Swift Accipiter UAS

Gas-powered long endurance UAV

Customer: RnD, Swift Autonomy
Industry: Commercial & Defense
Services: Design, Engineering, Analysis, and Manufacturing
Accipiter UAS
Long endurance & small operational footprint

The Swift Autonomy UAS is a gas-powered long endurance UAV that has the efficiency of a large-fixed wing aircraft within a very small footprint.  The aircraft is bungee/rail launched and is recovered by belly landing. The lightweight bungee launcher and a belly-landing capability allow for flexible operations away from airfields and provide a small operational footprint.

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14 hour endurance with a 10 lb payload

Redundancy of flight control actuators, communications links, power regulators, and navigation sensors; on-board monitoring; and environmental sealing contribute to a robust and reliable system solution. The Accipiter UAS is a medium endurance UAS with a gross weight of less than 45 lbs (~20kg). The Accipiter is powered by a 2.7 hp fuel injected engine to give it a 14+ hour endurance. The payload capacity is up to 10+ lb. plus 4 lb. of aircraft avionics. A 5.5-inch sensor ball is the standard nose mounted payload and rotates 180 degrees to protect the ball during landing.

Accipiter flying by the moon

Designed for demanding operations

The aircraft disassembles into a standard air carrier approved Pelican transport case. The main wing employs a large single slotted flap to reduce stall speed and allow efficient low speed loiter performance.  The single slotted flap design has excellent high lift performance with simple and reliable mechanics.

The aircraft’s avionics, centered around an internal autopilot and Silvus network radio, consists primarily of COTS components; however, custom enclosures, high reliability aerospace connectors, and carrier boards are part of the design in order to allow for environmental sealing and EMI protection.

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