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Credit: Leonardo Helicopters
LONDON—Leonardo Helicopters has revealed the design of its Proteus uncrewed rotorcraft demonstrator, due to fly this summer, drawing from the AW09 single-engine light helicopter.
The three-metric-ton Proteus features the AW09's distinctive shrouded anti-torque system and five-bladed main rotor system. Leonardo rapidly developed Proteus as part of the UK Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATx) strategy to make increased use of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).
One of Proteus’s key attributes will be its ability to carry modular payloads that can be inserted into the fuselage, allowing the aircraft to undertake a variety of missions, including at-sea replenishment and anti-submarine warfare.
Leonardo has used “advanced digital design and manufacturing techniques” in Proteus’ development, including a digital twin, while 40 components use advanced composite materials, the OEM says. These include parts produced through additive layer manufacturing and the use of cost-effective, low-temperature cure composite materials, which require fewer manufacturing stages in the production of parts.
The Royal Navy already has proven the viability of small fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAS from its warships and from its carrier, but Proteus aims to “demonstrate the viability of large UAS in the maritime environment,” Leonardo states.
The aircraft will test-fly control laws and algorithms for vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft, while the ability to plug in modular payloads for different missions eliminates the need to purchase and maintain different fleets of aircraft.
Until now, the company has shown models of the aircraft equipped with a conventional open tail rotor. However, it makes more sense for Leonardo to draw from the ongoing development of the AW09 light helicopter, which the OEM acquired through its acquisition of Swiss startup Kopter in 2020. Leonardo has long said that the AW09 was right-sized for the development of future rotorcraft capabilities. Indeed, Proteus appears to be one of the first spinoffs of the AW09, despite it not yet reaching commercial operation.
No detail has emerged about the engine for Proteus, but given the need for rapid development, it makes sense to use the AW09’s existing engine, the Safran Arriel.
Development has been led by Leonardo’s site in Yeovil, where engineers have been working on an “aggressive autonomy development roadmap,” covering the capabilities required to conduct autonomous flight and deliver mission capability.
Proteus is being developed through the UK Defense Ministry’s £60 million ($75 million) Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System Technology Demonstration Program, a spinoff from its Strategic Partnering Arrangement with Leonardo.
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