A CAPABILITY BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AIRCRAFT, HELICOPTERS AND UNMANNED SYSTEMS
Airborne surveillance has traditionally relied upon a combination of helicopters, conventional fixed-wing aircraft and, increasingly, unmanned aerial systems. Each provides important operational capabilities, but each also brings limitations in cost, endurance, payload, deployment and mission flexibility.
The UA9 has been developed to occupy a highly useful space between these platforms.
Its twin-engine configuration, extended endurance, exceptionally low-speed flight characteristics and short-field capability allow the UA9 to undertake sustained patrol and surveillance missions while operating from relatively small and remote airfields.
Unlike unmanned systems, the UA9 can carry flight crew, mission operators, specialist equipment or useful payloads, allowing decisions and observations to be made directly from the aircraft. Advanced electro-optical and infrared surveillance systems can provide both day and night capability across a wide range of missions.
The UA9 is not intended to replace every helicopter, conventional aircraft or UAV. Instead, it provides operators with an additional, highly cost-efficient capability — allowing more expensive assets to be reserved for missions where their particular capabilities are genuinely required.
The right aircraft for the right mission.
