UMS Skeldar has confirmed that its global focus on maritime applications is to be spearheaded by the Skeldar V-200B.
The announcement came after the news that the company will make Australia its base for Asia-Pacific operations.
UMS is gunning to provide RAN with a maritime UAS under Sea 129 Phase 5 Stage 1.
The new version of the heavy-fuel engine rotary UAV includes extended endurance, engine management system and payload capabilities. The modifications to the mid-range Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) rotary UAV was announced at the Farnborough Airshow.
The Skeldar V-200B completed its trials earlier this year.
“It is no secret that more players are attempting to enter the maritime market for rotary UAVs,” David Willems, Head of Business Development at UMS Skeldar, said. “Recent navy contracts have stipulated the role and specification, and this has confirmed our strategy of development is absolutely the right move at the right time.
“We are able to fly longer, over five hours, at maximum payload capacity through weight savings from design modifications and our 2-stroke engine configuration shortens time between overhauls.”
The V-200B’s Hirth engine, with heavy fuel licensed technology from Australian company Orbital, was the first medium maritime UAV able to operate on Jet A-1, JP-5 and JP-8 fuels.
“The major difference between the V-200 engine and those of our competitors is that our engine is more tolerant of the JP-5 quality and that is a big advantage,” Willems said.
UMS has also partnered with Sentient Vision Systems ViDAR (Visual Detection and Ranging), a maritime search system that autonomously detects objects on the ocean surface.
Development of the V-200B was informed by Spanish and Indonesian military deployments.