Connecticut-based company WaveAerospace has unveiled "the world's fastest multi-rotor drone system," a "new aircraft" that is actually a quadcopter drone with a surging jet turbine in the middle, capable of operating around the clock at breakneck speeds.
The "Huntress II" turbojet is a behemoth, measuring 4 meters (13 feet) diagonally from rotor to rotor. It weighs about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), depending on how much jet fuel it carries, and has a maximum takeoff weight of 165 kilograms (365 pounds), so it can carry five avionics bays and up to four externally mounted containers if required, a very large payload.
Whether launched from land or sea, or dropped from an aircraft as high as 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), it can be mission ready in 90 seconds, enabling rapid deployment. With a flight life of up to two hours, operators can watch live video while controlling the aircraft from 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away.
Once airborne, the operator can hover the aircraft like a quadcopter or activate the jet turbines to fly like a jet, although it's unclear how it steers like a jet, whether through control surfaces on the rotor arms or through jet thrust vectoring.
WaveAerospace didn't specify the speed or horsepower of the turbojet engine, but said it could easily reach Mach 0.4 (300 mph/483 km/h). This top speed is electronically limited, and the company claims that over time it will consider relaxing this limit to allow it to cruise at "faster" speeds. The turbines can be started or stopped as Huntress II lifts off, so they won't scorch the launch pad.
Important for many potential applications is that it can fly in almost any weather conditions, including Category 10 storm conditions with wind speeds up to 117 km/h (72 mph), and temperature conditions of -34 to 54°C (-30 to 130°F). Basically, if a full-size helicopter can fly, so can the Huntress II - and at 5% the cost and half the space. If the launch pad is windy, the vehicle can also use reverse thrust to hold itself firmly in place until takeoff.
So, who is it for? Obviously military personnel will use this monster, but WaveAerospace will also use it for search and rescue, critical logistics, high-speed reconnaissance, and other BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) operations, but it won't be a stealth-capable rig thanks to a big, fat turbojet in the middle.
WaveAerospace said it has raised an undisclosed amount of venture capital to scale production of other aircraft and fully commercialize the Huntress II turbojet. It's currently up for pre-order and is expected to start shipping later this year. We look forward to seeing it fly!