UAS VISION
an independent online news service for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems world
The German Air Force’s plans to field the Northrop Grumman RQ-4C Triton high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle is proceeding to plan with a procurement contract expected to be signed late next year, a senior service official said on 24 October. Continue reading
A privately owned Turkish drone specialist has installed the wings on its unmanned fighter jet currently in development.
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair and developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) for service in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the 1960s. Continue reading
Researchers from EPFL and Stanford have developed small drones that can land and then move objects that are 40 times their weight, with the help of powerful winches, gecko adhesives and microspines. Continue reading
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has launched an internally funded programme to develop an indigenous multirole vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to meet a future Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) requirement, with flight trials expected to commence in 2019.
KAI officials told Jane’s that the Night Intruder 600 VT is the company’s first attempt at developing a VTOL UAV. The prototype air vehicle has an overall length of 9 m, width of 2 m, height of 2.5 m, and a planned maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 600 kg. However, its MTOW could be extended to more than 750 kg when the programme matures.
“Development of the Night Intruder 600 VT commenced in 2017 and we have based it on a commercially available two-seat helicopter for logistical and maintenance efficiencies,” said Kwak Kyoung Ryoung, deputy senior manager at KAI’s UAV Business and Program Management Team.
“Using the latest lightweight helicopter platforms eliminates concern about parts obsolescence or discontinuity, and is much more cost effective than developing a bespoke airframe,” Kwak added.
He declined to disclose details of the air vehicle’s propulsion system, although he noted that engineers are aiming for a 6-hour endurance with a full-mission loadout.
The air vehicle is typically equipped with a chin-mounted stabilised electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) turret with high-definition daylight and thermal cameras, although a laser rangefinder or designator can be incorporated to provide targeting support to forward deployed RoKA ground elements. Other mission payloads being planned include a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system.
As the Night Intruder 600 VT is expected to operate in a contested environment, KAI has incorporated patented GPS anti-jamming capabilities to reduce its susceptibility against interference and intentional jamming. It will also be equipped with a redundant flight control and communications system, with the initial approach employing combined C-band satellite communications (satcom) – which operates at lower frequencies and therefore offers improved performance under adverse weather conditions than the Ku-band or Ka-band frequencies – and ultra-high frequency radio for assured control.
Photo: Night Intruder 600VT prototype seen with it electro-optical payload – IHS Markit/Kelvin Wong
Source: Jane’s 360
Israeli automated drone startup Airobotics has announced a $30M Series D round of funding bringing its total capital raised to $101M. Pavilion Capital is leading the round, joining a list of prominent investors, including BlueRun Ventures, Charles River Ventures and OurCrowd, as well as additional private investors. Continue reading
Zipline,a US-based company that operates the world’s only drone delivery system for urgent medicines such as blood and vaccine is set to unveil a drone assembling plant in Rwanda. Continue reading
AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, has been awarded a $23,696,816 firm-fixed-price contract fornon-developmental contractor-owned and contractor-operated unmanned aerial systems, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance. Continue reading