UK unmanned systems developer MGI Engineering has unveiled its SkyShark ‘one-way effector’, offering the lightweight type with a choice of two propulsion options.
Launched during an event at Enstone airfield in Oxfordshire on 11 July, the model will carry a modular payload of up to 20kg (44lb), such as a warhead or electronic warfare equipment.
Range will be in excess of 135nm (250km), with the platform having an operating speed of over 243kt (450km/h).
“Compact, cost-effective and rapidly manufactured at scale, SkyShark is engineered to conduct ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance], strike, and decoy operations in GPS-denied or highly contested environments,” its developer states.
To be available commercially from next month, the unmanned air system is being offered powered by Argive A300 gas turbine engines, or using HS125 electric ducted fans supplied by Greenjets.
MGI claims that the A300 provides “exceptional thrust-to-weight performance for tactical strike missions”, while the H125 is a “quiet, fully electric powertrain designed for low-signature missions”.
The developer in late-May reported its most recent test success using a full-scale prototype of the SkyShark. Performed in Spain, the activity demonstrated “stable flight and control while gathering crucial data as we prepare for operational testing”, the company said.
“In an era of strategic instability, we believe the UK must move fast, think independently, and build smart,” says MGI founder and chief executive Mike Gascoyne. “From propulsion to payload, everything we’ve launched was designed, built, and tested on home soil.”
The Oxfordshire-based company’s existing product range also includes the Mosquito-series, including an electric vertical take-off and landing cargo model with a capacity of up to 100kg, the M10 aerial delivery drone, and the in-development TigerShark cruise missile.
Gascoyne, a venerated Formula 1 engineer and designer, has in recent years brought his expertise to the aerospace industry, holding the post of chief technology officer at the fledgling Vertical Aerospace until 2021.
MGI Engineering was previously owned by the electric vertical take-off and landing developer – registered as Vertical Advanced Engineering – until its divestment in 2021.
