Ultra Maritime (Ultra) and UMS SKELDAR are pleased to announce that they have been awarded a 2nd Phase contract under the Department of National Defence’s (DND) Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program, which will explore the development of a Rotary Wing UAS to provide an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) sonobuoy dispensing capability, based on the SKELDAR V-200 Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS). The SKELDAR V-200 has advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities when equipped with multiple sensors. Flight times can exceed six hours, and the heavy-fuel engine combined with efficient maintenance procedures and ease of access to the engine compartment allow for highly efficient routine service processes.
Richard Hjelmberg, Vice President Business Development for UMS SKELDAR, adds: “We are delighted to be a part of this contract with Ultra. Using Rotary Unmanned Aircraft Systems to help conduct ASW will provide many benefits, not least enabling rapid deployment capabilities, a smaller logistical footprint on Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) ships and a cost-effective alternative to current methods. At UMS we are proud of our innovation leadership when it comes to advances in rotary-wing UAS platforms. Our SKELDAR V-200 platform is a prime example of this, with a capability of completing remote automatic flights, exceeding six-hour flight times thanks to the robust heavy fuel engine and the ability to provide a high degree of maintainability and minimum turn-around times. These credentials we believe are the perfect fit for this program.”
This innovative program will review how a medium-sized UAS can be used to deploy sonobuoys for the purpose of tracking potentially hostile submarines operating in the open ocean or close to coastal areas that could pose a threat to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) or other forces. Andrew Anderson, Chief Technology Officer, Ultra Sonar Systems, explains: “We are constantly reviewing new technologies to determine how they can be used to tackle the threat from hostile submarines. The scope of this program is to evaluate the technical and operational feasibility of deploying sonobuoys from a Class II Rotary Wing UAS, to provide the warfighter with another tool in the ASW toolbox.”
Ultra Maritime are applications engineers and trusted partners in the design, development and production of the key elements of mission critical, intelligent and highly regulated solutions to protect navy asset.
UMS SKELDAR, a joint venture between Saab and UMS AERO Group, is Europe’s leading provider of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) including the unmatched NATO-aligned rotary V-200 and the flexible high-performance V-150 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Capable of carrying a wide selection of sensors, UMS SKELDAR’s UAS provides solutions to a wide variety of defense, civil security, and maritime sectors globally. The company is headquartered near Basel in Switzerland, with twin manufacturing facilities in Switzerland (Möhlin) and Sweden (Linköping) and offers a comprehensive UAS solutions portfolio. UMS SKELDAR provides total solutions to customers across the globe, including development, manufacture, testing, training, consultancy, maintenance, and managed services.
