Fixed-Wing UAV

Overview

A fixed-wing UAV is an uncrewed aircraft that generates lift with a rigid wing rather than rotors, trading vertical takeoff for far greater range and endurance. Electric propulsion and a lightweight composite airframe make it well suited to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, where the aircraft loiters quietly over an area and streams imagery to an operator. With no pilot or life-support systems to carry, the entire mass budget goes to structure, battery and payload.

The aircraft follows conventional layout in miniature. The Composite Fuselage is a carbon-composite body that houses the battery, autopilot and payload and carries the tail on a boom. The Wing Assembly provides lift and carries the ailerons and flaps, while the Empennage gives pitch and yaw control. The Propulsion System system spins a folding propeller, the Battery Pack supplies the energy, the Flight Controller flies the aircraft, and the Surveillance Payload gimbal carries the surveillance camera.

Construction

The airframe is built from moulded carbon-fibre skins over a single load-bearing wing spar and internal ribs, giving high stiffness at very low weight. The clamshell fuselage shell splits for access to the avionics bay, and a reinforced belly skid lets the aircraft land on unprepared ground without dedicated gear.

In flight the autopilot reads attitude from its inertial sensors, altitude and airspeed from the barometric and pitot air-data sensors, and position from GPS. It closes control loops by commanding servos on the ailerons, elevator and rudder, and modulates the brushless motor through its electronic speed controller to hold airspeed and climb. The stabilised gimbal keeps the camera locked on a target while the airframe manoeuvres, and the datalink radio streams video and telemetry to the ground station.