Evolution in action How Tekever adapts its UAVs for a combat zone Health check Monitoring uncrewed system performance Cutting edge High-tech material machining Read all back issues online at www.uncrewed-systems.com Issue 63 : AUG/SEPT 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22
Electric power for UAVs More power. More products. Acutronic designs, builds and delivers a full range of UAV power systems. • Alternators • Starter-alternators • Voltage regulators • Starters The power of experience. With decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, Acutronic builds power systems trusted by customers globally for their high power density and efficient design. Proudly made in the U.S.A. We solve your power systems integration challenges. acutronic.com Scan to view technical data More power. More products. Acutronic designs, builds and delivers a full range of UAV power systems. • Alternators • Starter-alternators • Voltage regulators • Starters The power of experience. With decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, Acutronic builds power systems trusted by customers globally for their high power density and efficient design. Proudly made in the U.S.A. We solve your power systems integration challenges. acutronic.com Scan to view technical data power_210x297mm.indd 1 12/10/22 8:41 AM More power. More products. Acutronic designs, builds and delivers a full range of UAV power systems. • Alternators • Starter-alternators • Voltage regulators • Starters The power of experience. With decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, Acutronic builds power systems trusted by customers globally for their high power density and efficient design. Proudly made in the U.S.A. We solve your power systems integration challenges. acutronic.com Scan to view technical data More power. More products. Acutronic designs, builds and delivers a full range of UAV power systems. • Alternators • Starter-alternators • Voltage regulators • Starters The power of experience. With decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, Acutronic builds power systems trusted by customers globally for their high power density and efficient design. Proudly made in the U.S.A. We solve your power systems integration challenges. acutronic.com Scan to view technical data Electric power for UAVs More power. More products. Acutronic designs, builds and delivers a full range of UAV power systems. • Alternators • Starter-alternators • Voltage regulators • Starters The power of experience. With decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, Acutronic builds power systems trusted by customers globally for their high power density and efficient design. Proudly made in the U.S.A. We solve your power systems integration challenges. acutronic.com Scan to view technical data power_210x297mm.indd 1 12/10/22 8:41 AM Electric power for UAVs More power. More products. Acutronic designs, builds and delivers a full range of UAV power systems. • Alternators • Starter-alternators • Voltage regulators • Starters The power of experience. With decades of engineering and manufacturing experience, Acutronic builds power systems trusted by customers globally for their high power density and efficient design. Proudly made in the U.S.A. We solve your power systems integration challenges. acutronic.com Scan to view technical data po
3 August/September 2025 | Contents Uncrewed Systems Technology | August/September 2025 20 04 Intro Rapid technological advancements mean that uncrewed systems are increasingly being promoted for applications over and among humans. But is this easier said than done? 06 Platform one: Mission-critical info VW reveals its self-driving ID.Buzz, Chinese researchers develop a micro UAV with bird-like flight capabilities, a chip-scale laser for Lidar in self-driving cars, energy optimisation for UAV swarms, a traffic management system for 6G networks and more 20 In conversation: Christian Ramsey Integration of UAVs in civilian airspace has considerable safety implications. An aviation safety expert explains what is being done to safely accommodate UAVs in the sky above 26 Dossier: Tekever AR3 Modern high-intensity conflict is driving rapid technological evolution, as exemplified by the latest iteration of Tekever’s AR3 UAV with VTOL capability 40 Focus: Performance monitoring Safe operation of uncrewed systems demands increasing levels of performance monitoring. We investigate the challenges of comprehensive management of airborne and marine UAVs 48 Digest: Robotique Occitane ROC-E AIV One French company is engineering a simple autonomous robot designed to gain acceptance working among humans in a wide range of environments 58 Report: Paris Air Show & I.D.S. Denmark A selection of attention-grabbing innovative aircraft and uncrewed technologies on display at two major trade shows in Europe 68 Dossier: NEX Power One company in the UK is striving to achieve low-cost development and manufacturing of gas microturbines for hybrid-power UAVs, electromobility, and combined heat and power applications 78 Insight: UAVs Unconventional aircraft configurations in UAV design have unleashed engineers’ creativity in search of ever greater performance and efficiency 88 Focus: Machine tools Future successful development of uncrewed systems is heavily reliant on advances in machining technology and the skill of its operators 96 Report: XPONENTIAL USA 2025 part 1 The Xponential USA 2025 trade show in Texas, huge in terms of scale and success, presented much of interest in the field of uncrewed systems. We present the first of our two-part report detailing what was on offer 114 PS: Uncrewed creativity? We consider the possibility that some AI-enabled drones might be showing evidence of creative thought 40 26 78 68
