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02 Mar 23. AutoFlight, the global eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) pioneer, today announced it had achieved the world’s longest eVTOL flight in history with distance of 250KM / 155 miles on a single charge of the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries.
The flight, which took place at AutoFlight’s eVTOL testing facility on February 23th, consisted of 20 circuits on a predefined flight track, with the plane remotely piloted from the ground by AutoFlight’s Flight Test team. Interestingly, while AutoFlight’s Gen4 aircraft is fitted with the latest in state-of-the-art avionics, the aircraft also ran third-party avionics to record and verify the distance flown on ForeFlight, an independent system widely used in the aviation sector.
The flight is recognized as the longest fully electric aircraft flight in history, where the aircraft both takes off and lands vertically. This long-range test flight is a key milestone in the development of the Prosperity I aircraft, as it undergoes continued testing towards the company’s goal of airworthiness certification in 2025 with EASA.
AutoFlight’s president Omer Bar-Yohay commented, “This flight is both a great celebratory milestone, and a testament to the team’s incredible effort and progress in testing and incrementally pushing the aircraft’s performance envelope. It’s a remarkable achievement that shows our aircraft’s capability, and we are excited to continue working towards our next goals all the way to EASA certification in 2025.”
The aircraft used in this record flight is the world’s first look at AutoFlight’s newest Generation 4 model, which was penned by legendary designer Frank Stephenson. Frank’s vehicle design portfolio includes iconic successes from brands including Ferrari, Maserati, McLaren, MINI and now AutoFlight.
AutoFlight’s Prosperity aircraft is a state-of-the-art electric aircraft that uses rotors to lift the aircraft vertically for takeoff, then transitions to horizontal flight on the wing (like a traditional airplane). The aircraft is capable of speeds in excess of 200KMH, over a range greater than 250KM. AutoFlight is one of only a few eVTOL OEM’s to have mastered the challenging ‘transition phase’ from vertical to horizontal flight and have done so hundreds of times, clocking thousands of flight miles on multiple iterations of their aircraft.
01 Mar 23. U.S. Army Selects AeroVironment JUMP 20 Medium Unmanned Aircraft System to Enter Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) Program Increment 2.
- AeroVironment is the only company to secure an award for all FTUAS program increments, including FTUAS Increments 0,1 and now 2
- Increment 2 is the final phase of the U.S. Army’s FTUAS program competition to select a replacement for the RQ-7B Shadow UAS
AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, today announced it was selected by the United States Army on Feb. 28, 2023, to move forward in the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) program.
AeroVironment’s JUMPJ 20 will compete with several other vendors in the FTUAS Increment 2 multi-phased effort which will allow the Army to select the best system for its needs. Ultimately, FTUAS Increment 2 aircraft will be fielded to Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) throughout the Army, replacing the long-serving RQ-7B Shadow UAS.
During the early stages of what would become the U.S. Army’s FTUAS program, AeroVironment’s JUMP 20 demonstrated superior competitive performance and was awarded the FTUAS Increment 1 contract to develop a prototype system to field to one Brigade Combat Team (BCT). Its success throughout the demonstrations led to AeroVironment’s contract award for FTUAS Increment 0, in which the U.S. Army fielded the JUMP 20 into an additional Army BCT within the United States Army Europe. AeroVironment is the only company awarded the FTUAS contract for all three program increments.
“The AeroVironment JUMP 20 is the most mature and capable solution in its class,” said Gorik Hossepian, AeroVironment’s vice president and product line general manager for medium unmanned aircraft systems. “We will continue to work closely with the U.S. Army to ensure we meet their performance needs both today for an all-environment aircraft system and in the future as requirements evolve to meet changing battlefield demands.”
