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.’
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