ELECTRIC, HYBRID & INTERNAL COMBUSTION for PERFORMANCE ISSUE 159 JUNE/JULY 2025 Critical answers Focus on component and material testing Engines for rock and sand Powering King of the Hammers Horses unbridled Aardema 5.0 litre V12 www.highpowermedia.com UK £15, US/CN $25, EUROPE €22 THE COMMUNICATIONS HUB OF THE ELECTRIFIED POWERTRAIN Read all back issues and exclusive online-only content at www.emobility-engineering.com ISSUE 032 | JULY/AUGUST 2025 UK £15 USA $30 EUROPE €22 Fastener fascination Bonding in the realm of EV assembly Shock avoidance High-voltage testing of EV powertrains How Kindred Motorworks transformed the American icon Electric legend 4 Intro | August/September 2025 A growing number of uncrewed systems are slated for operations over and among human beings—but making that happen is no mean feat. Getting UAVs to integrate safely in the air takes more than just transponders and Christian Ramsey talks us through uAvionix’s efforts to make all of that happen (page 20). It also requires systems that can closely monitor performance and health, and so we investigate the latest safety-critical tech in that regard (page 40). VTOL can support UAV operations in populated places, with Tekever’s AR3 being a key example, as detailed on page 26. And we report from AUVSI Xponential 2025 in Houston (page 96), the Paris Air Show and International Drone Show Denmark (page 58), and in a special UAV Insight (page 78) on the number of uncrewed aircraft that aim to fly over both sparse and populated regions. Down on the ground, robots must be nimble, gentle and intelligent to work alongside humans as Robotique Occitane are showing with their ROC-E intelligent vehicle (page 48). Moreover, making uncrewed systems cost-effective, manufacturable and repairable through advanced CNC machining of parts (see page 88) is vital in realising a safe, comfortable and productive uncrewed world. Rory Jackson | Editor Among us Evolution in action How Tekever adapts its UAVs for a combat zone Health check Monitoring uncrewed system performance Cutting edge High-tech material machining Read all back issues online at www.uncrewed-systems.com Issue 63 : AUG/SEPT 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Editor Rory Jackson Technology Editors Nick Flaherty Peter Donaldson Sub Editor James Buxton Technical Consultants Ian Williams-Wynn Dr Donough Wilson Dr David Barrett Bri O’Neill Design Andrew Metcalfe andrew@highpowermedia.com Advertising & Subscriptions Please direct all enquiries to Simon Moss simon@uncrewed-systems.com Publishing Assistant Frankie Robins frankie@uncrewed-systems.com Publishing Director Simon Moss simon@uncrewed-systems.com Operations Director Chris Perry 2026 media kit now live! The medium Our content is accessible online and in print, enabling a global network of engineers to read it however and whenever they choose. 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The message The means Eye in the sky Going Dutch with the Airboxer UAV Smart watching AI enhancements for video encoding Taking control Sparking ECU advancements Read all back issues online at www.uncrewed-systems.com Issue 62 : JUNE/JULY 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 The medium 2026 UK£ media kit www.uncrewed-systems.com August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology
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6 August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Mission-critical info for uncrewed systems professionals Platform one Volkswagen has detailed the technology in its self-driving shuttle, based on the ID.Buzz platform, writes Nick Flaherty. The ID.Buzz AD has been developed from the ground up for autonomous operation by VW’s autonomous driving subsidiary MOIA, and has been tested on public roads in the US and Europe since 2022. The AD is built on the same production line as the standard version, allowing flexible production. The sensor and autonomous driving system comes from Mobileye in Israel. This Drive system uses 13 camera sensors and five radar sensors as the primary sensors with a range of 300 m. The radar sensors have six receive channels and four transmit channels, plus a dedicated controller with a performance of 11 Tera Operations per second (TOPS). Nine Lidar frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) laser sensors provide additional sensing from the roof and around the vehicle with a range of between 200 m – for an object with low reflectivity of 10% – up to 300 m. The quad core Lidar controller has 16 digital signal processor cores to handle the FMCW algorithms. The self-driving system is managed by four EyeQ6 Ultra processors. These support links to other vehicles in the field, allowing updating of maps, for example to warn of road works or closures. The EyeQ6 Ultra is the highest performance processor from Mobileye – with performance of 176 TOPS with a power envelope of 100 W – built in a 5 nm process at TSMC in Taiwan. This combines 12 processor cores designed by Mobileye using the open RISC-V instruction set architecture with a dedicated hardware AI engine that is now being produced in volume. Passengers can access the vehicles either wirelessly via their smartphone or manually by punching in an access code on a side panel. Its powered sliding door can open and close on its own, meaning that a passenger doesn’t need to turn around and shut it after exiting. This avoids damage to the vehicle. “Our goal is to create intelligent mobility solutions that can be deployed across Europe and worldwide,” said Christian Senger, CEO of Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility. “These use many of the identical sensors found in other Volkswagen Group cars that are manufactured at industrial scale.” Through MOIA, the ID.Buzz AD is offered as part of a ‘white-label’ package to rideshare operators. This package includes essential backend software designed to manage the fleet efficiently, such as sending commands to reroute vehicles in the event of traffic disruptions or street closures. For operators without an existing application, the package also provides a white-label digital customer booking platform, which serves as a communication tool with the vehicle because there is no driver. Uber plans to start using a fleet of 500 vehicles in commercial service in Los Angeles (USA) in 2026. Driverless vehicles VW details its selfdriving ID.Buzz shuttle The sensors on the ID.Buzz AD (Image courtesy of Volkswagen)
