Jetwind Brasil Services and Technologies has developed a 3-in-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has military applicability, according to a company official.
Tiago Giglio Rodrigues, Jetwind founder and executive director, told Jane’s on 5 April at the 2019 LAAD Defence & Security exposition that the aircraft has three functions that can be manually changed by a customer. One is flying as a traditional fixed-wing aircraft for long endurance and range. The second mode is a four-rotor quadcopter that can perform vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and which Rodrigues said is better for small places or missions that do not need long endurance. The third mode adds a cable to the quadcopter. Rodrigues said a customer would only buy one aircraft and would be able to change the configuration and remove the wingtips, depending on the mission.
The Jetwind UAV is designed for long-endurance, long-range missions, such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). The aircraft can carry 1.5 kg payloads such as optical and infrared (IR), thermal, and hyperspectral cameras. Jetwind, Rodrigues said, can evaluate aircraft modifications to accommodate special payload requests.
Artist's illustration of Jetwind Brasil Services and Technologies' 3-in-1 quadcopter UAV. The rotors pointing downward protect the rotors from light weather conditions. (Jetwind)
This is not the only UAV that can be manually changed into a quadcopter, but Jetwind designed the aircraft with its rotors facing downward, as opposed to upward such as on the PAE ISR Resolute Eagle Group 3 tactical UAV. Rodrigues said this was done to add extra protection from weather such as light rain in flight.
Rodrigues said that Jetwind will soon have 10 aircraft flying in South America, although he did not specify with whom.
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