The Aerosonde HQ is a variant of the company’s expeditionary Aerosonde Small Unmanned Aircraft System, which allows for vertical-take-off-and-landing. With the addition of VTOL capabilities, the system retains service proven capability within a smaller, more portable footprint. The Aerosonde HQ combines the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capabilities of a multi-rotor platform with the efficiency and speed of the Aerosonde Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) fixed-wing aircraft.
The Aerosonde HQ features an eight-hour endurance and 10,000-foot service ceiling. The system incorporates the purpose-built Lycoming EL-005 heavy fuel engine for benchmark-setting reliability and performance. Offering customers battlefield sight and awareness both day and night, the TASE400 LD payload is able to locate, identify and engage long-range targets. With a crew of four, the complete Aerosonde HQ system can be offloaded from a 463L pallet, assembled and launched in 20 minutes.
Textron Systems’ highly reliable Aerosonde SUAS has amassed more than 150,000 flight hours in commercial and military operations around the world. The Aerosonde system is a multi-mission capable UAS that offers the ability to simultaneously support electro optical/infrared full motion video, communications relay, automatic identification systems, and intelligence payloads within a single flight. The system also supports a variety of sensors and payloads optimized for civil and commercial missions including survey and inspection.
The Aerosonde UAV was developed by American company Insitu, Inc., and is now manufactured by Australian-based company Aerosonde Ltd, which is a strategic business of American firm AAI Corporation (AAI was acquired by American industrial conglomerate Textron in 2007. It is field-proven with more than 500,000 flight hours, including desert heat and Arctic cold. Textron Systems’ also offer turnkey, fee-for-service operations with Aerosonde systems, operators and trainers.