28 Feb 23. South Korea Expands Use of Drones to Stop Illegal Chinese Fishing. South Korea’s Coast Guard reports it will expand its use of drones for monitoring activities including targeting Chinese boats engaged in illegal fishing activities. The expansion of the program comes as there have been increasing reports of Chinese incursions into neighboring countries’ water and after North Korea deployed a squadron of drones over the South at the beginning of this year. The Coast Guard plans to invest $21 m by 2028 to dramatically expand its use of drones. Officials said that they currently operate 43 multicopters, 16 unmanned aerial aircraft, and 11 unmanned helicopters. The new program will be used to purchase 144 additional drones. They plan to deploy the new drones aboard 32 of the Coast Guard’s large vessels as well as from 20 stations. A pilot program to test the use of drones was announced in December 2021 deploying seven helicopter-type drones aboard South Korean coast guard vessels. Officials said they would be testing their capabilities in search missions as well as in cracking down on illegal fishing by Chinese boats. The test drones had a capability of flying for up to 75 minutes on battery power and included a safe return feature to bring the drone back to its mothership even if communication was lost or failed. Those drones were capable of transmitting real-time video images at a distance of up to 12 miles and were also outfitted with optical thermal image equipment. The Coast Guard said the drones will expand their capability to track and identify boats illegally fishing in Korean waters. The Chinese boats in the past have reportedly tracked the Coast Guard with their radar using it to avoid being intercepted. Drones, the Coast Guard noted can move faster than ships, and secure evidence with more ease through their cameras. The new drones will have cameras capable of recognizing small letters that are more than half a mile away. Coast Guard officials said this will help identify the names of Chinese boats conducting illegal fishing activities. In January 2023, Korea Aerospace Industries reported a new agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop unmanned aerial vehicles for the Korean navy. They said they would be developing vertical take-off and landing drones capable of being deployed aboard ships and used for surveillance. (Source: UAS VISION/The Maritime Executive)
22 Feb 23. ADSB unveils new USV. Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has unveiled a new unmanned surface vessel (USV) at IDEX 2023, being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February. Speaking to Janes, Francesco Paolo Lo Monaco, director of shipbuilding and engineering at ADSB, said that the 17 m boat, known as the ‘170 M-Detector USV’, is designed for mine countermeasures (MCM) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions, and can operate as both a manned and unmanned platform. The USV was involved in a live demonstration at NAVDEX 2023. The vessel is a modular system that can integrate a range of payloads and sensors such as a remote weapon station or an unmanned aircraft system, depending on the user’s needs. A number of systems are installed on the boat as standard and are provided by several different companies, Lo Monaco said. These include the autonomous capability provided by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and an iXBlue SeapiX-FLS 5 3D multibeam sonar for mine detection and obstacle avoidance. The sonar has a beam coverage of 120° and a detection range of 300 m, Lo Monaco continued. (Source: Janes)
28 Feb 23. BAE Systems Australia unveils homegrown military drone. BAE Systems Australia and another local manufacturer on Tuesday unveiled a new uncrewed military aircraft that will be designed, manufactured and armed in Australia.
The 2.6 meter by 4.5 meter (8.5 foot by 14.8 foot) STRIX uncrewed air system (UAS), launched at the Avalon Air Show, will be capable of air to ground strikes, surveillance and reconnaissance in “high-risk environments”.
Work on a prototype is under way, with operational service possible by 2026, said Ben Hudson, chief executive of BAE Systems Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems (BAES.L), Britain’s biggest defence company.
“We’re excited that this is the first UAS of its kind to be developed in Australia and look forward to working with partners across the country to deliver this capability to customers,” Hudson said.
Hudson told Reuters there was strong interest from two unnamed international customers. Asked whether the United States was one of the two, he said: “What I would say is that we need a fuller business case for something like this. And I mean the U.S. market is huge.”
Defence contractors are increasingly investing in autonomous technology as militaries look for cheaper and safer ways to maximise resources.
Boeing is designing the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, a fighter-like drone, alongside the Royal Australian Air Force. Announced in 2019, it was the first combat aircraft to be manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years.
BAE Systems Australia programme manager Natalie Waldie said the company has been in touch with the Australian Defence Force, although STRIX was not developed in response to tender.
Developed alongside Perth-based Innovaero, STRIX will be able to carry a payload of up to 160 kilogrammes (353 pounds) over 800 kilometres, and take off and land vertically. It can be stored in shipping containers.
BAE Systems Australia will also deliver a new low-cost precision-guided munition, known as RAZER, usable with STRIX. (Source: Reuters)
28 Feb 23. Boeing says MQ-28 drone could be a fit for U.S. Air Force. Boeing Co’s (BA.N) MQ-28 Ghost Bat fighter-like drone developed in Australia could fit the U.S. Air Force’s requirements for a collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), the company’s defence division head said on Tuesday.
“We’re developing the MQ-28 to fit into a set of requirements that fit into that category of CCA and hopefully there is an intersection there,” Boeing Defense, Space and Security Chief Executive Ted Colbert said on the sidelines of the Australia International Airshow.
