BlueBird Aero Systems’ WanderB vertical take-off-and-landing (VTOL) electric mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made its Latin America debut on 2 December at the Expodefensa trade show in Bogota.
The fully autonomous WanderB is designed to facilitate covert, over-the-hill operations or extensive, day-and-night intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, according to a customer statement. Itai Toren, BlueBird vice-president for marketing and business development, told Jane’s on 2 December at Expodefensa that the aircraft has 50 km communications range, 2.5 hours endurance, and can carry a variety of payloads including day or night cameras, dual sensors, and lasers.
BlueBird Aero Systems promoted its WanderB VTOL electric UAV aircraft to Latin America for the first time at Expodefensa 2019. (Janes/Pat Host)
The WanderB also has 3,281 ft operational altitude and 13 kg maximum take-off weight (MTOW). Toren said the aircraft can carry 5.5 kg of batteries, and a 1.5 kg payload for maximum endurance. The WanderB has a wingspan of 3.1 m and a fuselage length of 1.79 m. The aircraft has an airspeed of 32–65 kt.
Toren said while this is the WanderB’s regional debut, the aircraft is operational in other locations. He said BlueBird also has customers in Colombia and Latin America for other aircraft the company develops ranging from military to homeland security and civilian use. BlueBird was sharing a booth at Expodefensa with SkyBird, which Toren said was a BlueBird subsidiary based in Colombia.
Close up of the gimbal displayed on the WanderB at Expodefensa. BlueBird Aero Systems both develops its own payloads and has integrated other companies' payloads. (Janes/Pat Host)
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