98 Show report | AUVSI Xponential part one demonstrator within the European FCAS [Future Combat Air System] program, we’ve also been actively involved in real MUM-T [Manned-Unmanned Teaming] operations,” de Frutos noted. “In one trial, several of our UAVs flew in formation around a manned jet aircraft. Additionally, our customer Alpha Unmanned Systems has successfully conducted MUM-T exercises using its rotary-wing UAVs in coordination with manned helicopters from the Spanish Army.” Connect Tech unveiled its new Gauntlet carrier board, which integrates NVIDIA’s new Jetson Thor system-on-module, built for enabling (at the higher end) autonomous control of humanoid robotics. “As well as integrating Jetson Thor, as the next generation of our embedded Jetson solutions, Gauntlet integrates two 1 Gb Ethernet ports and two 10 Gb Ethernet ports, which are critical for users looking to utilise NVIDIA’s Holoscan Sensor Bridge architecture on Jetson Thor,” said David Pearson of Connect Tech. “But the vision platform is what stands out particularly across our Jetson product line. We have a high-density camera expansion interface on Gauntlet, as we did on Forge, our Jetson AGX Orin carrier, to enable a modular ecosystem around vision so that customers with varying use-cases – be they around SDI, FPD-Link, GSML or MIPI-CSI2 – can plugand-play all of those.” The company also showcased its new Jetson AGX Orin Inference Server, developed in partnership with USES Integrated Solutions. It integrates 12 independent Jetson AGX Orin modules into a server-based chassis, enabling very high computing power for applications such as detailed digital twinning simulations. “All gigabit Ethernet communications between the Jetson Orin modules are handled by our managed Ethernet switch with 10 Gb uplink capability,” Pearson added. Baker Engineering originated as a manufacturer of V8 race engines in the 1960s. Today, the US company is an engineering services provider for various engines and propulsion systems as well as a distributor of rotary engines from Wankel SuperTec GmbH in Germany. “We started r&d into rotaries in 2009 with conversion projects to see how gasoline Wankels could be re-optimised for heavy fuel, with successful flight demos of that in 2023, and we’ve partnered with Wankel SuperTec to commercialise heavy-fuel rotary engines,” said Levi Roodvoets of Baker Engineering. Under its sales partnership with Michigan-based Baker Engineering, Wankel SuperTec supplies two different modular rotary engine families, with displacements of 350 and 500 cc, respectively, per rotor. These engines were specifically designed from the ground up to run on heavy fuels, and Baker will be distributing them in North America. On display with Baker at the show was the R350 HO, an uprated version of Wankel SuperTec’s turbocharged, 350 cc displacement engine family that is currently under development. “It features a high-pressure, common rail direct-injected, sparkignited combustion system, and the turbocharger gives both increased power density and reduced power degradation at altitude,” Roodvoets added. “The R350 HO also functions with a dry sump to enable vehicles to roll and pitch freely, and its low-profile design helps it integrate into almost any aircraft or ground vehicle, including as a propeller drive or hybrid range extender for VTOL applications.” The single rotor version of the R350 HO weighs 22 kg, outputs 35 kW (47 hp) and achieves an optimal specific fuel consumption of 290 g/kWh. The August/September 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Connect Tech’s new Gauntlet carrier board The R350 HO engine (by Wankel SuperTex, supplied in North America by Baker Engineering) weighs 22 kg, outputs 47 hp and achieves an optimal specific fuel consumption of 290 g/kWh
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