The AI-PBS-350 is a turbojet engine jointly developed by Czech manufacturer PBS Velká Bíteš and the Ukrainian design bureau Ivchenko-Progress.
On the 19th of June, 2023,[3] Velka Bites and Ivchenko-Progress signed a memorandum of understanding, detailing the framework from which the engine would be developed and produced.
[4] Concerns were raised about Ivchenko-Progress' capability to produce the engine,[5] with its headquarters in Zaporizhzhia, a city heavily affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
[6] The AI-PBS-350 is a compact turbojet engine optimized for single mission UAV systems.
Along with pyrotechnic ignition, it also utilizes windmill starting, wherein the aircraft uses its forward momentum to turn the rotor blades, reducing the weight of the system and improving performance.