Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
FT Sistemas has moved ahead in the flight test campaign of its newly designed Flettner Helicopter FT-100FH unmanned rotorcraft, the company announced on 15 August.
FT Sistemas is set to conclude the visual-line-of-sight (VLOS) flight testing necessary to move ahead to RBAC-E94 beyond-line-of-sight flight authorisation from ANAC, the Brazilian civil aviation authority.
The current phase of flight testing will test the maturity of basic FT-100FH designs, including the C2, avionics, flight controls, powerplant and power transmission systems. The envelope expansion of the rotorcraft will take place during the second half 2018, aiming for a full project qualification and first deliveries for launch customers.
The company intends to request ANAC project approval for beyond-line-of-sight operations respecting RBAC-E94 requirements, issued by the Brazilian aviation authority in May 2017.
The rotorcraft has transport capacity, autonomy and endurance for greater versatility and long range missions. The new product can be used for homeland security and monitoring, utilities, cargo delivery, crop protection and communication relay applications. An alternate version of the rotorcraft will be available for applications that require VLOS operations only.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
The new Amorphous software is a universal controller that would allow a single operator to control a swarm of “thousands” of uncrewed systems, from drones to underwater platforms.
India UAV supplier ideaForge has launched the Netra 5 and Switch V2 drones at Aero India 2025, boasting of enhanced endurance, AI-driven autonomy and improved operational capabilities.
The UAV market is experiencing unprecedented growth, with innovations in technology and battlefield applications driving demand across military sectors. From the battlefields of Ukraine to NATO exercises and beyond, drones are transforming how wars are fought and supported.
Launched at AUSA in October, the company’s multi-stream video codec is attempting to bring a new lease of life to drone technology through its AI accelerator.
Quantum-Systems has been upgrading its UAS family, with new versions of the Vector, Reliant and Twister drones set for release throughout 2025.