Unmanned Systems Technology 016 | Hydromea Vertex AUV | Power management systems | Unmanned Space Vehicles | Continental CD-155 turbodiesel | Swift 020 UAV | ECUs | DSEI 2017 Show report

8 Platform one October/November 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology The StratoAirNet solar-electric UAV being developed by Bye Aerospace and SolAero Technologies is starting ground and flight tests after delivery of the graphite composite wings (writes Nick Flaherty). The 15 m wings, developed by SolAero, integrate high-efficiency solar cells using proprietary methods to maintain the critical laminar flow surface on the wing. The initial wing-solar cell configuration will deliver up to 2 kW under optimum daylight conditions The StratoAirNet ‘atmospheric satellites’ are intended to support commercial and government security requirements, flying at an altitude of 10,000 to 30,000 ft (3000-10,000 m) rather than high-altitude designs such as Facebook’s Aquila UAV, which operates at 65,000 ft. The SolAero and Bye engineering teams have worked together on the development of the proof of concept, which uses the SolAero solar cells. The cells use what is called inverted metamorphic technology, which is claimed to be up to 33% efficient and produces a claimed power density of more than 350 W/m 2 . Potential commercial applications for the UAV include comms relay, internet service, mapping, search and rescue, firefighting command and control, anti-poaching monitoring, damage assessment, severe weather tracking, precision agriculture monitoring, mineral source surveying, spill detection and infrastructure quality assessment. High-flier heads for ascent Airborne vehicles Rolls-Royce has unveiled a design for a 60 m, 700-tonne USV that is intended for single-role mission capabilities such as surveillance, mine detection, fleet protection and patrol (writes Rory Jackson). It is also designed to be used for submarine detection, and launch and recovery of UAV fleets, and will have a range of 3500 nautical miles. The USV is expected to feature a range of technologies developed by the company, including a support sensor architecture for energy management, equipment health monitoring and predictive and remote maintenance. Two MTU 4000 series generators will provide about 4 MW to a 1.5 MW propulsion drive. A fully electric propulsion system will be used, to eliminate excessive moving parts and auxiliary systems such as lubrication or cooling. “USVs are likely to be deployed for long times, so they need to be trouble- free and low maintenance while at sea,” said Edward Wright at Rolls-Royce. “All- electric power systems provide for that level of reliability,” 3000 kWh of battery storage will be integrated to power low-speed loiter operations, and solar cells will generate further power. “Whether it’s remote, man-in-the- loop or autonomous operation, we will need sensors for total awareness in the power management system, as well as a fleet management architecture to enable the mission management systems to make informed autonomous decisions,” Wright added. Long-range USV on horizon Unmanned vessels The craft will have a fully electrical propulsion system and a range of 3500 nautical miles