Sponsored by The British Robotics Seed Fund
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23 Aug 21. Insitu and MDSI to Collaborate on UAS Opportunities in Denmark and Beyond. Insitu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, today announced the formation of a strategic alliance with MDSI ApS of Copenhagen, Denmark to collaborate on unmanned aircraft system (UAS) opportunities with the Danish Defence and potentially other customers across the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) and the European Union (EU). The alliance will leverage Insitu’s combat-proven family of tactical UAS coupled with MDSI’s European infrastructure and advanced artificial intelligence/machine learning (AIML) capabilities to offer products and services optimized for the increasingly complex environment where Danish, NORDEFCO and other EU forces must be prepared to operate.
“We are excited to work with an agile and innovative teammate like MDSI, who can not only enhance the capabilities we might offer to the Danish Defence, but to other Nordic and European customers over the next several years as well,” said Dave Funkhouser, Insitu’s Global Growth Executive for Northern Europe.
Collaboration between the two companies will also enhance Denmark’s national competencies related to autonomous systems and could facilitate a range of industrial cooperation opportunities in the future.
“After five years collaborating on special projects with Boeing Phantom Works, we are pleased to grow our relationship with another exciting member of the Boeing family who has led the tactical UAS industry for the past two decades. Our relationship with Insitu will position MDSI to migrate some of the advanced capabilities we originally developed for manned aviation into the unmanned aviation sector,” said MDSI Chief Operations Officer Christian Steinø.
About Insitu
With offices in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, Insitu creates and supports unmanned systems and software technology that deliver end-to-end solutions for collecting, processing and managing sensor data. To date, our systems have accumulated more than 1.3 m flight hours. Insitu is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company. For more information, visit insitu.com. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
About MDSI
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, MDSI develops platform-agnostic edge computing solutions that can easily and inexpensively integrate with existing hardware and software architectures to facilitate the control of weapons, sensors, communication systems and other onboard mission systems in the air, land, sea and space domains. For more information, visit www.mdsi.dk. (Source: PR Newswire)
23 Aug 21. SkySafe Expands Presence in Asia with Competitive Win. SkySafe has announced the expansion of its presence in Asia following an award by a major U.S. military ally. It was SkySafe’s fourth competitive contract win in the region in the past year, bringing the company’s military sales in the region to over US $7m dollars.
Following the win, SkySafe CEO, Grant Jordan said, “Our company is honored to be chosen as the trusted counter-drone company for our military allies. SkySafe’s flagship MM2 product now protects military vessels, installations, critical infrastructure, and—most importantly—the men and women who serve in our allied forces in Asia.”
Drone Attacks on the Rise Overseas
As adversaries and terrorists increase their understanding of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), drone attacks are on the rise against critical infrastructure, military installations, and both U.S. and allied troops overseas. The drone attack at an Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu, India, is one recent example. There have been countless others.
To protect against these kinds of attacks, SkySafe has been testing and deploying counter drone (commonly referred to as C-UAS) capabilities to domestic and foreign military customers since 2017. The company proudly counts the United States Special Operations Command among their many clients.
Regarding SkySafe’s industry-leading capabilities, a U.S. Navy cryptologic warfare officer recently said,
“SkySafe is a step ahead with regards to C-UAS technology. The data that their system provides us as warfighters is a must. It gives watch standers the information we need to make tactical decisions in a timely manner. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
About SkySafe
Founded in 2015, SkySafe provides counter-drone capabilities to clients around the world. The SkySafe team consists of industry-leading experts in hardware security, reverse engineering, digital signals processing, and software defined radio.
