Unmanned Systems AG is showcasing a 1/3 scale model of a developmental rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) called the Orca. The company said the Orca will weigh 350kg, of which 110kg is its propulsion system, 120kg is fuel, and 120kg is usable payload.
The Orca has no gearbox, clutch, or transmission. For propulsion, a turbojet is mounted atop the rotor mast, directing hot air through hollow rotor blades that is then released through the tips, driving the blades. Owing to the high temperatures this generates, the blades are made of thin nickel alloy.
This propulsion system transmits no energy into the fuselage, obviating the need for a tail rotor.
The company calls this system "jet tip" and tested it atop a mast. The Orca's first flight is planned in April or May 2012.
Unmanned Systems' CEO Leif Petersson said the Orca is aimed at the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. A naval variant is planned for the third quarter of 2012.
The Swiss company is planning a larger variant of the Orca with a 500kg payload that will be ready for testing at the end of 2012. This could be used in re-supply missions. A slide in a company presentation also shows this variant with four Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and two rocket pods.
Source: Flight Daily News
