27 opposite happens. “You need to create a system that is prepared for that.” Mendes also emphasises that the complexity of the mission keeps growing such that no single platform configuration is adequate, and therefore the problem must be resolved by the system as a whole. Different aircraft within the same system must carry different payloads and configurations, and these setups can change rapidly, even within the same day. The system must be flexible and allow quick reconfiguration in the field, in minutes or seconds, not hours, he says. Points of flexibility These two factors – the accelerating rate of change and growing complexity – are the main design drivers for the entire system, Mendes says, which have resulted in “four main points of flexibility,” as he calls them, although he expects more to emerge soon. The first of these is payloads. “It’s very common in these systems to be able to swap payloads easily, and we can now even use Group 3 payloads on a Group 2 platform, which is really exciting,” he says. Second is the deployment mechanism. “Being able to switch between pure fixedwing and VTOL configurations is critical. We already do this with earlier versions, but with the Mk9, we’re doing it much better – and we have to keep optimising it.” The third point of flexibility involves the propulsion system, namely the ability to swap between different combustion engines or electric configurations quickly. “Sometimes you’re optimising for altitude, sometimes for speed, endurance, or just simplicity – and you might need all of that in the same mission. “You could have one aircraft acting as a communications node – optimised for endurance, another carrying Tekever AR3 | Dossier Uncrewed Systems Technology | August/September 2025 AR3 Evolution in VTOL configuration but in forward flight with the VTOL system inactive. Configuration changes give it a very different appearance from earlier variants (All images courtesy of Tekever)
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