UAV Aerosystems Conduct Centenary Flight with D3IP

UAV Aerosystems has conducted the centenary flight of one of their Providence platforms with the support of D3IP. Hosted at Dorset Innovation Park, D3IP was able to accommodate the proof-of-concept flight and demonstration.

A small team, headed up by UAV Aerosystems’ CTO Max Finbow, showcased the ease and speed of which the UAV was able to be deployed, as well as the ability to launch and recover in a confined space.

They also tested demonstrated the autonomous flight capability of the aircraft with a fully autonomous mission, showcasing one of their payload options with dual day and night observation capabilities. The payload showed its ability to automatically detect, track and geo-locate vehicles at 5km away.

The UAV performance has been upgraded in 2024 to enable a 50 km range from base while maintaining a live video feed back to the control station. With four hours of flight time, the aircraft can cover 200 km of ground track during a mission – an incredibly impressive performance for such a compact system.

Following the flight, Max commented: “It’s been great to operate the aircraft in both fully autonomous and assisted piloting modes, approaching over the trees and landing in this confined space here, as well as demonstrating the camera capabilities, object tracking, and the manoeuvrability of the aircraft.”

Peter Heath, D3IP Collaboration Nerve Centre (CNC) Lead, said: “It was great to have UAV Aerosystems utilising D3IP’s services for this significant centenary flight. It was a perfect example of how the D3IP CNC approach to innovation can bring unique benefits to both our partners and customers”

D3IP provides innovation as a service by leveraging a diverse collaboration community, of which UAV Aerosystems is a part, and facilitating access to a wide range of capabilities. Through the Defence BattleLab in Dorset, D3IP works with Defence to improve outcomes, while also creating opportunities for partners who struggle to access public sector frameworks, including SMEs, academia, subject matter experts, and regulatory bodies. We also work with Law Enforcement, National Security, and other public sector organisations.