The Welsh company Drone Evolution produces a range of quadrotor FPV drones called Scimitar. The 10-inch version can carry a 7kg payload for 5 km, or, with a second battery, a 3kg payload for up to 25 km.
Now Drone Evolution has launched its first range of interceptor drones, the Searcher 1 and 2. The low-cost, high-capability quadrotor VTOL drones are designed to deal with incoming threats. With their high speeds, 230 km/h for Searcher 1 carrying a 300 g payload, and the 300 km/h Searcher 2 carrying a 1 kg payload, which have auto detonation on contact with a target. The Searchers use Betaflight open-source software and are GNSS/GPS jamming- and spoofing-resistant. Although piloted by an operator, Searcher can have AI targeting as part of its capabilities. The drones’ bodies are 3D-printed, and, as with all Drone Evolution’s drones, UK sovereign components are used in their construction.
Following the new Defence Minister’s ratification of the UK Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which pledged at least £210m for low-cost, long-range one-way munitions and attack drones for the Army, Navy and RAF, the company is confident it can successfully market its drones at home and abroad. In addition, teams across MOD have been working to accelerate the procurement and delivery of air defence, counter-drone capability and enabling support to Gulf partners as part of Taskforce SABRE, which has been created to support partners across the Middle East working with UK industry amid continuing regional threats from Iran.
Drone Evolution’s Scimitar quadrotor ISR drones have been exported to Egypt and are used by the Indian Armed Forces. The company is targeting the Middle East and Japan for its drone sales, as Japan requires a ‘non-Red (Chinese) component’ for imported weapon systems.
All its drone sales come with a comprehensive training package and a toolkit for repair and modification.
by David Oliver
