Successfully Showcased ATOL, SAR and ISR Capabilities
UMS Skeldar’s V-200 UAS successfully demonstrated its maritime capabilities, including fully automatic take-off and landing (ATOL), as part of the Finnish Border Guard’s VALVONTA 2 project, the company announced on 19 October.
Bankrolled by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, VALVONTA 2 aims to increase understanding of how UAS might most effectively be integrated into existing and future missions at sea. As part of the trials, the V-200 completed multiple operational cycles, demonstrating ATOL, vessel identification and SAR capabilities under various conditions. The UAS featured a sensor suite that included an automatic identification system, a Wescam MX-8 EO/IR sensor and a high-capacity Leonardo Pico-SAR synthetic aperture radar.
“These flight trials demonstrate that the Skeldar V-200 platform is the perfect, fully-developed ATOL choice for maritime missions,” observed Stefan Hyltberg, Programme Manager for UMS Skeldar. “Its adeptness at operating from a range of naval ships, using market-leading heavy-fuel Hirth engines in combination with its multiple sensor-carrying capability, give the Skeldar V-200 a real advantage over its competitors.”
The V-200 has already been selected by the Belgian, Canadian, German and Dutch navies, providing embedded ‘eye in the sky’ ISR capabilities. “As we have proven with these trials, the Skeldar V-200 continues to provide best-in-class capabilities for customers. Continuous development of our Skeldar V-200 and V-150 aims to not only validate the platforms’ capabilities but also analyse customer requirements with a view to increasing the service suite UMS Skeldar provides,” Hyltberg concluded.
