Safran Helicopter Engines and Urban Aeronautics have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study market opportunities and address power system solutions to support the develop of a new platform family of internal rotor aircraft, it was announced on 21 September.
Urban Aeronautics' Cormorant (formerly AirMule) UAV demonstrator is currently powered by a Turbomeca Arriel 1D engine driving two ducted fans. The companies will discuss new developments involving more powerful engines for the system.
Under the MoU, Safran and Urban Aeronautics will conduct pre-series and production phases of new full-scale vertical-lift manned or unmanned vehicles, with a focus on systems for use in urban environments in the transport, medevac and air-taxi roles.
Rafi Yoeli, founder and chief executive officer of Urban Aeronautics, said: ‘Partnering with a major aerospace company like Safran will bring valuable expertise and help Urban Aeronautics move from the prototype to the production phase.’
AeroVironment has been dropped from the hunt to provide the US Army with a Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS), leaving Griffon Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada and Textron Systems in the running.
At FEINDEF in Madrid, Navantia, SAES and Perseo announced an intention to develop a line of uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
The UK MoD has released a request for information on small armed UAS which could be used by the British Army.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has delivered the first new build MQ-9 Extended Range (ER) to the US Marine Corps (USMC).
The US has landed an MQ-9 Reaper UAV on a highway for the first time as part of Exercise Agile Chariot.
AeroVironment has introduced the Puma VTOL kit, designed for plug-and-play integration into Puma 2 AE and Puma 3 AE small uncrewed aircraft systems.
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