HCUAV

Hellenic Civil Unmanned Air Vehicle ; HCUAV
Role	Surveillance and Reconnaissance
National origin	Greece
Designer	Consortium: LFMT; LRA; CSL; Spacesonic Ltd.; Intracom Defence; MLS Innovation;
First flight	2016
Status	Prototype
Number built	1
Developed into	DELAER RX-3

The Hellenic Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (HCUAV) RX-1 is a Greek research project, which has currently produced a prototype of a Medium Altitude - Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), with aim for the aircraft to enter production in the future and be utilised in civil and potentially, military operations.^[1]^[2]

The development started in 2013 and involved a consortium consisting of 6 partners, among them three University research groups including the Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery (LFMT) of the Department of Mechanical Engineering or the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the CSL and the Laboratory of Robotics and Automation (LRA), as well as three private companies including MLS Innovation Ltd, Spacesonic Ltd and Intracom Defense Electronics (IDE). It is coordinated by the LFMT at the AUTH. The chief engineer of the project is AUTH professor Dr Kyriakos Yakinthos.

Development

The primary project goal was to design and construct a low-cost, high-performance civil UAV, appropriately equipped, for long day and night surveillance and patrol operations, such as maritime monitoring, border protection and forest region surveillance.^[3]^[4]

The HCUAV RX-1 prototype was designed, developed and built as a small to medium-sized MALE-UAV with main objectives surveillance and data gathering for civil protection authorities, making its first and successful flight 36 months after the initiation of the project. The maiden flight took place in 2016, and lasted approximately 15 minutes.^[5] Several test flights followed, in order to validate and test different project parameters and objectives. The aircraft's maximum endurance was 11 hours.

LOTUS

In November 2020, Intracom Defense Electronics (IDE) was placed head of the consortium that now also included other Greek and European companies from Cyprus, Spain and the Netherlands, for the design and construction of stealth swarm drones, codenamed Project LOTUS (Low Observable Tactical Unmanned System),^[6] based on the RX-3 prototype with ISR as its primary mission. It was noted that two types of drones will be built as part of Project Lotus. The first will be the "mothership", a large drone incorporating the RX-3 design characteristics,^[7] to be designed by the AUTH. The rest will be smaller swarm drones built in large numbers, linked to, and supported by the mothership.^[8] These endogenous aircraft could be used in border and maritime patrol missions, high value target reconnaissance and surveillance, while utilising data-fusion technologies to cooperate with the Hellenic Air force future 4.5 and 5th generation fighters. According to IDE, the Air Force could completely cover its operational needs within a 5-year plan.^[9]

Specifications

Data from research paper.^[3]

General characteristics

Wingspan: 6.4 m
Length: 4.035 m
Max. takeoff weight: 185 kg
Payload weight: 35 kg
Fuel capacity: 55 kg

Performance

Endurance: 10-11 hrs
Range: >150 km
Cruising speed: 160 km/h
Loiter speed: 140 km/h
Maximum speed: 190 km/h
Stall speed: 70 km/h
Operational altitude: 2 km

References

^ "HCUAV website - LFMT Aristotle University Thessaloniki". lfmt.gr. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
^ Press Release. "LOTUS: Next Generation Tactical UAV from INTRACOM DEFENSE for ISR missions" (PDF). Intracom Defense Electronics. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
^ ^a ^b Panagiotou, P.; Kaparos, P.; Salpingidou, C.; Yakinthos, K. (2016-03-01). "Aerodynamic design of a MALE UAV". Aerospace Science and Technology. 50: 127–138. doi:10.1016/j.ast.2015.12.033.
^ Amanatiadis, A.; Karakasis, E.; Bampis, L.; Giitsidis, T.; Panagiotou, P.; Sirakoulis, G.; Gasteratos, A.; Tsalides, P.; Goulas, A.; Yakinthos, K. (2014). The HCUAV project: Electronics and software development for medium altitude remote sensing. IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics. Toyako-cho, Hokkaido, Japan. pp. 1–5. doi:10.1109/SSRR.2014.7017668.
^ "HCUAV-RX1 | LFMT". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
^ "GREEK INTRACOM DEFENSE TO DEVELOP STEALTH UAV WITH EU FUNDING - PROJECT LOTUS". 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
^ K. Yakinthos*, P. Panagiotou, P. Kaparos. "AERODYNAMIC DESIGN OF INNOVATIVE LAYOUT UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES SUPPORTED BY HIGH-FIDELITY NUMERICAL TOOLS" (PDF). BEFORE REALITY CONFERENCE. Retrieved 13 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Greece Will Build Advanced Drones With "swarm" Function". Greek City Times. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
^ Press Release. "LOTUS: Next Generation Tactical UAV from INTRACOM DEFENSE for ISR missions" (PDF). Intracom Defense Electronics. Retrieved 6 December 2020.