June 21, 2012 by Arie Egozi - FG
Tel Aviv - Israeli unmanned air system manufacturers BlueBird and UAS Technologies are jointly completing the development of a design with a maximum take-off weight of 24kg (53lb) and an endurance of 24h.
The aircraft is based on UAS Technologies' UAS 20, which is 1.6m (5.3ft) long and has a wing span of 4.1m.
The aircraft has a maximum speed of 72kt (133km/h) and a 42kt cruise speed. Its operational range is 100km (54nm) and it can be flown to an altitude of 16,000ft (4,880m).
BlueBird president Ronen Nadir says the new UAS will have an endurance of 24h when powered by a fuel engine, or 12h if it uses an electric engine.
"This cooperation is aimed at offering potential clients that currently operate mini UAS a greater capability, while still keeping the unit price and the operational costs at a low level," he says.
Two prototypes are being used for test flights to finalise the design before the beginning of production.
The UAS will be equipped with the Controp T-Stamp payload.
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