Vulture (South Africa UAV)

Samil 100 Vulture Launcher System at Ysterplaat Airshow, Cape Town
Samil 100 Vulture Launcher System at Ysterplaat Airshow, Cape Town

For the US Vulture UAV see: DARPA Vulture

The Vulture UAV is a South African designed and built unmanned aerial vehicle powered by a 500cc 2-stroke fuel injected engine. Its payload is a gyro stabilised optronic sight communicating on a SA Defence secure C-Band data/video link. Its cruise speed is 120 km/h for about 4 hours (60 km) with a maximum ceiling of 5,000m. It is fully automated launch, flight and recovery, with an automatic return-to-base in case of mission critical failures. It is ruggedised for South Africa Army operating environment.[1] The Vulture is being co-developed by Armscor and the Advanced Technologies and Engineering Company (ATE).[2]

An automated vacuum type catapult launch based on a Samil 100 truck (the workhorse of the SA Defence Force). No external pilot required. Automatic transition from launch mode into pre-programmed flight mode.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.spacewar.com/reports/South_African_Vulture_UAV_for_Production_999.html
  2. ↑ http://www.spacewar.com/reports/South_African_Vulture_UAV_for_Production_999.html
  3. ↑ http://www.spacewar.com/reports/South_African_Vulture_UAV_for_Production_999.html

See also

External links

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