101 In open spaces, Black Widow and WEB can maintain communications for up to 8 km, although range will be reduced in contested or urban environments. “The ability of the Doodle Lab Helix radios to dynamically change channels and bandwidths as interference is detected allows for performance to be optimised for the environment,” Thompson explains (more detail on these radios later). The user interface built into the WEB is designed to be very intuitive and the ergonomic placement of controls allows users to get up to speed with the system rapidly. “Most operators are comfortable flying in position mode within minutes of launch,” he adds. Choose a flight mode ‘Position’ mode is one of five userselectable flight modes, and the safest one for new operators to use as it controls the aircraft’s altitude, attitude, heading and horizontal position automatically, using GPS as the main positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) reference. Thompson describes the next mode, ‘altitude’, as the safest non-GPS option for new pilots, handling the first three of those parameters but leaving horizontal position to the pilot, who must be ready to apply corrections if the Black Widow starts to drift with the wind. ‘Mission’ mode takes some work to set up as it automatically executes a previously created flight plan, again relying on GPS. However, waypoints can be programmed during flight. In ‘follow-me’ mode, the aircraft mirrors the movement of the GPS, says Thompson. It captures the ground range, altitude and bearing angle between the aircraft and the GCS. During tracking, follow-me mode maintains the position of the aircraft relative to the GCS, while maintaining altitude. ‘Manual’ is the most difficult flight mode to operate and it is not selectable using default control mapping as it controls attitude and heading only, so it is recommended only for experienced pilots. Even with a robust communication system, loss of comms is always a possibility in complex and contested environments. With Black Widow, the operator can choose from a number of pre-set responses. The first is labelled ‘return to home’ mode, whereby the UAV will return to the user’s last known position. The operator can also set the aircraft to return to the position from which it took off or go to a pre-programmed rally point. In ‘land immediately’ mode, the UAV will make a controlled landing wherever Red Cat Holdings Black Widow | In operation In open spaces, Black Widow and WEB can maintain communications for up to 8 km, although range will be reduced in contested or urban environments Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2025 Upper view showing detail of the gimbal for the Hadron 640R+ reconnaissance payload, dorsal antenna for the Doodle Labs Helix radios and the folding, field-replaceable arms (Image courtesy of Red Cat)
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