With alumni from institutions such as MIT, Perdue, Northrop Grumman, Idaho National Laboratory, Toyota, the U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy, SkySafe is uniquely positioned to provide both military and civilian clients state-of-the-art solutions in modern electronic monitoring and mitigation. (Source: UAS VISION)
23 Aug 21. UAV Factory Announces VTOL System Release and It is Game-Changing. The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL provides precision vertical takeoff and landing capability to support missions in more restrictive environments.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL introduces the patented AEROFLOW Boom Technology, enabling a 20% increase in flight endurance. The patented technology showcases hoods over the vertical lifting rotors that automatically enclose the lifting rotors while the vehicle is in horizontal flight, significantly reducing the parasitic drag on the vehicle. The result is 14+ hours of flight endurance, making it the ideal VTOL solution in its class. The VTOL booms are made of advanced carbon-fiber composite, which makes them both light and rigid. Battery replacement is quick and simple and can be done in under 2 minutes, minimizing the delay between flights. With the added weight of the booms to enable VTOL operations, the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL steps into the Group 3 UAS category with an MTOW of 32kg / 70.6 lb.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL UAS remains one of the smallest logistical footprints in its class. A full system consists of 3x Air Vehicles, 3x high-performance EO/IR Epsilon Gimbals, 1 GCS, and 1 MIMO Tracking Antenna. The entire system can be transported in 5 Pelican cases and allows for rapid and easy assembly.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL has a 4.5 kg / 9.9 lb payload capability and comes with one of our high-performance EO/IR gyro-stabilized payloads. The most advanced ISR payload that can be included on the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL is our Epsilon 180 gimbal from Octopus ISR, with its class-leading stabilization of 40 uRad jitter, and includes a cooled MWIR thermal imager with continuous 15x optical zoom and a long-range 90x zoom, 4K daylight camera. Other smaller EO/IR payloads, such as our Epsilon 140 series, are also available if desired. The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL also incorporates an innovative rapidly swappable payload nose cone, which can be changed out in less than 2 minutes. The nose cone is gyro-stabilized in roll axis, therefore adding an additional stabilization axis to any payload that the aircraft carries.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL aircraft completed an extensive flight validation program with over 600 successful takeoffs and landings in diverse environmental conditions. The aircraft is capable of routine takeoff and landing in 30 knots (15 m/s) winds as well as operations in extreme temperatures from -40°C to +50°C (-40°F to 122 °F). (Source: ASD Network)
23 Aug 21. Ethiopia acquires Iranian UAVs for Tigray War. In the latest effort to halt the advancing Tigray Defence Force (TDF) and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), it appears Ethiopia has purchased several Iranian-made Mohajer-6 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Plant SkySat satellite images analysed by Bellingcat.com identified two Mohajer-6 UAVs and a Ground Control Station (GCS) at Semara airport (now Ethiopian Air Force base) in north-eastern Ethiopia on 1 August. The GCS was then pictured when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the air base days later.
The Mohajer-6, yet to be proven in combat, is the latest design in the Mohajer-series. It was unveiled in 2017 and entered production a year later, serving with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. It has an operational range of 200 km and 40 kg payload of two to four Ghaem-1, 5 or 9 precision-guided munitions. It has a 12-hour endurance with a maximum flight altitude of 5 500 metres. The nose of the lightweight UAV is fitted with an EOAS-I-18A forward-looking infrared (FLIR) turret.
Ethiopia’s unmanned aerial vehicle inventory previously consisted of Israeli systems (Aerostar UAS and WanderB mini-UAS) however their status is unclear and they cannot be armed.
The Ethiopian Air Force has extremely capable combat aircraft (eight Su-25s, 12 Su-27s, ten MiG-23s and 15 MiG-21s) but air strikes with large munitions easily kills civilians, as seen in late June. The Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) has an army of 162 000 and is equipped with mostly aging Soviet era infantry weapons, tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, artillery, air defence and logistic vehicles.
Ethiopia has acquired relatively little military hardware over the last five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, with acquisitions since 2015 including four PHL-03 rocket launchers from China, a dozen Bastion armoured vehicles from France/United States; half a dozen G120TP trainers from Germany, 75 Thunder armoured personnel carriers from Israel, several Pantsyr-S1 air-defence systems from Russia and 143 modernised T-72 tanks from the Ukraine. In addition, the United States donated a single C-130 Hercules transport to Ethiopia.
