High Eye has emerged victorious in an international open tender issued by the Ministry of Defence Netherlands, marking a significant milestone in their journey of innovation and growth. This prestigious tender victory signifies not only a tremendous achievement by High Eye but also a testament to the quality and capability of Airboxer Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). As part of a comprehensive program spanning more than two years, High Eye team will diligently work to integrate the Airboxer seamlessly into all aspects of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence’s operations, both in Europe and abroad. The comprehensive program encompasses the integration of our Airboxer VTOL UAV along with its ground control system, training modules, maintenance packages, operational training, and cutting-edge EO/IR camera payloads. We are proud to announce that the first complete Airboxer System will be delivered this year, marking the beginning of an exciting partnership with the Ministry of Defence Netherlands.
“We are pleased to win this tender and honoured to integrate our Airboxer in the operations of the Netherlands MOD. This partnership signifies not only a significant milestone for High Eye but also a testament to our commitment for years to deliver top-notch UAV solutions for defence and security applications,” High Eye CEO, Mr. Joost de Ruiter said.
The Airboxer is a long-range unmanned helicopter with a three-blade single rotor. Because of its size, weight and capabilities, it creates a class on its own and brings industrial reliability into the UAV market in an unprecedented small size. High Eye believes its product should be safe to operate under nearly all circumstances and conditions, throughout the year. The Airboxer has been developed over a period of more than 8 years and has been tested under the most extreme conditions on several continents. It has been proven to deliver reliability and capability at any time, wherever it is needed. High Eye has chosen a classical main- & tail rotor layout for the Airboxer.
The rotors have been designed for maintenance-free operation between overhauls, using fully sealed oil-lubricated bearing packs and abrasion protected composite rotor blades. The main- and tail rotor gearboxes are based on over-dimensioned gear sets and titanium shafts, enclosed and environmentally sealed with permanent lubrication. Both the gearboxes and the rotor systems are rated and tested for a TBO of 1000 hours within standard operational conditions. All vital electronics onboard the Airboxer are enclosed in a central module, located in the forward bay of the fuselage. The module protects the avionics from the outside world, including high-level vibration protection, MIL spec-compliant EMI shielding and a dust- and water-resistant rating of IP-67.