Boeing is developing the MQ-28 in Australia alongside the Royal Australian Air Force, in what is the country’s first homegrown combat aircraft to be manufactured in more than 50 years.
Colbert said there was “a lot of interest” in the MQ-28 from around the world.
It is designed to team with crewed fighter jets, which he said could include the Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35, to be a “loyal wingman” and a low-cost force multiplier.
The MQ-28, which made its first flight in 2021, was on public display at the air show.
The drone is 38 feet long (11.6 metres), has a 2,000 nautical mile (3,704 km) range and can be outfitted with various payloads. The plane can also carry weapons and help protect crewed fighter jets. (Source: Reuters)
27 Feb 23. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the global leader in Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), was selected to support the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) RPAS Trial Operation Project. The project will feature GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SeaGuardian® and will begin in April 2023. SeaGuardian will be used to conduct various tests to review adaptability to support JMSDF’s manned-unmanned teaming missions and its level of manpower reduction. The Japanese government announced that Japan Coast Guard and JMSDF will be exchanging the data obtained by the MQ-9Bs operated for each of the government’s branches.
“We’re pleased to support the JMSDF’s trial operation with our SeaGuardian UAS,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “We know there is a need in Japan and worldwide for affordable long-endurance airborne surveillance in the maritime domain.”
SeaGuardian features a multi-mode maritime surface-search radar with an Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, and a High-Definition – Full-Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and infrared cameras. This sensor suite enables real-time detection and identification of surface vessels over thousands of square nautical miles and provides automatic tracking of maritime targets and correlation of AIS transmitters with radar tracks.
SkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian® are revolutionizing the long-endurance RPAS market by providing true all-weather capability and are built to achieve Type Certification based on STANAG-4671 (NATO standard) airworthiness compliance. This feature, along with GA-ASI’s operationally proven collision avoidance radar, enables flexible operations in civil airspace.
27 Feb 23. Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie Continues Successful Flights and Capability Evolution. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider and industry-leading provider of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial systems, announced today that through multiple contracts, Kratos has and is continuing to evolve and apply its XQ-58A Tactical UAS with a focus on experimentation to support operational missions and employment to satisfy multiple existing and forming application sets for the DoD. The photographs illustrate some of the unique capabilities and performance the system enables.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “Late 2022 and early 2023 were and are expected to continue to be exciting times for high performance jet drone systems. World events, budget realities, and technology are intersecting to illustrate the incredible capability that these systems enable through unique and, in some cases, unconventional approaches that result in low-risk, budget-achievable solutions for the 21st century defense needs. Kratos is incredibly excited to be a major part of this ground-breaking evolution.” (Source: ASD Network)
27 Feb 23. Poly Defence unveils XC-150 UAV. China’s Poly Defence exhibited its indigenously developed fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) multirole autonomous XC-150 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi.
The XC-150 is a tactical UAV designed to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions. The UAV can take off and land with the help of three fixed landing legs at a maximum altitude of 4,000m, in what a company official described as “strong breeze conditions”, and it can cruise in level flight in “gale conditions”. The UAV requires a take-off and landing clearance of 8×10 m, and can be deployed in 30 minutes.
Speaking to Janes, a Poly Defence official said, “The development of the UAV started a few years ago primarily to support ISR missions, and the armed capability is yet to be worked on.” (Source: Janes)
27 Feb 23. SRB and Collins Aerospace unveil Abqaiq M2DO UAS. Saudi Arabia’s SRB Aerial Systems and its technology partner Collins Aerospace unveiled the Abqaiq family of long-range unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi.
According to SRB, the UASs have been developed for multidomain operations. Major General (retd) Ahmed Al-Jehani, CEO of SRB, told Janes, “While Abqaiq is a patent-pending family of UAS, the M2DO [variant] can deliver Group 4/5 capabilities in an attritable and long-range Group 3 tactical UAS.”
As shown at IDEX, the Abqaiq M2DO serves as a mother ship carrying two loitering munitions on each wing that can be replaced by other air launched effects, based on mission requirements. The UAS can also be equipped with synthetic aperture radars, maritime radars, and electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, among other payloads, for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions.
Speaking to Janes, Mark Roberts, Saudi Arabia country director, Mission Systems, Collins Aerospace said, “Collins Aerospace supports SRB as a technology partner to help SRB achieve success under ‘Saudi Vision 2030′. The joint venture also supports future flight demonstrations.” (Source: Janes)
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