The nine-month-old Tigray War between the Ethiopian government and the now Tigray Defence Force has displaced over two m people and killed an unestablished number of people, potentially thousands. The United Nations Children’s Fund says over 100 000 children could suffer life-threatening malnutrition and over 400 000 people live in famine conditions in Tigray. The war has caused a refugee crisis as 50 000 people have fled into neighbouring Sudan.
Mass reports of gender based violence and extrajudicial killings have taken place during the Tigray War with the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), in support of the Ethiopian government, attributed the main responsibility.
As the TDF attack from Mekelle in the North, the Oromo Liberation Army are attacking from the West, approaching the capital, Addis Ababa.
War crimes from both sides have been reported as the heavily armed conflict that began on 4 November 2020 ensued. Burned-out tanks, other military vehicles and scores of dead federal troops have largely been hidden from the world’s cameras.
The Ethiopian government is now urging citizens to join the armed forces as the conventional-turned guerrilla TDF pushes beyond its own region. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
23 Aug 21. IDEF 2021: Aselsan unveils swarming-capable Albatros-S USV. Aselsan showcased its new Albatros-S unmanned surface vehicle (USV) at the IDEF 2021 exhibition in Istanbul. Albatros-S (Swarm) is the latest addition to Aselsan’s growing USV portfolio and is a privately funded development aimed at meeting a domestic research and development (R&D) programme, aimed at investigating unmanned swarming capabilities.
The effort was initiated by the Division for Innovative Systems of the Presidency of Defence Industries (Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı, or SSB), Turkey’s primary defence procurement agency.
Aselsan claims the Albatros-S features a high level of autonomy, and is designed to operate without any user intervention. The company also asserted that the USV is capable of navigating and collaborating with other sea vehicles independent of centralised command-and-control (C2).
For example, individual sea vehicles can detect stationary or moving obstacles and share sensor data with other nodes within the swarm, enabling autonomous course correction and collision avoidance.
The Albatros-S adopts a wave-piercing monohull that has been optimised for reduced radar and thermal signature. It measures 7.2 m long and 2 m wide, with a displacement of approximately 1,955 kg, inclusive of a 250 kg payload.
The propulsion system comprises a single diesel engine that enables the USV to attain speeds of up to 40 kt, and an operating endurance of at least 10 hours.
The USV is equipped with both line-of-sight (LOS) and satellite communications (satcom) for short-range and over-the-horizon C2 within the swarm, as well as with the shore-based command centre.
Janes understands that the Albatros-S is also unarmed in its current state of development, and there are no plans by Aselsan to incorporate armaments. (Source: Jane’s)
21 Aug 21. Two Saudi firms to co-produce Sky Guard drone for operational use. Two Saudi companies have inked an agreement to co-produce and further develop the Sky Guard drone for operational use. The UAV has only ever undergone testing.
The deal was signed Aug. 19 between Sami bin Mohammed al-Alhumaidi, acting director general of the Prince Sultan Defense Studies and Research Center, and Ziad bin Houmod al-Musallam, CEO of the Advanced Electronics Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Military Industries.
“We are confident that our partnership with the Center will prove effective in supporting the development of the Kingdom’s defense ecosystem, as well as boosting local content,” the AEC executive said in a statement.
The UAV, originally designed and manufactured by the research center, has successfully passed testing and experimentation to qualify its subsystems in different environmental conditions. Flight tests were also conducted to assess design requirements.
“This important milestone in the manufacture of advanced technologies will help to ensure the successful shift from research, tests, and experiments to manufacturing and mass production, as well as the transfer of knowledge through training on locally designed and manufactured products,” al-Alhumaidi said.
He added that the latest agreement also furthers the Saudi government’s strategy to support the defense and security sectors.
According to a news release, Sky Guard’s “take-off and landing are automated and controlled remotely through an Operating Room and Mobile Communication Room,” and the system comes with two UAV frames, a ground control station and a ground data terminal.
It is designed for tactical operations to support ground, air and marine forces, with high identification and tracking capabilities to help it destroy targets.