7 Platform one Uncrewed Systems Technology | August/September 2025 University engineers in China have developed an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) that emulates the flight capabilities of birds more closely than ever before, writes Nick Flaherty. The Safety-Assured High-Speed Aerial Robot (SUPER) UAV is capable of flying at speeds exceeding 20 m/s, and can avoid obstacles as thin as 2.5 mm – such as power lines or twigs – relying solely on onboard sensors and computing power. The design by a team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) measures 280 mm and weighs 1.5 kg with a thrustto-weight ratio greater than 5.0, enabling agile flight in complex environments. The weight is made up of the airframe at 510 g, 432 g for the 3300 mAh battery and 266 g for the onboard computer. To achieve the high-speed operation, SUPER uses a lightweight 255 g Lidar laser sensor with a range of 70 m. This is paired with an advanced planning framework that generates two trajectories during flight: one optimising speed by venturing into unknown spaces and another prioritising safety by remaining within known, obstacle-free zones. By processing Lidar data directly as point clouds, the system significantly reduces computation time, enabling rapid decision-making even at high velocities. The technology has been tested in various real-life applications, such as autonomous exploration of ancient sites, and has demonstrated seamless navigation in both indoor and outdoor environments. The total average power consumption is around 432 W, with 87.9% (379.7 W) consumed by the actuators. The onboard computer is the second-largest power consumer, drawing around 43.3 W. The Lidar sensor and other avionics components consume 6.3 and 3.2 W, respectively. The CPU usage of the onboard computer was also measured during testing, with an average usage of around 13.9% and peak usage of 19.7%. The state estimation module is the primary consumer, accounting for 11.1% on average. The three main software components – state estimation, planning and control – run in parallel as separate processes and communicate with each other through the publisher-subscriber mechanism of the robot operating system. To achieve controllability, the processes within each module are parallelised using multiple threads. In the state estimation module, the nearest neighbour search during scan registration is parallelised across 16 threads. In the planning module, the updates to the spatiotemporal sliding map and the trajectory planning tasks, which include both the frontend path search and the backend trajectory optimisation, are handled by two separate threads. In the control module, the model predictive controller operates on a single thread. “Picture a ‘Robot Bird’ swiftly manoeuvring through the forest, dodging branches and obstacles at high speeds,” said Prof Fu Zhang, director of the HKU Mechatronics and Robotic Systems Lab (MaRS LAB) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at HKU. “This is a significant step forward in autonomous flight technology. Our system allows MAVs [micro air vehicles] to navigate complex environments at high speeds with a level of safety previously unattainable. It’s like giving the drone the reflexes of a bird, enabling it to dodge obstacles in real-time while racing toward its goal.” Yunfan Ren, a researcher in the group said, “The ability to avoid thin obstacles and navigate tight spaces opens up new possibilities for applications like search and rescue, where every second counts. SUPER’s robustness in various lighting conditions, including nighttime, makes it a reliable tool for round-the-clock operations.” Aerial vehicles The SUPER uncrewed aerial vehicle (Image courtesy of Hong Kong University) Micro air vehicle flies at high speed
8 University teams in the US have developed a laser sensor device that is smaller than a penny for improved Lidar systems in selfdriving cars, writes Nick Flaherty. At the time of writing, optical metrology requires bulky and expensive equipment to achieve delicate laser-wave control, creating a bottleneck for deploying streamlined, cost-effective systems. The team at the University of Rochester and the University of California, Santa Barbara, developed the chip-scale laser that can be used for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) systems. While FMCW is increasingly popular for radar systems, the dynamic range value of ranging and velocity detection in FMCW Lidar depends on the speed and linearity of the laser frequency chirping, which is significantly beyond the reach of current existing lasers. This means that FMCW Lidar has to rely on complicated modulation and optoelectronic feedback control that is external to the laser to improve frequency chirping, and the limited performance seriously impacts the capability of velocity detection and could lead to severe false judgement in selfdriving motor vehicles. The laser is a hybrid integration between an indium phosphide reflective semiconductor optical amplifier gain chip and a thin-film lithium niobate photonic integrated circuit that functions as an external cavity of the laser. This uses the Pockels effect, which changes the refractive index of a material when an electric field is present. This architecture delivers a frequency chirping rate of up to 20 EHz/s and a modulation bandwidth exceeding 10 GHz, both of which are orders of magnitude greater than those of existing lasers. It also has a narrow intrinsic linewidth down to 167 Hz and a broad mode-hop-free tuning range up to 24 GHz. This allows the FMCW performance. “There are several applications we are aiming for that can already benefit from our designs,” said Shixin Xue, a PhD student advised by Prof Qiang Lin at Rochester. “The first is Lidar, which is already used in autonomous vehicles, but a more advanced form known as FMCW Lidar requires a large tuning range and fast tuning of the laser’s frequency, and that’s what our laser can do.” A miniature demonstration