Zala announces development of new small VTOL UAV

Zala Aero Group announced on 21 October that it plans to launch a new micro VTOL UAS by March next year. The company said that the development is based on the success enjoyed by its current micro VTOL UAS ZALA 421-21 launched in November 2010.

Currently the ZALA 421-21 is being used by emergency services and civil agencies, which require a low cost VTOL UAS for a number of tasks. Most common missions include; crowd patrol, aerial photography, fire-fighting, infrastructure monitoring etc.

The new UAS ZALA 421-22 will address some of the specific requirements faced by a number of end users. The most common of these is to have both an IR and day camera onboard. The new UAV’s payload will incorporate both a FLIR IR payload (640x480) and video camera (500 TVL).

Another factor that will be addressed by the new UAC is the transportation aspect of the current system. Even though the ZALA 421-22 will be 20% bigger than the original system it will be more transportable as the platform can be folded to fit into a tubular container with dimensions. This unique feature for a VTOL will make the platform compatible with tube launched fixed wing UAS.

The UAV will be based on an eight rotor construction and weigh 2.0kg with a 0.5kg payload.