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The DrN-600 uncrewed air system on display at the Singapore Airshow.
SINGAPORE—ST Engineering and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Lodd Autonomous have signed agreements under which the Singapore-developed DrN-600 uncrewed air system (UAS) will be trialed in the Middle East and the Lodd-developed hybrid-electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing Hili cargo aircraft will be marketed in Asia-Pacific.
The collaboration deal with Lodd is the initial order for the newly unveiled DrN-600, ST Engineering’s first multi-role, medium-lift cargo UAS. Developed in partnership with U.S.-based AIR Inc., the battery-electric powered vehicle can carry up to 100 kg of cargo across ranges between 70 km (43 mi.) and 120 km. The aircraft will be tested in the UAE on shore-to-ship and other routes around Abu Dhabi.
Lodd’s 1.4-metric-ton hybrid air vehicle, which flew for the first time in proof-of-concept form in November, is designed to fly around 300 km with fuel reserves and carry up to 250 kg of payload at a speed of up to 100 kt. The Abu Dhabi-based company’s vehicle takes off and lands using eight electrically powered rotors and a combustion engine driving a pusher propeller for cruise.
ST Engineering says the Hili eVTOL will be integrated into the company’s DroNet—a vehicle-agnostic operating platform designed to enable large-scale, autonomous UAS operations. The system was the first approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore for beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights in urban environments.
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