Airbus Defence & Space hopes later this year to secure the first customers for its Atlante tactical unmanned air vehicle and vertical take-off and landing Tanan unmanned rotorcraft. A development contract for the Atlante is nearing its conclusion, and with successful flight tests already performed, Jens Nielsen, head of unmanned aerial systems for the company’s Military Aircraft business unit, says it is “talking to several people about being potential customers”.
With a maximum take-off weight of 570kg (1,250lb), including a 100kg payload capacity, the Atlante has a reported flight endurance of more than 10 hours.
“Tanan is entering its flight test campaign just now,” Nielsen adds. “Our expectation is that we will get one or two contracts this year. From the data we have so far it seems to be a very reliable system.” The company is offering an enhanced version with a maximum weight of 350kg – including a 50kg payload – capable of operating for more than 8 hours.
Recent successes elsewhere within the Airbus UAV portfolio have included a deal to provide Cameroon with Copter 4 unmanned helicopters and hand-launched DVF 2000s, says Nielsen.
Meanwhile, Nielsen says the German defence ministry is considering its options on a future signals intelligence-gathering capability, following last year’s cancellation of the Airbus/Northrop Grumman Euro Hawk programme. One potential activity could study the use of another variant of the Northrop RQ-4 Global Hawk airframe – specifically the US Navy’s MQ-8B Triton – as a replacement platform.
Source: Flight Global