Scott Nicholas
Textron‘s unmanned systems business held an inaugural customer demonstration of a small unmanned aircraft system designed to combine vertical takeoff-and-landing capacity of a multirotor platform with the speed of the company’s Aerosonde fixed-wing aircraft offering.
The company said Wednesday it demonstrated the Aerosonde HQ at the Textron Systems Unmanned Systems Service and Support Center as well as showcased the system’s transition from vertical takeoff to horizontal flight and landing.
Aerosonde HQ system is built with Lycoming Engine‘s EL-005 heavy fuel engine and designed to operate for as long as eight hours at an altitude of up to 10,000 feet.
“We believe this technology holds tremendous potential for our defense, as well as our civil and commercial customers,†said Bill Irby, senior vice president and general manager of Textron’s unmanned systems business.
