Photo: AeroVironment
After seeing how drones of all shapes and sizes are being used in the war in Ukraine, there’s no question left in anybody’s mind that this piece of technology has forever changed our world.
Through the nature of their design, drones can go to otherwise difficult-to-reach places, can perform tasks that would be dangerous or at least tricky for human-flown aircraft, and are not that expensive to replace, should something go wrong.
The offering in the military drone market is huge already, but defense contractor AeroVironment decided to up the stakes by introducing a new, more capable version of the Vapor 55 Helicopter unmanned aircraft system. Called Vapor 55 MX, this version should bring new capabilities for fighting forces by allowing for increased endurance and payload capacity.
More to the point, when used for military purposes (it can be used by civilians as well), the drone can carry up to 22 pounds (10 kg) of usable payloads, which is an increase of 20 percent compared to previous versions, and can fly for up to 70 minutes, which is 25 percent more than before.
More importantly, AeroVironment made this thing in such a way as to be modular, and use a new payload interface that could be adapted for whatever payload the military needs carried to new locations fast.
“The new Vapor 55 MX is an easy-to-maintain system that incorporates a highly versatile modular architecture and tool-free rail system for simple, efficient integration of third-party or custom payloads, allowing users to adapt to multi-sensor, multi-mission requirements including utility inspection, aerial surveying, public safety and defense applications,” said in a statement Trace Stevenson, AeroVironment vice president and product line general manager for small UAS.
AeroVironment did not say when the new helicopter drone will become available, or how much it will cost.
The offering in the military drone market is huge already, but defense contractor AeroVironment decided to up the stakes by introducing a new, more capable version of the Vapor 55 Helicopter unmanned aircraft system. Called Vapor 55 MX, this version should bring new capabilities for fighting forces by allowing for increased endurance and payload capacity.
More to the point, when used for military purposes (it can be used by civilians as well), the drone can carry up to 22 pounds (10 kg) of usable payloads, which is an increase of 20 percent compared to previous versions, and can fly for up to 70 minutes, which is 25 percent more than before.
More importantly, AeroVironment made this thing in such a way as to be modular, and use a new payload interface that could be adapted for whatever payload the military needs carried to new locations fast.
“The new Vapor 55 MX is an easy-to-maintain system that incorporates a highly versatile modular architecture and tool-free rail system for simple, efficient integration of third-party or custom payloads, allowing users to adapt to multi-sensor, multi-mission requirements including utility inspection, aerial surveying, public safety and defense applications,” said in a statement Trace Stevenson, AeroVironment vice president and product line general manager for small UAS.
AeroVironment did not say when the new helicopter drone will become available, or how much it will cost.
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