Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Argentine Army development programme
- Origin / production countries
- Argentina
- Other names
- Lipan M3
- Variants / configurations
- Lipán M3: specification baseline here; Lipán XM4: separate later development
- Operators / programme customers
- Argentine Army — historical operation documented
Evidence & current status
Official M3 figures are kept separate from other Lipán versions. Historical operator evidence does not establish current fleet readiness.
Lipán M3 is an Argentine Army reconnaissance aircraft from the service’s domestic uncrewed aviation programme. It was developed for observation and information collection rather than as a derivative of a foreign commercial quadcopter. The Army’s exhibition page provides a distinct M3 technical baseline, including its fuel engine, dimensions and flight-duration figures.
Military academic material documents use of the Lipán system by Argentine intelligence units. That supports historical military operation, but it does not provide a reliable count of current aircraft or their readiness. This profile therefore includes the service history without implying that the same inventory remains unchanged in 2026.
The broader Lipán family includes later development designations, notably XM4, and public descriptions sometimes use family names loosely. The table deliberately follows the official M3 page rather than merging numbers from different versions. The listed sixty-kilogram weight is reproduced as weight, because the source does not explicitly define it as empty mass or maximum take-off mass. Similarly, the forty-kilometre range is retained without inventing a link or fuel-range definition. Current modifications and production arrangements need separate evidence.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Launch / recovery | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
| Propulsion | Two-stroke fuel engine | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Dimensions | Length 3.55 m; wingspan 4.60 m; height 1.15 m | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Mass | 60 kg listed weight | Source does not explicitly label this as empty mass or MTOW. Source |
| Endurance | 5 hours | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Range | 40 km; range definition not expanded | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Speed | 80 km/h cruise; 170 km/h maximum | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Altitude | Operating ceiling 2,000 m | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Payload | 20 kg | Published figure for the cited configuration; conditions and payload can affect performance. Source |
| Sensors | Video and infrared imaging | Historical military description; current payload variants not established. Source |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source |
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
Suggest a correction to this entry
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Argentine Army: Lipán M3 technical display (opens in a new tab)Government / operator
- Argentine Army education institute: Lipán service discussion (opens in a new tab)Military academic source