Unmanned Aircraft Technologies to Watch in 2017

A medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft that can operate from small-deck ships is the challenge tackled by Northrop Grumman under DARPA’s Tern program. The tailsitting flying wing takes off vertically and transitions to wingborne flight using a coaxial rotor for vertical and forward thrust.

Deployed in a buoyant container from a submerged submarine’s 3-in. countermeasures dispenser, AeroVironment’s Blackwing unmanned aircraft launches from the surface to perform reconnaissance or act as a communications relay enabling the boat to control a swarm of unmanned underwater vehicles.

After flying a prototype multicopter “flying jeep,” Advanced Tactics Inc. has produced a small unmanned air/ground vehicle for ground-mobile surveillance and package delivery. The quadcopter AT Panther weighs 54 lb., carries 10 lb. and can fly 3-6 mi. at 50 mph and drive 5-60 mi. off-road at 5 mph.

Giving fixed-wing tactical unmanned aircraft systems independence from launch rails and recovery nets, making them more mobile and deployable, is the idea behind Latitude Engineering’s Hybrid Quadrotor—a battery-powered quadrotor kit used with Arcturus UAV’s Jump family and Textron’s Aerosonde.

Planned to fly in 2017, DARPA’s Ares is a vertical-takeoff-and-landing flight module. Developed by Lockheed Martin and Piasecki Aircraft, the module has twin tilting ducted fans for vertical and forward flight. Ares is designed to carry interchangeable 3,000-lb. payload modules at light-aircraft speeds.

Bridging domains, Singapore Technology Aerospace’s Unmanned Hybrid Vehicle is launched from a ship to fly up to 5 mi., land on water and submerge to perform missions such as mine detection. The electric-powered flying wing has a folding propeller for flight and two small props for underwater propulsion.

Startup Flirtey is leading the drone delivery charge, beginning commercial trials of autonomous pizza delivery with Domino’s in New Zealand in late 2016. Other trials have involved convenience chain 7-Eleven and delivering medical supplies. The quadcopter hovers and winches its payload to the ground.

DroneCatcher, under development by the Netherlands’ Delft Dynamics, is a multicopter that fires a net to capture a hostile drone. A parachute attached to the net lowers the captured drone safely to the ground. Work on a production version is being funded by an unidentified defense customer.

SpectroDrone is an explosives detection system that can fly up to 3 km (1.9 mi.) and use its laser-based sensor to detect and analyze hazardous materials several meters from the threat. The system has been developed by Israel’s Laser Detect Systems using an Airobotics Optimus industrial quadcopter.