Israeli manufacturer Aeronautics Defense Systems has accelerated the schedule for performing the first autonomous flight of its Picador unmanned helicopter by several months.
"We are preparing the prototype for the first flight. The aim is to perform it in May," says Aeronautics president Avi Leumi. The company had previously identified September as a likely date for that achievement.
Aeronautics will assemble operational examples of the Dynali H2S kit helicopter-derived Picador at its Yavne facility in central Israel. It is using an operator-controlled demonstrator to develop the unmanned air vehicle's flight-control system.
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The Picador is 6.58m (21.6ft) long, has a rotor diameter of 7.22m and a maximum take-off weight of 720kg (1,590lb), including a 180kg payload. Top speed will be 110kt (205km/h) and an endurance of around 7h is forecast.
Leumi says the Picador is being aimed mainly for navies as a means of replacing their current, manned helicopters in delivering "over the horizon" intelligence and deploying long-range weapon systems.
Source: Flight International
