Zenith AeroTech, a developer of heavy-lift tethered aerial vehicles (TAVs), announced that it will be exhibiting for the first time its Quad 8 TAV and Ground Power Unit at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC), held May 17-19, in Tampa, Florida.
Designed to meet such warfighter operations as overwatch, over-the-hill communications, force protection, and persistent surveillance, the Quad 8 and its 60-pound tether management/power conversion unit will be displayed at the General Dynamics Mission Systems booth (#805).
“People tend think of small drones of having limited air endurance and carrying only one or two pounds of payload, but our family of TAVs are in another class entirely,” said Kutlay Kaya, chairman of Zenith AeroTech. “Drawing power from the ground, they can stay in the air for days at a time.”
Indeed, last May, the Quad 8 was flown for 96 hours straight in an endurance test. All through that demonstration, it was supported by the Ground Power Unit, which carried in a Pelican case, acts as a tether management system and converts available 120- or 240-volt AC power into high-voltage DC.
Unlike many tethered drones out on the market, the Quad 8 can carry payload of up to 20 pounds. This allows the platform to carry a wide range of equipment, including (but not limited to):
- Combined electro-optical/infrared cameras;
- LIDAR;
- Synthetic aperture radar;
- Scanning radar;
- Mobile ad hoc networking radios; and
- Laser pointers and target designators.
Kaya said that cooperation between Zenith AeroTech and General Dynamics has proven fruitful for his company.
“With a major partner like General Dynamic, we get global coverage for our products, and more and more people learn about the value of TAVs,” he said.
Source: Press Release