Thales presented a new kind of drone. Called UAS100, the flying machine with a hybrid engine is capable of operating over a radius more than 100 km from its pilot, reports 01Net. The manufacturer welcomed in a statement to have been able to “successfully perform the first flight of the ½ scale prototype of its high elongation drone”.
A final version will see the light of day by 2022 to be normally certified the following year. This is the first time that Thales has designed such a high elongation device. It is a drone with hybrid propulsion with two electric motors associated with another, thermal. This will make it possible to guarantee “the discretion necessary for its missions and for overflight of inhabited areas, while ensuring autonomy and resilience to failures”, writes Thales.
Several civil and military missions
This drone can have civilian or military missions. “It will meet various operational needs such as the inspection of large infrastructures, the securing of coastal and border areas or major events, the search for victims or even defense missions”, writes the manufacturer. The aircraft is comfortable to fly in disturbed areas “thanks to a robust navigation system to jamming”.
Thales has joined forces with the companies Issoire Aviation and Hionos. France lags behind in drone marketing – three-quarters of global commercial and consumer devices are supplied by China, says Clubic. The company has notably received financial support from the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, via the Defense Innovation Agency (AID).