Photo: Airbus
There is an effort at the moment to include helicopter drones in the arsenal of national navies. The rotor-blade design allows for more classes of ships to have their own aerial assets, which could be used for surveillance and intelligence missions.
The American military drone industry is perhaps the most advanced in the world when it comes to this research, and that's why we most often get to talk about them. But others elsewhere are making their own efforts to make drones an important part of naval military actions.
For several years now European aerospace behemoth Airbus has been working on something called the Système de Drone Aérien Marine (SDAM). It is based on a Cabri G2 light helicopter, converted to fly with no humans on board, and renamed VSR700.
In its normal form, the Guimbal-made Cabri helo is a two-seater powered by a Lycoming piston engine. It can go as high as 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) and fly to distances of up to 700 km (430 miles).
First flown in 2019, the VSR700 adds to all that the ability to land and take off on its own with an accuracy of ten to 20 cm (four to eight inches) of the target area. That's possible thanks to an Airbus system called DeckFinder – an independent local positioning system that provides a 3D image of the drone's relative position to guide it to where it needs to be.
Back in 2022, the drone was tested in an optionally piloted configuration from and on an unnamed civilian vessel. Then, earlier this year, we learned of it moving on to tests in full operational configuration using an undisclosed kind of ship as a base of operations.
This week Airbus revealed that at the beginning of the month, it tested the VSR700 and its SDAM autonomous demonstrator by having it fly from an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy, called Provence.
An Aquitaine-class ship is a multi-purpose frigate meant to give European nations more punch on the seas. The family was born in 2007, and packs immense firepower – anything from cruise missiles, anti-ship weapons, guns and machine guns, to helicopters. The platform of the ship also forms the basis for the U.S. Navy's Constellation-class of guided missile frigates.
For it to be used as a test bed for the SDAM, the Provence had to be modified in ways that were not disclosed. Whatever was done to it apparently worked, as Airbus declared the tests a success, and announced operational capability for the system should be achieved by 2026.
When that happens we are to expect a drone capable of flying at speeds of 140 mph (220 kph) and carrying payloads weighing as much as 220 pounds (100 kg). The drone will be capable of flying for as much as ten hours.
For several years now European aerospace behemoth Airbus has been working on something called the Système de Drone Aérien Marine (SDAM). It is based on a Cabri G2 light helicopter, converted to fly with no humans on board, and renamed VSR700.
In its normal form, the Guimbal-made Cabri helo is a two-seater powered by a Lycoming piston engine. It can go as high as 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) and fly to distances of up to 700 km (430 miles).
First flown in 2019, the VSR700 adds to all that the ability to land and take off on its own with an accuracy of ten to 20 cm (four to eight inches) of the target area. That's possible thanks to an Airbus system called DeckFinder – an independent local positioning system that provides a 3D image of the drone's relative position to guide it to where it needs to be.
Back in 2022, the drone was tested in an optionally piloted configuration from and on an unnamed civilian vessel. Then, earlier this year, we learned of it moving on to tests in full operational configuration using an undisclosed kind of ship as a base of operations.
This week Airbus revealed that at the beginning of the month, it tested the VSR700 and its SDAM autonomous demonstrator by having it fly from an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy, called Provence.
An Aquitaine-class ship is a multi-purpose frigate meant to give European nations more punch on the seas. The family was born in 2007, and packs immense firepower – anything from cruise missiles, anti-ship weapons, guns and machine guns, to helicopters. The platform of the ship also forms the basis for the U.S. Navy's Constellation-class of guided missile frigates.
For it to be used as a test bed for the SDAM, the Provence had to be modified in ways that were not disclosed. Whatever was done to it apparently worked, as Airbus declared the tests a success, and announced operational capability for the system should be achieved by 2026.
When that happens we are to expect a drone capable of flying at speeds of 140 mph (220 kph) and carrying payloads weighing as much as 220 pounds (100 kg). The drone will be capable of flying for as much as ten hours.
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