UMS Skeldar, ESG complete R-350 flight trials
UMS Skeldar and ESG have completed a week-long flight demonstration programme of the R-350 rotary-wing UAS for Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information technology and In-Service Support, UMS Skeldar announced on 23 November.
The demonstration saw the modified R-350 used as an unmanned mission avionics test helicopter equipped with two specialised payloads from ESG. The systems comprised a LiDAR and a gyro-stabilised EO/IR camera weighing over 27kgs.
The flights were conducted at the Bundeswehr Technical Centre for Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment in Manching, and demonstrated the R-350’s ability to evaluate sensors and algorithms while performing automatic landing site recognition for manned helicopters beyond visual line of sight.
David Willems, business development director for UMS Skeldar, said: ‘We have been working very hard over the last few months to design a smaller vertical take-off and landing platform that can provide customers with an ability to carry out smaller critical activities, all the while having the provision to carry multiple payloads.
‘Alongside our larger Skeldar V-200 platform, this portfolio approach enables us to provide military, maritime and civilian organisations with a wide range of tactical activities from search and rescue and border patrol to medical supply and cargo delivery.’
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
