Aviation
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Leonardo Helicopters
Discover the design of the new unmanned aircraft
Vários modelos de helicópteros da Leonardo
Rhk111, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gabriela Ramos
6/2/2021
Leonardo Helicopters presented its project in the United Kingdom for a new unmanned rotary class 3t aircraft, which could have its first flight between 2024 and 2025.
Over the past decade, the manufacturer has carried out work for the UK Department of Defense on the first two phases of the Rotating Unmanned Air System Capabilities Concept Demonstrator (RWUAS) programme. The design of the new aircraft is about a development and improvement of the work done in this program. The project is self-financed, but the company hopes that the Ministry of Defense will also provide financial support in the future. “It's something we're very interested in following up, so we continue to invest our own money,” says Sarah Cook, vice president of operations at Leonardo Helicopters UK.
According to Cook, this previous work has narrowed the company's options for its new helicopter. “Now we've reached a point where we think we have a design solution from the perspective of an aircraft that we'd like to move forward with. This gives us a very flexible solution with a modular design,” she says.
Cook says that although it looks like a "conventional aircraft", the new demonstrator will not have the restrictions characteristic of converting a manned platform. The maximum take-off weight will be approximately 3t, with an autonomy of 10 to 12 hours.
The demonstrator is not the final design of the aircraft, according to Cook. The configurations may still change, in addition to the fact that the manufacturer is studying the potential for hybrid or electric propulsion of the new aircraft.
In addition, Cook also stated that, for projects related to the new aircraft, she requested funding from the UK Institute of Aerospace Technology.
Helicóptero Leonardo AW169
Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Gabriela Ramos
Gabriela is the latest addition to the editorial team of our website, having provided us with her solid background in editing, publishing and photography, and her interest and training in aviation history and historiography. His good taste and common sense and great cleverness and sagacity in the selection of themes and materials greatly enriched our vocabulary and narrative style. Gabriela brought unusual predicates and came to stay, helping to point the way of success of our portal.
   
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