On November 28th and 29th, Advanced Aircraft Company conducted a flight demonstration of its Hybrid Advanced Multi-Rotor (HAMR) on the US Navy’s M80 Stiletto, based in Little Creek, VA. The HAMR unmanned aerial system (UAS) is a vertical takeoff and landing multi-rotor that has a greatly increased range and endurance relative to today’s battery powered multi-rotors.
The HAMR spans the gap between today’s Group 1 (hand launched) UAS and the Group 2 (catapult launched) UAS. The HAMR can fly longer and carry larger payloads than today’s Group 1 UAS, but avoids the logistical burden of the Group 2 size UAS because of its dramatically smaller footprint. The entire HAMR system fits inside one case which is small enough to fit inside a small hatchback car. The HAMR UAS is targeted for commercial users and the military.
This flight test confirmed HAMR’s ability to launch and recover aboard a vessel at sea. HAMR also demonstrated for the first time, its unique capability to fly multiple hours and to launch and recover from a vessel without imposing any equipment or logistical burden on the vessel.
For example, Group 1 UAS can be hand launched, but must land in the water and a RIB must be launched to recover the aircraft. Group 2 UAS requires a catapult and a catch mechanism that is too large for small vessels and occupies significant volume on larger vessels.
The HAMR launched and recovered aboard the M80 Stiletto with zero support equipment. It simply launched and recovered under its own power from the open deck space.
Source: Press Release