Unmanned Systems Technology 002 | Scion SA-400 | Commercial UAV Show report | Vision sensors | Danielson Trident I Security and safety systems | MIRA MACE | Additive manufacturing | Marine UUVs

18 S cion UAS, based near Denver in Colorado and co- located with sister company Scion Aviation, is developing a very special helicopter, the SA-400 Jackal, which can accommodate one person although they can opt not to fly it themselves. In fact, that person can be merely a passenger, with the craft operating in fully autonomous mode. Alternatively, it can fly without anyone on board. Moreover, even flying unmanned, it can operate from a ship, regardless of the sea causing the deck to pitch, yaw and heave. The SA-400’s origins In 2012, Scion UAS responded to an offer for tender by the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), calling for an unmanned rotorcraft to be used in its evaluation of specific payloads under certain arduous conditions. For this purpose the helicopter the company then had under development, the SA-200 Weasel, with a length of 89.2 in (227 cm) and a rotor diameter of 81.5 in (207 cm), wouldn’t be large enough. More carrying capability was called for. The far more powerful SA-400 Jackal that Scion offered for tender would be a completely new project, and by comparison would have a length of 232 in (589 cm) and a rotor diameter of 250 in (635 cm). It would, however, exploit the same advanced autonomous operation technology initially developed for the compact SA-200. In the end the SA-400 proposal won the NRL contract. That was at the end of September 2012, and the deal was to supply a pair of SA-400s with the option for a third after satisfactory trials of the prototype. In the light of this, the SA-200 project was put on the back burner, just after its first ground tests had been Ian Bamsey travels to Scion UAS in Colorado to get the low-down on a helicopter for which the pilot is optional, the SA-400 Jackal Spring 2015 | Unmanned Systems Technology Day of the Jackal An SA-400 in flight – note optional side tank