laser measured velocity at 40 m/s over a short distance of 0.4 m, and measurable velocities up to 1 m away with a ranging resolution of under 2 cm. This could be scaled up to detect vehicles and obstacles at highway speeds and distances claim the researchers. The researchers also demonstrated for the first time how a chip-scale laser could be used for Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) laser frequency locking, a common technique used to narrow down, stabilise and reduce a laser’s noise. “It’s a very important process that can be used for optical clocks that can measure time with extreme precision, but you need a lot of equipment to do that,” said Xue. A typical setup might require instruments the size of a desktop computer such as an intrinsic laser, an isolator, an acoustic optic modulator, and a phase modulator. “Our laser can integrate all of these things into a very small chip that can be tuned electrically.” Sensing FMCW laser is smaller than a penny Platform one August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology A chip-scale FMCW laser (Image courtesy of the University of Rochester)
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10 Researchers in Europe have developed a decentralised auction-based system for the energy management of swarms of delivery uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) that has shown some counterintuitive results, writes Nick Flaherty. The researchers, led by Prof Roderich Groß from the Department of Computer Science at TU Darmstadt as part of the OpenSwarm project, have proposed a decentralised deployment strategy that combines auction-based task allocation with online learning. Each UAV independently decides whether to bid for orders based on its energy storage charge level, the parcel mass, and delivery distance, together with its level of confidence. Over time, it refines its policy to bid only for orders within its capability without requiring data on the state of health of the battery system. rates and shorter delivery times compared with conventional thresholdbased strategies. “This work shows how online learning can help robots cope with real-world challenges, such as operating without full knowledge of their true capabilities,” said Dr Mohamed Talamali from the University of Sheffield (UK). The approach can also be used to efficiently manage heterogeneous fleets with different types of UAVs that might have different manufacturing tolerances or individual wear and tear. OpenSwarm is led by Inria of France with Analog Devices in Ireland, IMEC in Belgium and Wattson Elements in France, together with Siemens and Ingeniarius in Portugal. University partners include KU Leuven and the University of Sheffield in the UK, which worked with Darmstadt on the bidding system. Computerisation Energy optimisation for UAV swarms Simulations using realistic UAV energy models showed, counter-intuitively, that assigning orders to the least confident bidders reduced delivery times and increased the number of successfully fulfilled orders. Testing the method in a specially developed multi-agent simulator showed the strategy outperformed threshold-based methods that require UAVs to exceed specific charge levels at deployment. The team also tested out a variant of the strategy that uses learned policies for forecasting, which enables UAVs with insufficient charge levels to commit to fulfilling orders at specific future times, helping to prioritise early orders. This provides new insights into longterm deployment of UAV swarms, achieving significantly higher delivery Platform one August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology A decentralised optimisation scheme for UAS swarms (Image courtesy of TU Darmstadt)
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12 A team in Italy has developed a threelayer uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system for uncrewed aircraft in critical airspace, writes Nick Flaherty. The AcrOSS (Environment for Safe Operations of Remotely Piloted Aircraft) platform developed by a team at the University of Salento, is designed to manage access to low-altitude airspace with beyond visual line of site (BVLOS) operations, and ensure safe integration of uncrewed air systems (UASs) into both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. The platform features a three-layer architecture, including the air traffic management/control (ATM/ATC) layer, the UAS Service Supplier (USS) layer, and the UAS layer. Each layer has distinct responsibilities. For example, the ATM/ATC layer manages crewed aircraft and relevant airspace, while the USS layer is in charge of UAS operations. The platform includes a new Notification/Authorisation (N&A) platform, which coordinates airspace operations, together with an augmented reality (AR) component to improve a remote operators’ situational awareness. A contingency manager suggests actions in case of unexpected events. The differences between what is prescribed by the European regulatory framework and what has been developed within the AcrOSS project concern the object of the take-off authorisation: a four-dimensional (4D) trajectory within the regulatory framework and the use in segregated areas. With a 4D trajectory, the take-off clearance would involve a precise, timebased flight path that the UAS must follow. The clearance would be integrated with a comprehensive plan that covers the entire flight, including climb, cruise, descent and landing phases. This approach emphasises predictability and In other scenarios, however, such as environmental monitoring or people search, the approach proposed by AcrOSS is preferable. Experimental tests at the Grottaglie– Taranto airport in Italy used a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual quadcopter and covered various aspects, such as flight parameter monitoring, geofence functionality and the response to contingency scenarios. The results showed that the platform could accurately display flight parameters in real time, and that the geofence effectively signalled potential violations. Feedback