Sponsored by The British Robotics Seed Fund
http: www.britbots.com/fund
———————————————————————–
30 Mar 22. Volansi, Inc., a leader in autonomous Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) drone logistics, announced today the launch of their newest unmanned aerial vehicle, the VOLY 50, a multirole, long-haul vehicle offering superior flight range and flexible payload capacity. The VOLY 50 series was designed to meet the exacting requirements of commercial customers operating in remote locations. The VOLY 50 series can also meet the needs of military customers who demand a small footprint in a flexible vehicle for aerial logistics and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) applications. Designed and manufactured in the USA, the VOLY 50 is a new generation of multirole aircraft with the ability to simultaneously carry up to 50 pounds of cargo, including an ISR or sensor payload option. Depending on payload configurations, the VOLY 50 has a 400+ mile range and can cruise at up to 80 kts for up to eleven hours in a single mission set, making it the superior solution in its class for flight range and payload capacity.
“The VOLY 50 was designed with the flexibility to meet the growing demand for rapid delivery of critical assets as well as to conduct ISR missions using a small operational footprint,” said Volansi Co-Founder and CEO, Hannan Parvizian. “With its long-haul capability and modular design, the VOLY 50 represents a new opportunity to completely disrupt how critical assets are delivered, by minimizing personnel and filling the gap where traditional delivery mechanisms are unable to achieve the mission.”
The VOLY 50 features redundant lift motors as well as a modular, open system design, allowing for quick and efficient assembly in the field with minimal personnel required. The VOLY 50 utilizes VTOL with a fixed-wing, pusher-driven, forward flight mode. Today the VOLY 50 operates on gasoline; future versions will allow for the customer’s choice of heavy-fuel (JP5/JP8/Kerosene) or gasoline engines, allowing customers to use aa fuel source that is readily available to them. Volansi plans for the VOLY 50 to be in low-rate production in 2023 and will be NDAA compliant.
About Volansi
Volansi is a leader in aerial drone logistics services for customers in the defense, commercial, and humanitarian markets. Volansi VTOL aircraft are designed for long endurance, heavy payloads and to perform in challenging environments, providing surveillance as well as essential parts and supplies to the field. To learn more, visit volansi.com or follow us on Twitter @volans_i
(Source: PR Newswire)
31 Mar 22. DSA 2022: Malaysian, Chinese firms partner on VTOL unmanned systems. Malaysian firm Malvus Sense has showcased new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) that it is producing in collaboration with Chinese UAS firm Jouav for the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF). The new systems – including the long-endurance CW-40D and multi-purpose CW-100DA – were displayed at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, which concludes on 31 March. A representative from Malvus Sense said the Malaysian company and Jouav have been developing the two UASs, which both feature four rotors and one propeller, for the past two years. The representative added that the partnership plans to trial the systems soon to build on its already strong profile within the MAF. (Source: Reuters)
30 Mar 22. DIMDEX 2022: Ares Shipyard advances negotiations for ULAQ USV orders. Turkey’s Ares Shipyard is close to finalising at least two contracts for the Ulaq unmanned surface vessel (USV) in 2022, the company’s chief executive officer Utku Alanc told Janes at the DIMDEX maritime exhibition, held from 21 to 23 March in Doha.
Ares Shipyard and Meteksan Defence have enquiries from 39 countries for the Ulaq USV, of which some are at the preliminary stage, while contracts for one to two countries are being finalised, he said.
Serial production of the Ulaq USV should start in 2023 following its successful integration with the Turkish combat management system (CMS) to operate along with the Turkish Navy’s manned vessels and aircraft, Alanc said. “Ares will deliver the first vessel to the Turkish Navy in 2022, finalise the integration with the CMS and progress with the serial production in 2023,” he said. (Source: Janes)
16 Mar 22. India’s BEL enters UAV market to thwart airfield attacks. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is developing a tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to thwart future infiltration attacks on air bases.
BEL officials said that the company is working on a programme to develop the tethered UAV system, which weighs 9 kg and is designed to loiter in a fixed position above airfields and army bases, providing 360-degree surveillance capability.
“The UAV is tethered by an optical fibre cable, which also has a power line leading to a ground-based battery,” a BEL official said. The officials added that the UAV has an onboard backup battery system with five minutes of power.
The UAV, as per specifications disclosed by the company, contains a single charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor that has a range of 2 km in daylight. At night, the visible range is 1 km. A second electro-optical/infrared sensor has a range of 600 m.
