A German team has unveiled a new family of mini unmanned air vehicles ahead of first flight demonstrations later this month with a fully autonomous navigation system.
The electrically powered Carolo mini-UAVs have been under development for two years by Mavionics, a business unit of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.
Rheinmetall Defence Electronics last month signed an agreement with the company to support further system development and international marketing activities.
The canard-configuration Carolo C-40 has a 400mm (15.7in)-span wing, a 300mm-long fuselage and a pusher propeller. The system has a maximum take-off weight of 450g (1lb), including a CCD video camera, and a flight endurance of 15min.
Asecond system, the P-50, is being offered to meet a German army requirement for five micro- or mini-UAV systems from late 2005. The hand-launched vehicle has a nose-mounted propeller, a 490mm wingspan and an overall length of 460mm. A larger, P-70 design will offer a 20min flight endurance carrying an additional low-light television camera.
A fourth variant, the T-140, will offer an increased endurance of 30min and be capable of carrying an infrared camera. This month's fully autonomous test flight will employ a P-70 airframe.
PETER LA FRANCHI / CANBERRA
Source: Flight International