UMS SKELDAR has announced the launch of a new V-150 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned system aimed at supporting tactical operations, surveillance, police, and homeland security operations.

Smaller than the company’s larger V-200 system, the V-150 can carry multiple payloads totalling 42kg in two payload bays, and has an endurance of 2.5 hours with a 12 kg payload. Skeldar says it will increase this to four hours in the near future with additional development. The air vehicle is powered by a turbine engine that uses heavy fuels, and its modular design allows for high levels of maintainability and minimum turnaround times.

“The new V-150 is the perfect partner for our flagship SKELDAR V-200,” David Willems, VP Business Development and Strategy for UMS SKELDAR said in a statement. “With target sectors including defence forces, coastguards, border patrol agencies, blue light forces, fire departments and drug interdiction and trafficking agencies to name a few, the V-150 has been developed as an easy to use, simple to maintain UAV that can assist organisations with a wide range of smaller critical activities that ordinarily would entail manned crews taking on at an increased cost.”

Possible payloads include electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, small tactical synthetic aperture radars (SAR), and signals intelligence (SIGINT) payloads, and area-motion imagery sensors.