The UMS Skeldar-developed V-200 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been loaded onto a German Navy K130 corvette for shipboard trials.
As announced by Thorsten Bobzin, the commander of the German naval air arm, two Sea Falcon systems – as the heavy fuel UAV will be referred to in German Navy service – were lifted onto the deck of FGS Braunschweig for static tests. The static tests will be followed by flight trials.
The shipboard testing milestone comes after Germany ordered the Sea Falcon in August 2018. Munich-based Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH (ESG) is the prime contractor on the UAV system procurement program.
A total of two V-200s have been ordered to serve as sensor carriers. They have a maximum takeoff weight of 234 kilograms, with a payload of 50 kilograms, and an endurance of up to five hours.
In addition to the German Navy, the V-200 is being acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy and Belgium and the Netherlands, who will operate the systems as part of their joint mine countermeasure vessel fleet replacement program.
Es hat begonnen! Noch sind sie nicht selbst eingeschwebt, aber die ersten 2 #SEAFALCON sind auf #K130 #BRAUNSCHWEIG angekommen. Nun beginnt die Borderprobung. Erst statisch an Deck, dann dynamisch. Es geht voran…. @deutschemarine #EF1 @Flot1DeuNavy #Marineflieger https://t.co/Y58S6JYdBx pic.twitter.com/LJbyN6Hk3L
— FlyNavy1 (@CdrDeuNavalAir) August 12, 2020
