Yabhon United 40 (Smart Eye 2) is a Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed and developed by ADCOM Systems, a company based in the UAE. The unmanned aerial vehicle can conduct near real-time assessment of combat and battle damage, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), communications relay, border surveillance, humanitarian aid and other special missions.
The United 40 UAV was unveiled at the Dubai Air Show 2011 and was demonstrated at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi in February 2013. The maiden flight was conducted in March 2013.
The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that it will procure the United 40 UAVs in July 2013. The testing and evaluation of the UAV is due as of September 2014 and service entry is expeted in 2016.
The Yabhon family of unmanned air systems include Yabhon -R, -R2, -RX, -H, -Smart Eye, -Smart Eye 1, and United 40 Bock 5.
United 40 MALE UAV design, features and capacity
The United 40 MALE UAV features curved double longitudinal design with tandem wing configuration. It is fitted with a fixed tricycle landing gear to facilitate safe take-off and landing. The UAV can execute missions under hot and high conditions.
Falco is a state-of-the-art medium-altitude endurance and tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) manufactured by the Italian sensors developer Selex Galileo.
The UAV is mounted with two individual main-planes at the front and rear. Each pair features two glider-like, high aspect ratio wings. The tail assembly is mounted with a single vertical tail fin. A three-bladed propeller is mounted at the extreme rear.
The air vehicle has a length of 11.13m, height of 4.38m and wingspan of 20m. The empty weight and maximum take-off weight of the aircraft are of 520kg and 1,500kg, respectively. The total lifting area is 24.3m² and the fuel tank capacity is 900lt.
The armed configuration of the United 40 UAV can be equipped with Yabhon-Namrod air-to-ground missiles in a rotary launcher, Yabhon Thunder cruise missiles, Finmeccanica torpedoes as well as dumb and guided bombs.
Payloads attached to the United 40 MALE UAV
The United 40 MALE air vehicle can carry a payload of 1,000kg that includes two gyro-stabilised gimballed camera platforms and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). A sonar system is also installed for terrain and obstacle avoidance.
The unmanned system incorporates four pods under the wings to carry munitions for combat operations. Each pod has can carry munitions weighing up to 100kg. External payloads can also be fitted under the fuselage.
United 40 MALE UAV propulsion and performance
The UAV is powered by a hybrid turbine-electric propulsion system integrating a four-stroke, four-cylinder turbocharged, liquid/air-cooled Rotax 914 UL engine, which develops an output power of 115hp. The engine incorporates a reduction gearbox and an integrated electric starter. The propulsion system also consists of an 80hp electric motor. The UAV is also fitted with intakes on either side of the fuselage aft.
The aircraft has a stall speed of 50km/h and can cruise at speeds varying from 75km/h to 220km/h. It can operate at a maximum altitude of 7,000m and can fly for up to five days or 120 hours.
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The Global Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Market 2011-2021
This project forms part of our recent analysis and forecasts of the global unmanned aerial vehicles market available from our business information platform Strategic Defence Intelligence. For more information click here or contact us: EMEA: +44 20 7936 6783; Americas: +1 415 439 4914; Asia Pacific: +61 2 9947 9709 or via email.
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