Launch of a new Hero

Launch of a new Hero

BY DAVID DONALD

On 15 February, Leonardo not only opened a new manufacturing facility in Pisa, but also unveiled the AWHero production-ready version of its Hero multi-role rotary unmanned air system (RUAS). The AWHero will be the factory’s first main product.

The pre-production version unveiled last week features significant alterations from the original Hero, including optimised airframe and aerodynamics, a new fuel system, and a new liquid-cooled rotary engine. The 200kg-class vehicle also has a new composite tail rotor drive shaft.

The AWHero undertook a 10-minute first flight in December 2018, and a second pre-production vehicle is due to join the trials campaign in the next few months. Certification by Italian military authorities is expected before the end of the year. The AWHero is due to take part in maritime surveillance demonstrations as part of the European Defence Fund’s Ocean 2020 initiative.

AWHero offers an endurance of more than six hours, and can carry a variety of payloads, including radar such as the Leonardo Gabbiano TS UltraLight, electro-optic sensors, LiDAR, and electronic support measures systems such as the Leonardo Sage. The vehicle incorporates deck sensor and autopilot modes specifically adapted for shipborne operations.

Leonardo is developing considerable expertise in unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The company’s Ronchi dei Legionari facility builds the successful Falco series of fixedwing UAVs, and Leonardo has also built the 1,200kg Sky-Y MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) UAV technology demonstrator. The AWHero complements the SW-4 Solo RUAS, which is an optionally manned adaptation of the 1,800kg PZL-Swidnik SW-4 Puszczyk light helicopter that was acquired when Leonardo’s forerunner, AgustaWestland, bought the Polish factory in early 2010.

Fully automated surveillance

Azur Drones of France is showing its Skeyetech drone system, part of the company’s Drones’guard surveillance and reconnaissance solutions. The system is on show as part of the presentation by Etimad (Stand 04-C10), which is the Abu Dhabi distributor for the system.

Skeyetech is a fully automated drone system that is connected into a wider security network that can include thermal and radar sensors, and smart fence technology. It is designed as a reactive system that supports security by providing onscene imagery when potential issues have been detected by other means.

The drone and its day/ night cameras are housed in a fixed-position container that is networked directly into the security system. When a potential security breach is detected, the container’s doors slide open and the drone launches to fly to the threat location based on co-ordinates generated within the security management system. Imagery is downlinked to the container, which then streams it in real time into the security command post. With its visual check/identification task complete, the drone then returns to the container and lands – the landing platform serving as a charging station for the vehicle’s electric motors. All this process is designed to be completely automatic, with no human intervention required, although the drone can be controlled from the security post if desired. Endurance of the eight-bladed drone is 35 minutes.

Last month, Skeyetech became the first such system to receive certification from the French DGAC civil aviation authority, permitting it to be flown in civilian airspace, including urban environments, with only supervision from an unlicensed operator required.

Defeating drones on the move

AVT Australia, formerly known as UAV Vision, is showcasing its expertise in gyro-stabilised imaging systems and solutions for counterdrone operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and air defence as part of the Team Defence Australia display (Stand 07-C04). The company focuses on providing ITAR-free solutions in the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to a range of low SWaP (size, weight and power) imaging systems, AVT Australia is highlighting its new X-MADIS system, which provides C-UAS (counter unmanned air system) capability for fixed-site, mobile and on-the-move applications. X-MADIS (eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defence Integrated System) is battle-proven, rugged and reliable and can detect, locate, identify, track and defeat a range of aerial threats, including improvised small UAS swarms. It has long-range detection capability and can engage UASs while on the move over rough terrain at speeds exceeding 40mph. The system combines electro-optics, radar and electronic warfare elements into a platformagnostic system.