Unmanned aerial vehicle specialist UMS Skeldar has unveiled a new version of its flagship V-200 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system.
The smaller V-150 has a lower payload capacity but does not sacrifice the range of missions that can be performed, according to the company.
UMS Skeldar, a joint venture between Sweden’s Saab and Swiss UMS Aero Group, says the ITAR-free V-150 has an ability to carry multiple payloads across two payload bays (up to 30 kg in the main bay and up to 12 kg in the nose).
The new platform has a current endurance of up to 2.5 hours with a 12 kg payload, raising to 4 hours in the near future thanks to modifications already being worked on, the company noted.
The V-150 operates on a turbine engine propulsion system that uses heavy fuels.
“The system has been developed as an easy to use, simple to maintain, UAV that can assist organisations with a wide range of smaller critical activities that ordinarily would entail manned crews taking on at an increased cost,” David Willems, VP Business Development and Strategy, commented.
For maritime operations such as border patrol, sea surveillance, coastguard and naval operations, the SKELDAR V-150 can be equipped with an electro optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor and a variety of small tactical synthetic aperture radars (SAR) for delivering real-time intelligence.
For land-based missions including search and rescue for blue light forces, firefighting missions, emergency response and drug interdiction trafficking, the V-150 can be installed with a combination of EO/IR and signals intelligence (SIGINT) sensors to enable the provision of mission intelligence in the fields of emergency and security. Additionally, the V-150 can be equipped with wide area motion imagery sensors to provide a detailed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) picture of a large footprint in real-time.
