Swedish manufacturer SmartPlanes has announced that the SmartPlanes Freya UAV is included in the NASA UAS Traffic Management (UTM) R&D Technical Capability Level 3 (TCL 3) project, at the FAA-designated Nevada UAS test site. SmartPlanes is represented by its US distributor Carbon Autonomous.
SmartPlanes already has a long-term plan for Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) capabilities and look forward to supporting safe integration of drones into regulated airspace.
SmartPlanes is convinced that fixed wing UAVs and especially its latest Freya prototype is very well suited to BVLOS tasks with its 12+ miles line-of-sight telemetry range and 2+ hours flight time.
The fixed wing type UAVs has far more energy efficient flight characteristics and the company is quickly stretching the boundaries for long distance flights. With experiences from the World Wildlife Fund nature conservation activities in Tanzania, Africa, they are comfortable that Freya’s flight endurance will sufficiently enable and succeed in long range tests.
Besides NASA, SmartPlanes already have ongoing long range tests with the US Army Corps of Engineers in Maryland, and are also in cooperation with Alta Devices’ Technology to achieve a 24-hour, partly solar powered, flight.
Source: Press Release