Delivered to early adapter
The quadcopter-based contraption Insitu at Xponential by AUVSI, this week in Dallas, TX/USA, updated MONS on their technology developed for launching the ScanEagle vertically: The flying launch and recovery system (FLARES), which has been delivered to an American early adapter.
Insitu’s Director Defense Payloads told MONS the four-legged, eight-rotor FLARES launching system is ready to go, with the, “intention to gain additional experience and harden the system.”
With a wingspan of 3m (10ft) and maximum gross take-off weight of 22kg (49lb), the ScanEagle is normally launched from Insitu’s trailer-mounted Mark 4 catapult launcher and recovered via the SkyHook system, which uses differential GPS navigation to guide the aircraft into a trapping cable. This is not always suitable for launching UAVs from inside walled military bases, jungle canopies or an unimproved field.