included integrating weather forecast information into the flight plan submission process, extending the cartographic map and enhancing the interface of the AR headset. The team now plans to test the platform in different critical scenarios and integrate weather forecast information obtained from public application program interface. Airspace control Three-layer UTM optimisation, ensuring that the trajectory of each UAS is managed to fit seamlessly into the overall traffic flow. The segregated areas approach used by AcrOSS has the UAS cleared to fly into a predefined airspace region that is reserved for specific types of operations. The clearance would specify the boundaries of this segregated area such that the UAS could operate without conflicting with other traffic. Segregated areas also offer a straightforward means of managing airspace, making it easier to enforce compliance and ensure that UASs adhere to the rules governing these zones. Both approaches are valid and should not be considered as alternatives to each other but complementary, said the researchers. The 4D trajectory fits well in typical logistics scenarios – such as parcel delivery – where it is possible to accurately predict the path that the UAS will have to follow during the mission. August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology A three-layer uncrewed traffic management system (Image courtesy of the University of Salento) Platform one
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14 Athos Silicon has started the next phase of development for its ‘multiple system on chip’ (mSoC) controller in a Level 4 autonomous test vehicle. The vehicle is equipped with a complete set of Lidar, radar and camera systems, enabling live testing and integration in real-world autonomous driving. The vehicle will serve as a dedicated platform for prototyping, benchmarking and system integration using the mSoC architecture. It also enables collaboration with partners bringing full autonomy software stacks onto silicon. “Testing with real-world sensor loads is where it counts. This vehicle provides us with the platform to bring up mSoC under true Level 4 conditions, with the bandwidth, compute and safety-critical constraints that actually define full autonomy. This is a major step forward for mSoC,” said Charnjiv Bangar, CEO and co-founder of Athos Silicon. The mSoC is a fundamentally redesigned architecture for safe, high-performance, chiplet-based autonomous designs in automotive and avionics applications. The architecture, designed for functional safety, anticipates and isolates hardware faults, rerouting around them in real time with no single point of failure. Distributed scheduling with built-in voting logic ensures that safety at the hardware level meets ASIL-D and DO-254 standards. The architecture is fully modular, allowing new features such as AI, sensor fusion or general-purpose compute chiplets to be added without redesigning the system. This will be tested out in the vehicle. A key part of the mSoC hardware is the ability to use a directed acyclic graph (DAG) for deterministic loops for safety-critical software. the tag of the producing instruction. When all operands are ready and the corresponding functional unit is free, the instruction can be issued for execution. This mechanism allows for non-blocking execution, exploiting instruction-level parallelism and maximising throughput by avoiding stalls due to data hazards. Additionally, it enables dynamic scheduling, where the actual execution order can differ from the program order without violating correctness. This flexibility is central to the performance advantages of OoO cores, particularly in complex workloads with many interdependent instructions and irregular data patterns. However, this can be a challenge for safety-critical systems. Deterministic loops are those whose behavioural output, timing and state transitions are completely predictable and repeatable for a given input. This predictability means that the loop always executes the same number of iterations and accesses memory or hardware resources in a known, structured way. Determinism is critical in systems requiring reliability, safety and verification, such as in real-time embedded systems, functional safety and high-assurance computing. Chip architecture Chip architecture for autonomous driving Most robot operating systems or middleware systems use a DAG to ensure predictable data and control flow. A DAG ensures that there are no cyclic dependencies, which is essential for deterministic scheduling and deadlock avoidance. DAGs can be used to represent task dependencies or instruction scheduling in computer architecture, and Athos is using graph theory and the concept of reservation tables to maintain dependencies and determinism within the architecture, said Francois Piednoel de Normandie, CTO, who is a former architect of ADAS hardware at Mercedes. A reservation table is a key structure in out-of-order (OoO) execution engines, enabling instructions to be issued and executed as soon as their operands are ready, rather than strictly in program order. Each entry in the reservation table corresponds to a functional unit such as the arithmetic logic unit and temporarily holds instructions waiting to be executed. When an instruction is decoded, it is placed into the reservation table along with metadata such as operand availability and destination register. If an operand is not yet available (e.g., waiting on a previous instruction), the reservation station tracks August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The test car for the mSoC controller (image courtesy of Athos Silicon)
