Virginia Commonwealth University and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have placed orders for SmartPlanes‘ Freya fixed-wing unmanned aircraft system under a General Services Administration procurement contract.
VCU and the Army Corps purchased the micro-class UAS through a GSA contract held by SmartPlanes distributor Canon East, SmartPlanes said Feb. 25.
Freya’s payload bay is designed to hold at least 1 pound of sensor equipment and fly for up to one hour, the company added.
The UAS procurement works to support VCU and USACE’s joint program at the university’s Remote Sensing and Spectroscopy Research Laboratory, where researchers utilize a number of remote-sensing technologies and programs for environmental and defense applications.