press reported in 2025 that an upgraded Furia with night optics and about 100 km range was in development.
Athlon Avia covers the full product cycle: research and development, in-house software, manufacturing, operator training, repair and 24/7 technical support for Furia crews. The company has trained users at its own expense since 2024, and about 700 pilots from several security and defence agencies had completed manufacturer training by 2026. It calls itself the first fixed-wing UAV manufacturer in Ukraine to run its own recruitment campaign to staff Furia crews, which it does together with military recruiting centres. It lists the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the National Association of the Defense Industry of Ukraine, Kyiv Aviation Institute and Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute among its partners.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact Athlon Avia R&D Center LLC
WEBSITE
https://athlonavia.com/PHONE
+380 44 338 2278HEADQUARTERS
Ukraine
Company Facts
Founded
2014
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
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