Paris Air Show: Airbus eyes up maiden VSR700 prototype flight

10th June 2019 - 13:00 GMT | by Tim Martin in London

RSS

Airbus is building towards its first flight of the VSR700 rotary-wing TUAS prototype this year - an occasion that will see the vehicle tested without a pilot seat and demonstrate its fully autonomous flight mode.

That level of progress would be an evolution of test developments that saw a sister optionally piloted demonstrator make its own autonomous maiden flight at a military airbase in Istres, France in 2018 and permitted the manufacturer to gain key technological insights into the wider programme.

Currently, flight test activities are concentrating on the development of unmanned functions like automatic flight control system performance and

Already have an account? Log in

Want to keep reading this article?

Read this Article

Get access to this article with a Free Basic Account

Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
2 free stories per week
Daily news round-up email service
Access to all Decisive Edge email newsletters

Create account

Unlimited Access

Access to all our premium news as a Premium News 365 Member. Corporate subscriptions available.

Original curated content, daily across air, land and naval domains
14-day free trial (cancel at any time)
Unlimited access to all published premium news

Start your free trial

Author

Tim Martin

Tim Martin is Air Editor for Shephard Media, based in Belfast.

Tim has experience writing …

Read full bio

More from Uncrewed Vehicles

AUSA 2024: Quantum-Systems targets big 2025 with UAS developments

Quantum-Systems has been upgrading its UAS family, with new versions of the Vector, Reliant and Twister drones set for release throughout 2025.
US Army accelerates acquisition and field of company-level sUAS

The service has been using a Directed Requirement (DR) approach to speed up the deployment of a Medium Range Reconnaissance capability.
AeroVironment to display eVTOL P550 at AUSA 2024

AeroVironment’s portfolio will grow thanks to the eVTOL P550 aimed at battalion-level tactical forces.
Australia’s air force aims its UAV fleet northwards

The Royal Australian Air Force is advancing its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capabilities across three key programmes as it works with the likes of Boeing and Northrop Grumman to reshape Australia’s defence strategy.
FTUAS competitor trials were “very successful”, says US Army official

Prototypes from Griffon Aerospace and Textron Systems recently passed through MOSA conformance trials and flight tests.
Pentagon adds Replicator 2 to budget request with focus on C-sUAS capabilities

Funds for the second phase of this effort will be allocated in the US Department of Defense (DoD) FY2026 budget request.