Scott Nicholas
A team of BAE Systems engineers and Cranfield University students has unveiled a new concept of unmanned aerial vehicle technology designed to alternate between fixed- and rotary-wing flight modes.
BAE said Friday it envisions the Adaptable UAV as a hybrid platform with a capacity to be launched and recovered in battlefield environments with the use of multiple vehicle models.
The UAV would employ adaptive tools intended to facilitate the vehicle’s switch between two flight modes as well as vertical take-off and landing, the company added.
“The Adaptable UAVs concept and related technologies are one of a number of concepts being explored through close collaboration between industry and students in academia,” said Nick Colosimo, futurist and technologist at BAE.
Cranfield University’s research staff and students examined a range of UAV technologies such as flight control, navigation and guidance tools through the project.
