The Martin UAV “V-BAT”, a tactical, tail-sitting VTOL fixed wing drone with multi-mission capability, launched early Friday morning on a routine flight test and landed 8.1 hours later with more than an hour’s fuel remaining in the gas tank – conclusively demonstrating its ability to exceed the currently published endurance of 8 hours.
Phil Jones, Martin COO & former RAF Tornado & MQ-9 Reaper pilot commented:
“This marks another major milestone on the road to providing the warfighter with a multi-mission, long endurance, tactical, and truly expeditionary ISR platform that doesn’t require the burdensome launch and recovery systems of others in this class. A true VTOL (not a hybrid), V-BAT is capable of mid-flight transitions and is fully FARP-capable, making it wholly unique in the global marketplace today”
Source: Press Release