Scott Nicholas
AeroVironment has debuted a rugged miniature unmanned aircraft system the company designed to aid close-range military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
Snipe Nano Quad is equipped with electro-optical/infrared, low-light-capable and long-wave infrared sensors and an integrated tilt mechanism for the transmission of images and record real-time video in daytime and nighttime operations, AeroVironment said Tuesday.
“No assembly is required for the five-ounce nano-UAS, which is designed to be worn by its operator so it can be deployed in less than a minute,” said Kirk Flittie, vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment.
The company noted operators can remotely control Snipe via an application on a standard MIL-STD 810 touchscreen controller.
The drone is designed to operate for approximately 15 minutes at a speed of more than 20 miles per hour even in challenging environmental conditions.
Snipe is built upon the robotic Nano Hummingbird system AeroVironment developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
AeroVironment will begin to take orders for the quadrotor this fall.
