Airbus has begun autonomous flight tests of its VSR700 Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV) demonstrator, setting up the possibility of flying the first completed prototype in 2018.
The recent flight tests used a safety pilot to focus on refining the Airbus aircraft’s automatic flight control system used on their OPV’s, with the end goal of testing out future fully autonomous flights without a safety pilot.
The VSR700 is a light military rotary-wing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which has been jointly developed by Airbus and French manufacturing company Helicopteres Guimbal. Airbus’ VSR700 is a derivation of the Helicopteres Guimbal’s Cabri G2 helicopter.
“We are pleased to have achieved this milestone only eight months after starting work on the OPV,” Regis Antomarchi, Head of VSR700 programs at Airbus Helicopters, said in a statement. “The OPV is able to autonomously take-off, hover and perform stabilized flight and maneuvers. It will help us mature the technologies associated to autonomous flight and confirm the suitability of the Cabri G2 platform for the VSR700, ahead of the first flight of the prototype next year.”
The new UAV was designed to carry a wide array of mission equipment with a maximum capacity of up to 250 kg, and its possible endurance could be up to 10 hours. The VSR700 was developed to meet requirements for a shipborne rotary-wing tactical UAV, while also being used in land-based Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance missions.
“Passing this first step of autonomous flights with a safety pilot onboard allows us to validate the integration of Airbus Helicopters’ flight control system with the aerial vehicle and its specific engine installation,” Helicopteres Guimbal President & CEO Bruno Guimbal said in a statement.