BAE Systems Australia has conducted initial flight-test work with its developmental STRIX unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
Flight trials took place in late October following a ground testing campaign, says the company. BAE first unveiled STRIX at the Avalon air show in February 2023.
A video shows the four-rotor prototype UAV take off vertically, perform several turns while hovering, and then land vertically.
The work at an undisclosed location in Australia aimed to demonstrate the BAE Vehicle Management System’s ability to control the aircraft during launch, manoeuvre, hover, and recovery. A remote pilot monitored the activity but did not intervene.
“This programme milestone highlights the ingenuity and capability of world-class Australian engineers and delivers on our proof of concept at rapid pace,” says Andrew Gresham, managing director of BAE Systems Australia’s Defence Delivery business unit.
“Major flight-test objectives were achieved, including safe and autonomous control of an all-new [vertical take-off and landing] aircraft configuration never flown before in the history of flight.”
The prototype, developed in conjunction with Perth company Innovaero, differs from the mock-up unveiled at Avalon. A key difference is that its forward wings angle straight down: the Avalon mock-up had forward gull-wings. The fuselage is also somewhat box-like and less streamlined.
Following initial flight work, BAE’s focus will now move to STRIX’s hybrid-electric propulsion system, which has also been under development.
STRIX benefits from BAE’s work on other systems, including the Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat.
BAE hopes to sell STRIX in Australia and internationally. It will be able to perform “a range of autonomous missions independent of a runway, including air-to-ground strike, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance”.
At Avalon, BAE gave STRIX’s maximum take-off weight as 900kg (1,980lb), and a typical payload 160kg. Flight endurance with the maximum payload was given as 5h.
Potential weapons include the MBDA Brimstone and Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, 70mm laser-guided rockets, and BAE’s developmental Razer precision-guided munition.
STRIX is equipped with a chin-mounted electro-optical/infrared sensor. It can also carry sonobuoy dispensers for maritime roles.
