Sky-Hero to produce unmanned vehicles in India

Sky-Hero's Loki MkII UAV can operate in dark, GPS-denied, indoor environments. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)

Belgian firm Sky-Hero has set up a manufacturing facility in Mumbai under a local subsidiary, Sky-Hero India, at which it aims to licence-produce its Loki MkII unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Sigyn MkI unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).

The Loki MkII UAV is a small tactical quadcopter designed to operate in small, dark areas indoors as well as Global Positioning System (GPS)-denied and high-obstacle environments. The impact-resistant UAV can be operated in two modes: on ‘floor' or ‘rover style', and ‘turtle' or ‘directional flip'.

It features a low-light camera with a built-in infrared (IR) light emitting diode (LED) and light and sound distraction payload. Sound distraction is achieved through a low-lethal explosive generating 170 dB.

The Sigyn MkI is a small hand-throwable UGV designed to operate in indoor environments. The UGV is fitted with wide-angle low-light cameras in the front and at the rear, along with eight controllable IR LEDs. The UGV is crashproof and is embedded with inertial motion sensors allowing various drive modes.

The Loki MkII and Sigyn MkI can be operated using a console controlled by Sky-Hero's ground control station (GCS) MkII, using analogue signals at 500 MHz frequency. The operator is provided with a field view on multiple wrist-wearable screens. The GCS MkII can control up to four vehicles. The Loki MkII can also operate in conjunction with the Sigyn MkI UGV and Narfi MkI wireless tactical pole camera.

Sky-Hero demonstrated its Loki MkII and Sigyn MkI to India's National Security Guard (NSG), Indian paramilitary forces, and Indian special forces in July 2023, an industry source told Janes at the fourth Drone International Expo 2023, held in New Delhi in late July.