Photo: Leonardo
It didn't take us civilians long to get used to drones, both military and civilian. In fact, they've been with us for so long that we can barely conceive drones looking anything other than scaled-down aircraft, with fixed wings, or copters with at least four propellers. But as things stand, we should start getting used to helicopter-style drones as well.
There are several such ideas presently being considered, including the Airbus VSR700 or the Bell 407-derived MQ-8 Fire Scout, but the technology does not seem to be mature enough to be used on a large scale yet. Still, as of this week, you can add another helicopter drone to the list. This one is called AWHero, and was put together by Italian defense company Leonardo.
The drone is a multi-purpose one. It can be used for civilian needs as a tool for disaster relief, monitoring, and so on. Its main uses, most likely, will however be military in nature, be it over land or sea: surveillance, target acquisition, combat support, you name it.
For a drone that is not based on an existing platform, the AWHero is quite large. It weighs 200 kg (440 pounds), and has a rotor diameter of four meters (over 13 feet). It is powered by a heavy fuel engine that can accelerate it to a top speed of 167 kph (104 mph), and can keep it flying for as much as six hours at altitudes of up to 14,000 feet (4.3 km).
The AWHero can carry a total of 60 kg (132 pounds) of payload, either on the nose or on the belly. It is controlled from a ground station, and can send back details of what it sees in a variety of ways, including video and radar. Depending on what tools it is equipped with, it can be used to identify objects, vehicles, and people, and has the capability of teaming up with crewed aircraft for more impact on an operation.
The drone has been around for a while. Back in 2019, it was included in a test program that involved European military ships, and in 2021 it even caught the attention of the Australian Navy.
This week, as the SEAFUTURE 2023 event unfolds over in Genoa, Italy, Leonardo pulled the wraps off what it calls an enhanced version of the drone. We're not told exactly what changed, except for non-descript details like an more efficient twin-engine, a modified airframe to allow better integration of the rest of the hardware and more stability while on deck, and new sensor modularity.
The AWHero is now moving from basic design to concept of operations stage. We have no info on when it should become a constant presence in our skies, looking all mean and autonomous, just like something robots would use to take over the world.
The drone is a multi-purpose one. It can be used for civilian needs as a tool for disaster relief, monitoring, and so on. Its main uses, most likely, will however be military in nature, be it over land or sea: surveillance, target acquisition, combat support, you name it.
For a drone that is not based on an existing platform, the AWHero is quite large. It weighs 200 kg (440 pounds), and has a rotor diameter of four meters (over 13 feet). It is powered by a heavy fuel engine that can accelerate it to a top speed of 167 kph (104 mph), and can keep it flying for as much as six hours at altitudes of up to 14,000 feet (4.3 km).
The AWHero can carry a total of 60 kg (132 pounds) of payload, either on the nose or on the belly. It is controlled from a ground station, and can send back details of what it sees in a variety of ways, including video and radar. Depending on what tools it is equipped with, it can be used to identify objects, vehicles, and people, and has the capability of teaming up with crewed aircraft for more impact on an operation.
The drone has been around for a while. Back in 2019, it was included in a test program that involved European military ships, and in 2021 it even caught the attention of the Australian Navy.
This week, as the SEAFUTURE 2023 event unfolds over in Genoa, Italy, Leonardo pulled the wraps off what it calls an enhanced version of the drone. We're not told exactly what changed, except for non-descript details like an more efficient twin-engine, a modified airframe to allow better integration of the rest of the hardware and more stability while on deck, and new sensor modularity.
The AWHero is now moving from basic design to concept of operations stage. We have no info on when it should become a constant presence in our skies, looking all mean and autonomous, just like something robots would use to take over the world.
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