BEL officials said the UAV can stay airborne for six hours. The rotor operation is limited by overheating after six hours and must be cooled for an hour. (Source: Janes)
28 Mar 22. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently completed a series of test flights for the FAA to demonstrate mature Detect and Avoid (DAA) technology for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). DAA systems are needed for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operation of UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS), which will unlock a wide range of commercial aviation services that are not performed by UAS today. Data from these DAA test flights will help the FAA continue to build the evidence that it needs to allow for the safe and efficient integration of UAS operations in the NAS.
The test flights were conducted by GA-ASI in partnership with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) on Jan. 24-25, 2022. GA-ASI flew a company-owned SkyGuardian UAS from GA-ASI’s Flight Test and Training Center (FTTC) in Grand Forks, N.D. The SkyGuardian was equipped with an airborne DAA system developed by GA-ASI and Honeywell, which meets the key requirements of the FAA-accepted performance standards and has previously been used by NASA for DAA testing and BVLOS demonstrations. The DAA system features GA-ASI’s Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar to locate aircraft that are not broadcasting flight information.
NPUASTS, one of seven FAA test sites charged with safely incorporating UAS into the NAS, provided consultation, observation, and data collection for the test scenario flights. NPUASTS also collaborated with partners to provide a manned aircraft that flew a series of flight paths coordinated with the SkyGuardian’s, to test the performance of its onboard DAA sensors. Both aircraft carried survey-grade GPS receivers and data recorders to compare the actual positions of both aircraft with the relative position measured by the DAA system’s sensors.
The test flightpaths were designed to create close encounters between aircraft that could occur during route flying, airport approaches, or while the unmanned aircraft is flying a survey pattern.
“The DAA system must identify any potentially hazardous situations, alert the remote pilot and help the pilot keep the unmanned aircraft well clear of any other aircraft,” said Brandon Suarez, technical director of UAS Civil Airspace Integration for GA-ASI.
GA-ASI was awarded a contract to work with NPUASTS to develop, test, and mature technologies needed for the FAA’s goal of safely expanding UAS operations in the NAS. GA-ASI has a long-standing relationship with NPUASTS, which provides infrastructure and services to facilitate access to large areas of North Dakota’s airspace for UAS experimentation and development.
GA-ASI and Honeywell have been at the forefront of developing and testing DAA system equipment and technical safety standards for nearly a decade in collaboration with the FAA, NASA, and many others in the aviation community. GA-ASI’s SkyGuardian N190TC received the first experimental approval issued by the FAA for use of an onboard DAA system to operate BVLOS of the remote pilot or a safety observer. The aircraft has since demonstrated this capability in Japan, the UK, and the Netherlands. GA-ASI is currently developing an updated version of its DAA system to be certified by the FAA for use on any large UAS.
25 Mar 22. Airbus selects Avio Aero engine solution for Eurodrone. Following a competitive tender process as well as an extensive technical analysis phase, Airbus has selected Avio Aero from Italy to power the Eurodrone unmanned aerial system with its engine and propeller solution, dubbed Catalyst.
“This selection is a decisive step forward and will ensure that the Eurodrone programme can proceed on time, on cost and in line with the specifications laid out by our customers. The Catalyst was identified as the best solution based on superior performance, lower developmental risk, better in-service economics as well as growth potential. In line with customer requirements, Catalyst will offer a truly European solution and will thus contribute to the overall role of Eurodrone as an enabler of strategic autonomy”, said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Aircraft at Airbus Defence and Space.
The Catalyst is an engine proven in flight, entirely developed and manufactured in Europe. As well as the Eurodrone programme, this engine has been conceived as 100% ITAR-free (International Traffic in Arms Regulation), thus enabling independence on export chances and avoiding additional requirements prior export clearance.
As part of its responsibilities as main subcontractor for this major collaborative European programme, Airbus Defence and Space is responsible for the selection of the engine supplier.
Key aspects in the selection of Eurodrone suppliers are competitiveness, performance, the ability to meet the demanding delivery schedule and the capacity to meet the in-service demand.
25 Mar 22. India’s Rustom II UAV can reach 28,000 ft, plans to stay aloft for more than 18 hours. India’s Rustom II medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can reach the required altitude of 28,000 ft, G Satheesh Reddy, chairperson of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) told Janes.
“We are now looking at endurance,” he said, adding that in a month’s time, the DRDO expects Rustom II to achieve more than 18 hours of flight time while operating at an altitude of 28,000 ft.
According to Janes All the World’s Aircraft: Unmanned, Rustom II has an overall length of 9.5 m and a wingspan of 20.6 m. It is powered by two Saturn 36T turboprop engines, each rated at 74.57 kW (100 hp).
Also known as TAPAS-BH-201 (Tactical Advanced Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon-201), Rustom II weighs 1,800 kg and has a cruising speed of 135 kt. (Source: Janes)
————————————————————————-
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
————————————————————————