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Home» News»Airbus VSR700 VTOL UAV enhanced prototype performed maiden flights
In accordance with the airworthiness authority that provided the flight clearance, the VSR700 was tethered with 30-metre cables to fully secure the flight test zone. The subsequent phases of the flight test programme will now evolve towards free flight, and then progressively open the flight envelope.

Airbus VSR700 VTOL UAV enhanced prototype performed maiden flights

The Airbus Helicopters VSR700 naval VTOL UAV made its maiden flight on November 8 at the Aix-en-Provence drone test center (south of France). Several test captive-flights were successfully performed on an enhanced version of the UAV.

Nathan Gain 12 Nov 2019

The VSR700 performed several take-offs and landings on Friday 8th of November with the longest flight lasting around ten minutes, the company announced on its Tweeter feed:

Our prototype of #VSR700 unmanned aerial system has performed its first flight at a #drone test centre in the south of France! The VSR700 performed several take-offs and landings on Friday 8th of November with the longest flight lasting around 10 minutes.https://t.co/ALBWSvRmwp

— Airbus Helicopters (@AirbusHeli) November 12, 2019

An unmanned derivative of the Gimbal Helicopters Cabri G2 platform, the VSR700 has a maximum take-off weight between 500 and 1000 kg, Airbus stated. The VSR700 capabilities are not officially known, but is expected to « automatically land and take-off, fly for ten hours at 100 Nm and carry 100 kilos of payload, i.e. radar and optronics, » explained the French Navy Chief-of-Staff admiral Christophe Prazuck Navy Prazuck in July, while talking about the SDAM program ( Système de Drone Aérien pour la Marine) which calls for a medium size VTOL UAV to be deployed from surface combatants.

“This first flight of the VSR700 prototype is a major milestone for the programme as we make progress on the operational demonstrator for the French Navy that will perform trials in 2021 in partnership with Naval Group.”

Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO

During this new test flights, the VSR700 was tethered with 30-metre cables to fully secure the flight test zone. « The next steps of the test campaign will allow to move to autonomous free flight, then gradually open the drone flight envelope, » according to Airbus Helicopters. At sea testing is expected to take place in 2021 and will involve a French Navy vessel and a VSR700 operational demonstrator. 

VSR700 VTOL UAV aboard a FREMM

The VSR700 prototype which has just performed its maiden flight is a step change from the optionally piloted demonstrator that first flew in 2017. The variant which took flight today was for the first time fitted with specific avionics and flight controls, a payload bay, and a more aerodynamic profile to improve flight performance.   

The VSR700 is being pitched by Airbus Helicopters and Naval Group for the French Navy’s « Système de drone aérien pour la Marine » (SDAM) program, normally scheduled for 2028. 

Airbus Helicopters drone French Navy UAV VSR700 VTOL UAV 2019-11-12
Tags Airbus Helicopters drone French Navy UAV VSR700 VTOL UAV
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Authors

Posted by : Nathan Gain
Nathan is based in Namur, Belgium. He holds an MA in modern history with a minor in international relations from the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL – Belgium). Fascinated by military history he naturally turned to the defense sector after graduating and is particularly interested in Northern European and Belgian defense issues as well as in anything related to naval aviation.

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