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19 “Having a commonality between the systems allows you to attract and retain a customer without the need for conversion training, and that places us in a unique position,” says Willems. “We have always believed in the VTOL segment. The R-350 is a light turbine-propelled helicopter and it had a lot of success, but it was not fully mature. With the input from Saab it will be far more able to provide a good entry level for industrial customers, who can then move up to the V-200 if they wish. Data management “We also believe that some of those heavy-industry customers will be keen to use fixed-wing systems for applications such as pipeline monitoring and then move on to VTOL platforms for closer visual inspection work. They can do this easily because it’s the same ground control system and we can cross-train the pilots,” he says. “It also means that in the future the data processing will be simplified across the platforms.” UMS Skeldar is now developing such a data information management system. “It is not something we are used to doing but we are starting to make it available to both types of users, and this is one of the ways forward in the industry, in my opinion,” Willems says. These systems will still be remotely piloted, although more autonomous operation will help provide more efficient services, he says. “In terms of being fully autonomous, there will always be a human controller, but the scope of the missions that the platforms will be able to accomplish will be greater,” he says. “We will be able to perform missions that combine VTOL and fixed wing, and from an autonomous perspective you would define the portion of the mission from each platform and collect the data from each. “The technology is there but we are working on the integration – it’s really how the information will be merged, displayed and processed that makes the difference. In practice, you would need two teams of pilots just for safety reasons, and in the future you will always have one crew per system, but they will be able to handle both a fixed-wing system and a VTOL. This is in development at the moment as we need to test the technology extensively – anyone saying they do that already would be lying.” UMS Skeldar is looking to improve the range of its platforms, boosting the endurance of the fixed-wing F-720 from 12 to 20 hours. “We are constantly working on improving the performance, but the challenge is weight,” says Willems. Payload factor “More fuel means more weight, so if you want to increase the endurance you have to reduce the weight of the payload. However, payload technologies are evolving fast, and weights are falling, allowing us to offer multiple sensors in the same payload capacity. “Payload modularity is a beautiful term, but the payload needs to be integrated, and that’s a long task – there’s nothing like plug and play at this level,” Willems says. “By working closely with sensor manufacturers we will improve the ease of changing payloads and integrating them. “Every OEM is faced with the same demanding task to integrate multiple payloads in one platform. This is where the market is heading, as customers want to have a range of sensors available.” One area of focus for the company is on the development of the next generation of fixed-wing system, the F-330, which will be unveiled later this year. “We are working hard on this light tactical aircraft, which will have much better performance both in terms of endurance and payload capability,” Willems adds, pointing to interesting times ahead for UMS Skeldar. David Willems | In conversation Willems says UMS Skeldar is uniquely placed to offer either fixed-wing or VTOL platforms Unmanned Systems Technology | February/March 2016 The joint venture allows UMS Skeldar to add the high-end rotary V-200 long-endurance platform from Saab to its offerings