Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has revealed more details about its Ghost vertical take-off and landing unmanned air system (UAS), ahead of the design's appearance at AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America exhibition.
Revealed during a visit by Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak to an IAI facility in February, the tandem rotor Ghost is aimed for use by special forces personnel on covert missions.
Avi Bleser, marketing director of IAI's Malat division, said the Ghost is designed to enter a structure and supply data about its interior. "The flight planning system enables to pre-plan the flight inside a building, so that the UAS will avoid the walls. The two rotors give it super stabilisation and manoeuvrability."
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The Ghost weighs 4kg (8lb), has an endurance of 30min and can carry a 500g payload.
The design is currently equipped with a lightweight NextVision electro-optical sensor, but IAI is developing its own equipment to meet different requirements.
According to IAI, the UAS has been designed with maximum redundancy. If one of its electric motors fails the other can rotate the second rotor to ensure a safe landing.
"We are in a very advanced stage of the test flights and the system is almost at an operational status," Bleser said.
See Flightglobal’s pre-show coverage of the 16-19 August AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America event
Source: Flight International
