An Aerovel Flexrotor unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from the flight deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) in the Gulf in March 2023. Airbus has now acquired the manufacturer as it looks to expand its portfolio in the tactical vertical take-off and landing unmanned aircraft sector. (US Navy)

Airbus has completed the purchase of US company Aerovel, which manufactures the Flexrotor unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

The European company announced the milestone on 7 May, saying it will strengthen its portfolio of tactical unmanned solutions.

“We see more and more armed forces and parapublic agencies around the world looking to investigate how unmanned aerial systems can strengthen their intelligence and surveillance capabilities,” Airbus said.

Based in Bingen, Washington state, Aerovel manufactures the Flexrotor, which is a rotary- and fixed-winged vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft designed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions at sea and over land. With a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 25 kg, the Flexrotor can operate for upwards of 14 hours while carrying a range of electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) payloads.

An image of the URAL radio relay system on display at DSA 2024. (Janes/Rakend P)

Turkish company Aselsan has unveiled its latest radio relay system at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2024 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur from 6 to 9 May.

The system, known as URAL, is an airborne software-defined radio relay operating in the very/ultra-high frequency (V/UHF) band.

URAL is designed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other airborne platforms for surveillance, reconnaissance, and mapping applications.

It utilises Aselsan's advanced network waveform features to achieve the high throughput data rate.

The VHF and UHF bands are incorporated in a single unit to reduce the system's size and weight to meet the low size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirement of UAVs. The company told Janes that older radio relays are available in single band only, either VHF or UHF frequency.

Aselsan's representative did not disclose the modulation type, data rate, and the waveforms incorporated in the system at the time of publication. Based on Janes

An infographic of Aselsan's Marlin USV, which is on display at DSA 2024. (Janes)

Turkey's Aselsan has for the first time displayed its Marlin unmanned surface vessel (USV) in its full anti-submarine warfare (ASW) configuration.

In this configuration – on show at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2024 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur from 6 to 9 May – the USV is integrated with the Mini-Düfas low-frequency active towed array and passive towed sonar system. Aselsan aims to operationalise the mini version of its Düfas towed active sonar for USVs, called Düfas-M, in 2024.

Tests on hardware components are under way, with sea trials on a Marlin USV set for the second half of 2024. Düfas features both active and passive arrays and detection and tracking capabilities.

Speaking to Janes on 7 May, Suat Ekmen, Aselsan's Asia-Pacific manager, said, “The specifications including operating frequencies of the array and the towed cable length are kept confidential since the system is at the final stage of development.”