Steatite has developed a modular concept for multi-function consoles (MFCs), aimed at showcasing their systems engineering capability. It brings together various competencies of design, development and qualification, utilising their own cost-efficient COTS subsystems into customer-specific consoles. Major challenges in engineering operator consoles and integrated rack cabinets include hitting cost targets, achieving environmental ruggedness qualifications, designing for manufacturability and maintainability as well as providing through-life support. “Our engineers are very experienced in the process of balancing all of those, and in designing to regulatory requirements on things like low EMI, high shock resistance, and defence standards,” says Andrew Weekes at Steatite. “As well as best practices on designing COTS products and subsystems into the military, and naval sectors, we can also undertake compliance testing in-house with our own EMC, shock, vibration and climatic chamber, to really de-risk component selection.” “Our key COTS products can be brought together into customer specific MFCs - per customer preferences - include rugged displays, keyboards, mouses, control panels, and a range of computers from small fanless to larger and power rack-mount servers.” “While those are all principally COTS systems, we can do modified subsystems to fit specific capability or performance requirements, while doing everything we can to keep costs low at a system level, and prevent timescales getting too lengthy,” Weekes adds. “We can support Windows among other OSs, though more often we are seeing Red Hat as the OS of choice for a lot of our hardware, while maintaining firmware control in a lot of the COTS equipment.” Hardware Modular approach to multi-function controls Platform one Steatite can produce multi-function consoles with various combinations of displays, computers, keyboards, mouses and more (Image courtesy of Steatite) FUEL EFFICIENT, POWERFUL & LIGHTWEIGHT ENGINES ‣ Power: 16.5kW (22.5hp) to 21.5kW (29.2hp) ‣ Fuel: Gasoline or heavy fuel (like Jet-A1, JP5, JP8) ‣ Reduction drive and APU alternatives Website: www.suter-aviation.ch Phone: +49 172 900 2619 Email: info@cae-engines.com Website: www.uavpropulsiontech.com Phone: +1 (810) 441-1457 Email: bob@uavpropulsiontech.com USA Provider of Suter Propulsion Solutions Suter Development Partner
Platform one 16 Airbus has completed the assembly of its first SIRTAP prototype tactical UAS in Spain, writes Nick Flaherty. The aircraft is ready to start ground tests at the Airbus Defence and Space facilities in Getafe, Spain. These tests will cover structural evaluations, mainsystems components and software testing, and will finish with the maiden flight, scheduled for the end of 2025 at Spain’s National Institute of Aerospace Technology’s Unmanned Systems Test Centre in Huelva, Spain. SIRTAP (Sistema Integrado de Vigilancia Aérea Remotamente Tripulado) is important because the design is free of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) that require licensing and approval by US regulators. It has a maximum take-off weight of 750 kg with a payload of 150 kg, and has been designed to operate in all weather conditions by adopting ice protection, enabling it to operate between -40 and +50 C. It has endurance of more than 20 hours and can use a range of heavy fuels, reaching an altitude of more than 6000 m for day/night and maritime intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Flight testing is planned for 2026 to obtain airworthiness type certification for delivery. Airborne vehicles SIRTAP UAS completes assembly August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Experts wanted! If you have experience far and wide across uncrewed systems technologies, and would like to help peer-review our articles as a technical consultant, contact rory@uncrewed-systems.com Dr Donough Wilson Dr Wilson is innovation lead at aviation, defence, and homeland security innovation consultants, VIVID/futureVision. His defence innovations include the cockpit vision system that protects military aircrew from asymmetric high-energy laser attack. He was first to propose the automatic tracking and satellite download of airliner black box and cockpit voice recorder data in the event of an airliner’s unplanned excursion from its assigned flight level or track. For his ‘outstanding and practical contribution to the safer operation of aircraft’ he was awarded The Sir James Martin Award 2018/19, by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. Ian Williams-Wynn Ian has been involved with uncrewed and autonomous systems for more than 20 years. He started his career in the military, working with early prototype uncrewed systems and exploiting imagery from a range of systems from global suppliers. He has also been involved in ground-breaking research including novel power and propulsion systems, sensor technologies, communications, avionics and physical platforms. His experience covers a broad spectrum of domains from space, air, maritime and ground, and in both defence and civil applications including, more recently, connected autonomous cars. Dr David Barrett Dr David Barrett’s career includes senior positions with companies such as iRobot and Walt Disney Imagineering. He has also held posts with research institutions including the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, MIT and Olin College, where he is now Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, and Principal Investigator for the Olin Intelligent Vehicle Laboratory. He also serves in an advisory capacity on the boards of several robotics companies. Bri O’Neill Bri O’Neill is an engineering leader with over a decade of experience in uncrewed systems and safety-critical technologies. She has led the design, certification, and integration of UAS C2, comms networks, detect and avoid equipment, and flight test infrastructure for Raytheon, Insitu and others. Her work has spanned civil aviation, defense applications, robotics R&D, and regulatory engagement with the FAA and global standards bodies. Uncrewed Systems Technology’s consultants Read all back issues online www.ust-media.com UST 57 : AUG/SEPT 2024 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Surveying the skies Painting a picture of airspace with UTM Hitting the right frequency Transponders on track for safer aviation Poetry in motion Schiebel’s S-100 balances capability, flexibility & performance The assembled SIRTAP tactical UAS (Image