104 Show report | Xponential Europe 2025 integrated. A reduction drive weighing 1.2 kg may also be integrated for propeller driving, as can a few generator options, up to 1 kW, weighing 800 g. The 35-Series engine (featured in Issue 36 as the 3507) weighs 36 kg, produces 44 kW (60 bhp), and displaces 625 cc. Unlike the 42-Series engine, it is direct-injected using an air-assisted rail. The latest version of the engine is the 3508, which integrates a 5 kW startergenerator as part of the company’s increased hybridisation work. Prototypes of the 3508 are running on test benches, and pilot customers are to receive their first test units in the near future. Alpha Unmanned Systems displayed its A900 fuel-powered tactical helicopter UAV, which continues to accrue use-cases and mission time since its unveiling in 2023 as the successor to the A800 (covered in Issue 21). “The A900 is currently operating in 12 countries. Its users currently include the Greek Navy, which is using and deploying it for ISR off of the Libyan coast,” says Eric Freeman, CEO at Alpha Unmanned Systems. “It is also flying with Bulgarian border police in a Frontex [European Union Border & Coast Guard Agency]-backed project. There, the A900 is operated both from land and a small patrol vessel, where it is taking off, flying and landing, all fully autonomously. “It is also being used for persistent surveillance by the US DoD, flying at approximately 1000 m above ground level, tracking 1 km2 at a time; each 1 km2 image being broken into nine equal parts, which are each refreshed roughly every three seconds. Any pixel that moves is detected, identified and classified according to the risk it represents.” The A900 can fly for up to four hours with up to 4 kg of payload. Its most commonly installed payloads are high-end EO/IR sensor gimbals. Its flight endurance and payload capacity come from a two-stroke, two-cylinder boxer engine using a customised EFI system. The A900 operates for roughly 200 hours between overhauls. The company has also developed the A900-T, which is a target drone version of the UAV, to be used by European defence manufacturers looking to optimise counter-UAS technologies and simulate manned helicopter targets. The craft’s 4 kg payload capacity enables it to carry relevant devices such as Luneburg lenses, which amplify its radar signature such that it can emulate crewed helicopters or other objects. The A900-T can also deploy flares to increase its thermal signature, which may, for instance, be used to trial and calibrate early warning and detection sensor arrays. SBG Systems is releasing a sizeable new firmware update to improve the capabilities and value of its Ellipse series of INSs, which has been engineered for full backwards compatibility, and over-the-air downloading and installation, with all existing Ellipse products currently in use throughout the world, provided they have a hardware revision greater than 3.0. “Once updated, the Ellipse INSs will finally run on the more modern algorithms usually only seen in our newer highperformance inertial products, making for more reliable position, heading and heave measurements,” says Kaoutar Benmakhlouf from SBG Systems. “While the specifications of the Ellipse series may not show significant changes at 1 σ level [σ being noise standard deviation], the update focuses on enhancing robustness and reliability. The major performance improvements become clearer at the 2 σ and 3 σ levels, where a higher percentage of measurements exhibit improved accuracy.” After writing the firmware update, SBG undertook meticulous testing and validation of its performance and consistency, starting with testing individual components of the INS before moving to whole-system tests. Those consisted of mounting the updated Ellipse INSs on vehicles and running them for several hours in aerospace environments, harsh ground-level environments and in tunnels. “We’ve also tested the firmware in marine environments by mounting April/May 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Alpha Unmanned Systems’ A900 helicopter UAV performing a deck landing SBG’s Ellipse-D and other Ellipse systems are receiving a major firmware update to enhance their performance capabilities
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