Issue 37 Unmanned Systems Technology April/May 2021 Einride next-gen Pod l Battery technology l Dive Technologies AUV-Kit l UGVs insight l Vanguard EFI/ETC vee twins l Icarus Swarms l Transponders l Sonobot 5 l IDEX 2021 report

97 IDEX 2021 | Report used. The FLIR BlackFly has worked successfully, and Lockheed Martin anticipates the same with many others. More challenging is having a UAV that is stable enough to navigate around a large aircraft’s fuselage while holding the camera steady. However, the Indago 3 has sufficient camera stability for that. “The Indago 3 is also now available as an optionally tethered system, with static and mobile configurations focused on enhanced situational awareness and comms relay capabilities,” Colaw added. The Indago 3 has a MTOW of 2.05 kg and can fly for up to 75 minutes. Its maximum range is 10 km (within visual line of sight) and its hull is rated to IP54, with IP67 rating also anticipated in the future. Steadicopter showcased its Black Eagle family of unmanned helicopters, highlighting a number of technological and mission capability updates to its rotary unmanned aircraft systems. The newest is the integration of the FlightOps Drone operating system from fellow Israeli autonomous systems company Simplex-C2. It is designed to enable BVLOS operations of multiple UAVs at a time, enabling large-scale operations of Black Eagle groups in homeland security, police, offshore and military ISR missions. Noam Lidor told us, “The process of integrating FlightOps Drone OS was mostly straightforward, but of course it required some hardware adaptations. First, FlightOps is on a board-level computer connected to our own flight control unit, so some mechanical design work was needed, as well as supplying power to it and making the comms links robust.” The company also drew our attention to its recently unveiled Black Eagle BE50E and BE25E, so named for their electric powertrains. Both use a 14-cell lithium-ion pack as standard, with a nominal voltage of 51.8 V. “In practice, the actual weight and number of batteries will be adjusted according to the weight of the end-user’s payload,” Lidor noted. “We want to be as efficient as possible, so if we take a 5 kg payload we will use 12 kg of batteries – which would mean a 35 kg MTOW.” If used only for horizontal flight, the BE50E can operate for up to 90 minutes, with a payload capacity of up to 12 kg. The BE25E meanwhile has a horizontal flight endurance of up to an hour, and a 30-minute endurance if hovering, with up to 2 kg of payload. “Both products’ propulsion systems rely on the same mechanical arrangement, same control units and the same GUI – but they have some differences, as the BE25E is directed more to civil and commercial customers,” Lidor added. The BE50E features a closed main and rear gearbox, and integrates a parachute for safety in crash landings, in addition to having a longer tail and rotor blades than the BE25E – which has an open main and rear gearbox, and no parachute. Unmanned Systems Technology | April/May 2021 The Indago 3 from Lockheed Martin now comes in an optionally tethered version Steadicopter’s Black Eagle 50E integrates a parachute for safety in crash landings