courtesy of Airbus) Read all back issues online www.ust-media.com UST 58 : OCT/NOV 2024 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Quantum delights Testing driverless sensing systems Rugged and ready Advancements and standards for GCSs Intelligent auto WeRide’s Robobus offers a safe, smooth ride ANNIVERSARY ISSUE ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Read all back issues online www.ust-media.com UST 59 : DEC/JAN 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 The god of thunder Takeoff for a heavy-lifter from Sweden More room in bed Embedded system chips shrink and gain power Ups and downs The latest on launch and recovery systems Ocean Pioneer How ACUA Ocean engineers its H-USVs for certification Plug and go Connectors keep up with big data Swarm mentality New tech for simultaneous autonomy Read all back issues online www.ust-media.com UST 60 : FEB/MAR 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Little big van Profiling a plucky Swiss courier Current events Intelligence and efficiency in motor controllers Lighting the way A new dawn for Lidar Read all back issues online www.uncrewed-systems.com UST 61 : APR/MAY 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Eye in the sky Going Dutch with the Airboxer UAV Smart watching AI enhancements for video encoding Taking control Sparking ECU advancements Read all back issues online at www.uncrewed-systems.com Issue 62 : JUNE/JULY 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Evolution in action How Tekever adapts its UAVs for a combat zone Health check Monitoring uncrewed system performance Cutting edge High-tech material machining Read all back issues online at www.uncrewed-systems.com Issue 63 : AUG/SEPT 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22
A research group has developed a traffic management system for 6G networks that can be used for self-driving vehicles, writes Nick Flaherty. The Integrated Network-Computing Load Balancing (INCL Balancing) simulator is optimised for nextgeneration 6G services, and is the first to integrate network and computational resources in an autonomous driving environment. This can markedly improve the safety, real-time control performance and energy efficiency of and communications resources between the onboard unit in the vehicle, the central processor and the cloud server. The INCL Balancing simulator combines an autonomous driving simulator based on real-world road scenarios and a MATLAB-based network computing simulator. This enables real-time control by comprehensively considering network quality, computing resource status, and energy consumption based on changes in time and space. The system was tested with eight scenarios reflecting real-world road conditions in Cheongna District in Incheon. The team designed a load optimisation algorithm that considers the reliability of the vehicle-to-vehicle communications link in terms of the packet delivery ratio, processing delay and energy consumption. Simulation results showed an average energy saving of 21.7% compared with a simple offloading method, and a 73.3% improvement in throughput rate compared with existing algorithms. “This research is significant because it enables precise simulation-based analysis of the balance between latency, energy efficiency and safety in an autonomous driving environment where communication and computational resources fluctuate in real time,” said Prof Choi Ji-woong of DGIST. “It is expected to be widely applied to various 6G-based application services, and utilised by autonomous driving operators, vehicle cloud platforms and mobile communication operators.” Self-driving vehicles 6G load balancing for autonomous driving autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicle systems typically process all sensor data inside the vehicle or offload some data to a vehicle processor. However, in situations with high data collection and processing volumes, bottlenecks in network and computing resources can occur in a complex manner, affecting the stability of autonomous driving. To address this, a research group at DGIST worked with a team at Korea University to design a simulator framework that integrates computational The Class of 2025 Access the directory online, or pick up a printed copy at leading uncrewed related tradeshows across the globe www.uncrewed-systems.com/magazine 42 Class of 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Southwest Antennas Avionics & electronics Southwest Antennas specializes in the design and manufacturing of high-performance broadband RF and Microwave antennas and accessories designed to be the critical link in today’s audio, video, and data communication environments. Our product portfolio includes more than 2,000 antennas, antenna mounting kits and accessory products for a wide array of military, government, law enforcement, and commercial RF and Microwave applications. Southwest Antennas also provides a full range of technical services from: • Initial product concept designs • Antenna integration solutions • And product manufacturing Covering markets including military and defense, law enforcement, UAV / drones / unmanned Systems, homeland security, surveillance, aerospace, maritime, broadcast video, oil and gas, and cellular communication. Learn more about how our technical services can help get your project to market. We provide: • An antenna compatibility consult at no cost. • No NRE charges for new designs • Customized versions of standard products Categories • Antennas Address 12305 Crosthwaite Cir Poway, CA 92064, USA Website www.southwestantennas.com Telephone +1 858 381 4197 Email sales@southwestantennas.com More info: 57 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2025 Development inputs D3 Applied Tech. S.L. D3 Applied Technologies designs, simulates and optimizes highperformance uncrewed systems across air, sea and land. From clean-sheet platforms to refined upgrades, D3 delivers advanced engineering solutions powered by computational fluid dynamics (CFD), high-performance computing and custom software. Our tools allow