Conventional multicopter drones are excellent at hovering and VTOL, but they can’t cover long distances as efficiently as fixed-wing aircraft. A team of students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design is trying to get the best of both worlds with the Transformable HOvering Rotorcraft (THOR). Continue reading
Category Archives: VTOL
US Navy Special Ops Interested in Air/Water Drone
At the Office of Naval Research’s annual Science and Technology Expo on Friday in Washington, D.C., a development team from Rutgers University demonstrated the unusual quadcopter, which can swim at depths of up to 10 meters, then seamlessly launch to the surface and soar into the air. Continue reading
New Russian Unmanned Helicopter on Show
Russia-based Radar MMS released further details of its BPV-500 vertical-takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at the MAKS 2017 airshow in Zhukovsky near Moscow. Continue reading
Russia to Develop Artillery Reconnaissance Drone
Russia will start work soon to develop a radar system mounted on a helicopter-type drone for artillery reconnaissance, a source in the Russian defense sector told TASS. Continue reading
Schiebel Camcopter S-100 Completes Successful French Navy Qualification Flights
Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Air System once again convinced with its outstanding maritime capability when successfully completing qualification flights for the French Navy from 29 May to 3 June 2017. Continue reading
UMS SKELDAR and Sentient sign MOU to Provide ViDAR for SKELDAR V-200
UMS SKELDAR has used the Paris Airshow (19-25 June 2017) to announce an agreement with Sentient Vision Systems to provide the ViDAR (Visual identification Detection and Ranging) system for its unmanned systems. Continue reading
Raptor EV Hybrid VTOL UAS
RaptorUAS has announced that it has completed tests for the conversion of their high performance Raptor E1 UAS to a hybrid VTOL fixed wing platform: the Raptor EV. Continue reading
Aeroscout’s Long Flight Endurance Scout B-330
Aeroscout, a long term partner of performance leading LiDAR manufacturer RIEGL, has launched the Scout B-330 UAV helicopter, which is built with a high payload capacity of up to 50 kg (110 lbs), a very long flight endurance (at least three hours) and the capability of flying at very high altitudes (up to 3,000m above sea level) in a typical mission scenario. This includes a full autonomous take-off sequence, a mission flight at variable speed, and a landing sequence.