The drone was developed in 2015 and displayed in 2017 at Bahrain’s BIDEC event and the Emirati conference IDEX, with an original expected date of mass production in 2018, according to Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
“The payload is light, 50 kilograms; range relatively short, 150 kilometers; and endurance of 8 hours,” Rickli told Defense News.
Sky Guard can also fly at a maximum altitude of 18,000 feet, and be equipped with high-resolution cameras as well as electronic warfare systems.
“So this is a tactical UAV mainly used for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes. I don’t know if it has combat experience such as in Yemen,” he said, but if Saudi Arabia wants to export it, proven combat experience would help.
Asked whether the system can carry guided munitions, Rickli said: “I don’t know specifically about this drone, but a payload of 50 kilograms — it is enough for transporting bombs.”
“As its description mentions: It was designed to be highly adaptable with several subsystem configurations. Thus one cannot exclude that it can be weaponized.” (Source: Defense News)
19 Aug 21. UAV Factory Releases Penguin C-Mil Mk2 VTOL UAS. UAV Factory LLC has announced the release of its production-ready Penguin C Mk2 Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) long-endurance aircraft. Based on the operationally proven and reliable catapult-launched Penguin C UAS, the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL platform is a complete, turnkey solution providing unmatched endurance and performance. The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL provides precision vertical takeoff and landing capability to support missions in more restrictive environments.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL introduces the patented AEROFLOW Boom Technology, enabling a 20% increase in flight endurance. The patented technology showcases hoods over the vertical lifting rotors that automatically enclose the lifting rotors while the vehicle is in horizontal flight, significantly reducing the parasitic drag on the vehicle. The result is 14+ hours of flight endurance, making it the ideal VTOL solution in its class. The VTOL booms are made of advanced carbon-fiber composite, which makes them both light and rigid. Battery replacement is quick and simple and can be done in under 2 minutes, minimizing the delay between flights. With the added weight of the booms to enable VTOL operations, the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL steps into the Group 3 UAS category with an MTOW of 32kg / 70.6 lb.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL UAS remains one of the smallest logistical footprints in its class. A full system consists of 3x Air Vehicles, 3x high-performance EO/IR Epsilon Gimbals, 1 GCS, and 1 MIMO Tracking Antenna. The entire system can be transported in 5 Pelican cases and allows for rapid and easy assembly.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL has a 4.5 kg / 9.9 lb payload capability and comes with one of our high-performance EO/IR gyro-stabilized payloads. The most advanced ISR payload that can be included on the Penguin C Mk2 VTOL is our Epsilon 180 gimbal from Octopus ISR, with its class-leading stabilization of 40 uRad jitter, and includes a cooled MWIR thermal imager with continuous 15x optical zoom and a long-range 90x zoom, 4K daylight camera. Other smaller EO/IR payloads, such as our Epsilon 140 series, are also available if desired. The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL also incorporates an innovative rapidly swappable payload nose cone, which can be changed out in less than 2 minutes. The nose cone is gyro-stabilized in roll axis, therefore adding an additional stabilization axis to any payload that the aircraft carries.
The Penguin C Mk2 VTOL aircraft completed an extensive flight validation program with over 600 successful takeoffs and landings in diverse environmental conditions. The aircraft is capable of routine takeoff and landing in 30 knots (15 m/s) winds as well as operations in extreme temperatures from -40°C to +50°C (-40°F to 122 °F). (Source: UAS VISION)
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The British Robotics Seed Fund is the first SEIS-qualifying investment fund specialising in UK-based robotics businesses. The focus of the fund is to deliver superior returns to investors by making targeted investments in a mixed basket of the most innovative and disruptive businesses that are exploiting the new generation of robotics technologies in defence and other sector applications.
Automation and robotisation are beginning to drive significant productivity improvements in the global economy heralding a new industrial revolution. The fund allows investors to benefit from this exciting opportunity, whilst also delivering the extremely attractive tax reliefs offered by the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). For many private investors, the amount of specialist knowledge required to assess investments in robotics is not practical and hence investing through a fund structure makes good sense.
The fund appoints expert mentors to work with each investee company to further maximise the chance of success for investors. Further details are available on request.
www.britbots.com/fund
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