HCUAV

The Hellenic Civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (HCUAV) is a developing Greek research project, which has currently produced two prototypes 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]

Hellenic Civil Unmanned Air Vehicle
HCUAV
DELAER RX-3 artistic representation
Role Surveillance UAV
National origin  Greece
Designer Consortium:
First flight 2016
Status Prototype
Number built 1 (prototype)
Developed into DELAER RX-3

The development started in 2013 and initially 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. In 2020 the consortium was expanded to include more companies from Greece and abroad, specialising in high-technology projects, with the aim to evolve the project to a Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (TRPAS). 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]

HCUAV RX-1

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.

DELAER RX-3

The Delaer RX-3 is a novel unmanned aerial platform, emerging from the RX-1, that introduced a different design and more advanced fuselage characteristics. The aim was to improve aerodynamics, increase payload, range, and the operational profile of the UAV. It was built with the exclusive use of composite materials, fixed wing design that incorporate a novel Blended-Wing-Body (BWB) architecture, with payload insulation, advanced electronics and a one-man portable ground control station (GCS) that uses double encrypted data-link to communicate and control the UAV. The aerial vehicle was designed for complete autonomous flight and interconnection with the Greek civic protection network, since its initial and primary mission is provision of humanitarian aid and ground patrol of isolated forest, mountainous and island regions of Greece.[6] After consecutive successful test flights and due to its novel and unique aerodynamic characteristics and onboard high definition cameras, the prototype was also considered by the consortium for military ISR missions and in 2020, the Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (TRPAS) was proposed.[7]

Tactical Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (TRPAS)

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,[8] 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,[9] to be designed by the AUTH. The rest will be smaller swarm drones built in large numbers, linked to, and supported by the mothership.[10] These endogenous aircraft will be primarily 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.[11]

RX-1 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

RX-3 Specifications

Data from LFMT.[12]

Flight characteristics
  • Cruise range: 130 km
  • Payload weight: 50 kg
  • Endurance: 10 hrs
  • Cruise speed: 180 km/h
  • Max velocity: 250 km/h
  • Take off runway: <140 m
  • Weather: adverse
  • Gusts: up to 30 knots (8 BFT)

Electronics
  • Fully autonomous flight
  • Real-time 720p image quality cameras
  • Autonomous flight planner
  • Interconnection with the Hellenic Rescue Team Network (HRTN)
  • SDR data-link

General specs
  • Composite materials fuselage
  • Blended Wing Body (BWB) design
  • Payload insulation
  • Aerial-drop payload delivery system
  • Data collection and management system
  • One-man, portable ground control station (GCS)

References
  1. "HCUAV website - LFMT Aristotle University Thessaloniki". https://lfmt.gr/hcuav/. Retrieved 2020-11-14. External link in |website= (help)
  2. Press Release. "LOTUS: Next Generation Tactical UAV from INTRACOM DEFENSE for ISR missions" (PDF). Intracom Defense Electronics. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. "HCUAV-RX1 | LFMT". Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  6. "DELAER-RX3 | LFMT". Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  7. "Unmanned Systems – INTRACOM DEFENSE". Intracom Defence Electronics. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  8. "GREEK INTRACOM DEFENSE TO DEVELOP STEALTH UAV WITH EU FUNDING - PROJECT LOTUS". Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  9. 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.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "Greece Will Build Advanced Drones With "swarm" Function". Greek City Times. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  11. Press Release. "LOTUS: Next Generation Tactical UAV from INTRACOM DEFENSE for ISR missions" (PDF). Intracom Defense Electronics. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. "DELAER-RX3 | LFMT". Retrieved 27 December 2020.

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