Petrel Technologies has demonstrated an airborne launch method for first-person-view strike drones using its AERO Sky hybrid vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aircraft during a U.S. Army live-fire exercise. The test involved the release of multiple armed FPV drones from the AERO Sky aircraft during training with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Polk. The demonstration showed how a larger unmanned aircraft can carry smaller drones closer to an engagement area before release, allowing ground operators to remain farther from the front line.
AERO Sky is a Group 3 unmanned aircraft with an 11-foot wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of about 100 pounds and a payload capacity of 30 to 50 pounds. Its hybrid VTOL configuration allows vertical launch and recovery from austere locations before transitioning to fixed-wing flight for longer endurance. The aircraft can operate for six to eight hours depending on configuration.
The system is designed to support several mission types, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, logistics delivery and strike operations. In the demonstrated configuration, FPV drones served as the carried payload. Other potential payloads include electro-optical and infrared sensors, communications relay equipment, ammunition, batteries, medical supplies or mission equipment.
Petrel Technologies describes AERO Sky as a modular unmanned aircraft intended for reconnaissance, transport and strike missions. The aircraft is reported to cost about $90,000 per unit and uses carbon fiber and balsa wood in its construction. The design is aimed at combining payload capacity, endurance, repairability and lower production cost for tactical unmanned operations. For light infantry and air assault units, an airborne drone-launch approach could extend the range of small FPV systems and reduce the need for launch teams to operate close to target areas.
