UAVT Improves Internal Combustion Engines for Unmanned Vehicles
Prototype of UAVT's new gas turbine engine. Photo: UAV Turbines.
UAV Turbines launched a new generation of gas turbine engines, ranging in power from 30 to 150 horsepower and designed to address group three and above unmanned aerial vehicle programs.
“For 15 years, UAVT’s predecessor company has been pioneering new, high-performance turbine engine technology in unprecedentedly small engines with many potential applications,” says Peter Bale, UAVT senior industry advisor and AUVSI immediate past board chairman. “About three years ago, new management with fresh capital assigned the engineering team the task of creating a family of turbine engines that would be superior in performance and more reliable than any other engine in the UAV marketplace.”
The team focused on improving the reliability of internal combustion engines for unmanned vehicle systems, increasing mean time between overhaul from less than 100 hours to thousands of hours.
“UAVT’s strength has been its extraordinary engineering team,” says Bale. “Many are retired long-timers in the industry, key figures in development of the major military and civilian propulsion systems on which out society relies. They felt that they had core contributions to make, and the result is this remarkable new generation of turbine propulsion technology.”
The company is currently demonstrating prototypes of its new engines to potential customers.
