Unmanned Systems Technology 005 | Selex ES Falco UAV | Sense and avoid systems | RCV Engines DF70 | DSEI show report | Fuel cells | CUAV Expo, InterDrone and CUAV Show reports | SLAM

30 Falco in service The Falco’s payload capacity is nominally 70 kg, although it has been successfully tested at 80 kg. It has an operational speed of 50-100 knots but normally flies at 60-80 knots. In standard air (as opposed to hot or humid conditions) at maximum take-off weight it can fly to 6000 m. Maximum altitude is normally obtained later in the mission, when the fuel load has decreased. The range in fully autonomous mode is dictated only by the flight duration imposed by the fuel load, which can be up to 14 hours. In line-of-sight operation 250 km is a normal maximum distance from the GCS but this depends on the terrain. The Falco was the first unmanned aircraft in Europe to obtain CAA registration marks. They were awarded by the Italian authority and permit it to fly in certain designated areas. This followed an extensive survey of its flight dynamic characteristics (including evaluation of stability and control, level and accelerated stalls, and so on). That survey, in July 2005, followed cooperation between Selex ES and the authority to define the certification basis for it, mostly revolving around safety concerns. The UK’s CAA has since endorsed its Italian counterpart’s recognition of the Falco’s status for flight in given areas. The prototype Falco first flew in November 2003 from the Salto di Quirra test range, and the first customer delivery was made in 2007. In the intervening time there have been many test flights to prove the craft’s durability. In all, three prototypes were flown, and trials of the prototype included flights on different continents to evaluate the Falco in a diverse range of conditions, many of them demanding. To date, more than 60 examples of the Falco have been built. Since the prototype first flew, there have been no major alterations to the hardware, although clearly small modifications have been made in the light of flying Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology The ease with which the EVO variant was recently produced illustrates the flexibility of the Falco’s architecture. With no fundamental changes to it, merely an extended wingspan and corresponding increase in tail boom length, it was possible to increase payload capacity by more than 25% and to increase flight endurance by more than 50%. The EVO has a 12.5 m wingspan, up from 7.2 m, together with 1 m longer booms. Aside from the consequent repositioning, there was no other change to its tail assembly. The strength and rigidity of the Falco’s airframe is such that no significant reinforcement of it was needed for the EVO version, despite its 70% longer wingspan. The EVO’s increased wingspan increases maximum take-off weight from 530 to 650 kg, and in terms of payload an increase from 70 kg to more than 100 kg. It also benefits from an increase in operational ceiling from 6000 to 7000 m, and longer endurance, up to more than 20 hours. Falco EVO The EVO is the latest long-wingspan derivative of the Falco The Falco is now in service with five customers around the world, and has proven itself across a wide range of demanding environments