you to model, test and validate performance before production reducing risk, saving time and maximizing capability. D3’s expertise comes not just from simulation labs, but from real-world, high-stakes environments including ongoing involvement in the America’s Cup, where innovation meets extreme performance demands. We support both military and commercial projects, bringing precision, speed and a performance-first mindset to every stage of development. Whether designing new platforms or improving existing ones, D3 provides tailored, data-driven support to help engineering teams make better, faster decisions with greater confidence throughout the entire development cycle. Categories • CFD & Aerodynamics • Design Software • Simulation & Testing • UAV’s • USV’s • UUV’s Address Rúa Hedras, 2 - 4o 15895 - O Milladoiro A Coruña, Spain Website www.d3appliedtechnologies.com Email info@d3atech.com More info: 64 Class of 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Alpha Unmanned Systems, SL Platforms Alpha Unmanned Systems, SL, is a Madrid-based aeronautical engineering company specializing in the design and manufacture of small tactical helicopter UAVs. Founded in 2014, Alpha’s fuel-powered rotary UAV platforms provide tactical support for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), maritime security, border control, and infrastructure inspection missions. Operating in 14 countries, Alpha’s unmanned helicopter UAVs fill a unique market niche, offering fully autonomous flight capabilities, a 4-hour flight endurance and the ability to carry flexible sensor payloads of up to 4 kg. The A900 helicopter UAV is specifically designed for demanding maritime environments. Weighing under 25 kg, it meets STANAG 4738 standards and is optimized for shipboard operations. Its compact logistical footprint makes it an ideal ISR and border security platform for naval forces operating from vessels of all sizes. Categories • UAV’s • Ground Control Systems Address Avenida Fuente Nueva 14, Nave 16-A San Sebastián de los Reyes 28703 Madrid, Spain Website www.alphaunmannedsystems.com Telephone +34 607 292 902 Email info@alphaunmannedsystems.com More info: 75 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2025 Currawong Engineering Pty Ltd Powertrain Address 54 Patriarch Drive Huntingfield TAS 7055 Australia Website www.currawong.aero Telephone +61 3 6229 1973 Email admin@currawong.aero More info: Built for high-performance UAVs, Currawong’s range of brushless motor controllers and power electronics offer exceptional power density, durability and reliability. Our Velocity ESCs exceed 20kW peak output and are field-proven on nearly every US Defence Prime’s heavy-lift multi-rotor platform. The Cortex Hybrid Power System enables true hybrid operation, supplying power from both the engine and battery simultaneously. It dynamically adapts to power demands, seamlessly handling peak loads without interruption. With DroneCAN, Ardupilot support and a free SDK, integration is seamless, and our advanced control systems ensure unmatched stability. We offer tuning and customisation services to ensure that you get the best possible performance from your system. Designed, built and tested in Australia, our ESCs, engines and hybrid power systems are ITAR-free and proven in the field. When reliability is non-negotiable, choose Currawong. Contact us today to power your UAV with the best. Categories • Engine Control Units • Engines • Fuel Systems • Motor Controllers • Power Management Systems • Servo actuators 114 Class of 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Mission & application systems LightWare LiDAR LightWare’s microLiDAR sensors and laser rangefinders deliver precise, high-performance distance measurement in an ultralight, compact form factor ideal for UAVs, UGVs, and IoT applications. Our LiDAR solutions enable: • Autonomy: Accurate AGL measurement, terrain following, SLAM, BVLOS operations, and obstacle avoidance. • SWaP Optimization: Industry leading ultralight compact sensors, as small as 6.5g, perfect for power and weight sensitive platforms. • Unmatched performance: Ranging from 50m up to 500m with millimeter precision, ensuring reliable sensing in complex environments. • Seamless Integration: Compatible with leading autopilots and gimbals, with plug-and-play operation for rapid deployment. Trusted by engineers worldwide, LightWare’s LiDAR technology enhances autonomy, safety, and mission success in uncrewed systems. Categories • Image Sensing • Lidars • Motion Controller • Navigation System • Sense & Avoid/Radar • Stabilised Platforms • UAV’s • UGV’s Address 2741 Mapleton Ave, Boulder, Colorado, 80304, USA Website lightwarelidar.com Telephone +1 720 927 4258 Email info@lightwarelidar.com More info: 133 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2025 Structural & anatomical systems Nicomatic Address 450 Progress Dr. Horsham, PA 19044, USA Website www.nicomatic.com Telephone +1 215-444-9580 Email sales@nicomatic.com More info: Nicomatic delivers high-performance harsh-environment connectors designed for defense, aerospace, robotics, and other mission-critical applications. Our solutions stand out with: 1) Extreme Modularity – Customize configurations with up to 10 million+ possible layouts, integrating signal, power, and highspeed data in ultra-compact footprints. 2) Rugged Durability – Built to withstand extreme temperatures, high shock and vibration, and harsh environmental conditions. 3) Reliability Beyond Standards – Our connectors meet or exceed MIL-DTL specifications, ensuring unmatched performance in the toughest environments. With quick lead times, no MOQs, and in-house tailored solutions, we provide the flexibility and reliability engineers need. When failure is not an option, engineers choose Nicomatic. Categories • Connectors www.uncrewed-systems.com Engineer-focused solutions for uncrewed platforms on land, in the air, at sea, and in space Class of 2025 Supplier directory Traffic balancing for 6G networks (Image courtesy of DGIST)
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