U.S. based Silent Falcon UAS Technologies has unveiled its solar electric unmanned aerial system (UAS) at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) conference in Las Vegas.
The Silent Falcon may look like a big boy’s toy, but it’s some serious (and expensive) hardware.
Designed for both military and public safety applications, the drone features electro-optical and infrared sensors; advanced target identification and tracking; and unique video capabilities. The company says the craft’s abilities exceed any UAS in its class.
The small plane incorporates thin film photovoltaic solar cells for energy collection and lithium polymer batteries for energy storage.
The hand or rocket launched Silent Falcon has 3 interchangeable wing sizes – 2.1, 3.2 and 5.2 metre – to easily adapt to mission endurance requirements; being 6, 10 and 14 hours respectively. Its silent propulsion system is said to be undetectable at less than 100 feet AGL. The Silent Falcon has an operating range of 25 kilometres, a top speed of 112 km/h and an operational flying altitude of 100 feet.
Total weight of the UAS is between 9.6 and 12.3 kilograms, depending on the wind configuration used. Various reports state the plane can fly up to six hours running on battery power alone.
Commercial rollout of the Silent Falcon is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013.
The company is also producing Snipe, a weaponised version of Silent Falcon designed to have precision strike capabilities. The Snipe is capable of engaging vehicle targets at 200+ yards using armour piercing FN 5.7×28 rounds.
Unmanned Aerial Systems, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) are becoming more common – some of the other craft we’ve covered in the past include the Zephyr and Silent Sentinel.
The first solar UAV was Sunrise I, launched at Camp Irwin Bicycle Lake, California on November 4, 1974. The craft featured 1000 solar cells embedded on its wings that produced around 450 watts of power.
