A newly established joint venture company plans to demonstrate a new mini unmanned air vehicle to the Malaysian army in July. Three Malaysian companies – Composite Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), Ikramatic and Systems Consultancy Services (SCS) – are jointly developing an improved version of CTRM’s Eagle SR2 UAV. A full-scale prototype will be ready to fly in July and will initially be demonstrated to meet an army UAV requirement for battlefield intelligence and assessment, they say.
The new joint venture also plans to market the yet-to-be-named UAV to the Malaysian navy for target identification missions and to potential civilian operators for missions including border and maritime surveillance and fire detection.
A group of about 30 UAV experts from CTRM, Ikramatic and SCS have been working on the project since agreeing late last year to merge their UAV activities to jointly pursue the army’s indigenous requirement. But CTRM chief executive Rosdi Mahmud says the firms are still going through the final processes of formally establishing the joint venture company, currently operating under the unofficial name Malaysian Unmanned Systems. “There will be only one UAV company in Malaysia,” says Rosdi. The new concern will be majority owned by government-controlled CTRM.
Building on the design of CTRM’s Eagle SR2 demonstrator, the new UAV will weigh 100kg (220lb) and be capable of carrying a 25kg payload for up to 2h. Privately owned simulator manufacturer Ikramatic helped the company develop the SR2’s control systems and will perform the same work on the new UAV. SCS will help with payload sensors and flight testing.
SCS engineer Rahimah Khalilur Rahman says the new UAV will incorporate several improvements over the SR2, including a heavier payload and longer endurance, and will “be something closer to army specifications”. She says the army will also be reviewing in July SCS’s 35kg Nyamok UAV – which first flew in 2004 – to determine if there are any features from this vehicle to potentially incorporate in the new design.
Source: Flight International
