Uncrewed Aircraft Various

[Pelican]

PROTEUS – developing an uncrewed helicopter for the Royal Navy

In the first of a series of articles detailing substantive progress with the development of uncrewed systems for the RN, here we look at the PROTEUS Rotary Wing Uncrewed Aircraft System (RWUAS) technology demonstrator being built by Leonardo UK.

Efforts to develop RWUAS for military use in the UK have been underway for some time although not proceeding with much urgency. The first RWUAS Capability Concept Demonstrator (CCD) Phase 1 programme ran between 2013-15. The phase 2 contract was let in 2017 and flying trials and experimental work were conducted with an SW-4 Solo demonstrator aircraft. (In comparison, the US Navy fielded an operational RWAUS, the MQ-8B Fire Scout in 2009 and is now onto the second generation – MQ-8C). In July 2022 the MoD awarded the phase 3 4-year, £60M contract to Leonardo for a Technology Demonstrator Programme (TDP). This aircraft will fly in 2025 and is known as PROTEUS, forming a foundational aspect of the RN’s Future Maritime Aviation Force (FMAF) vision.

Leonardo says PROTEUS is not being developed using conventional design reviews but instead using agile methodology. Scrum teams work on monthly sprints culminating in a series of system concept reviews every three months. Work has now entered the detailed design phase, having already architectured the flight control system and defined most of the avionic systems.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/proteus-dev ... oyal-navy/