South African company Milkor, specialist in grenade launcher production for many years, has unveiled three UAVs as part of its eforts to diversify: the MA18, the MA80 and the MA380. The new aircraft, developed over the last two years, were revealed at the Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition outside Pretoria in September. All three models are lying and ready for production.
The MA18 is a small ixed-wing, hand-launched design that can be folded up and put in a backpack and lown via an iPad or similar device. The much larger MA80 and MA380 are T-tail designs. The MA380 has fully retractable landing gear, a 12m (39ft) wingspan, a maximum takeof weight (MTOW) of 380kg (837lb) with an 80kg (176lb) payload, 1,079 nautical miles (2,000km) range with satellite link, 20 hours endurance at a cruise altitude of 14,000ft, and maximum and cruise speeds of 118kts (220km/h) and 81kts (150km/h) respectively.
The MA80 has a 6m (19ft) wingspan, a range of 134 nautical miles (250km), limited by line of sight, endurance of approximately 24 hours and a cruise altitude of 10,000ft. It has an 80kg (176lb) MTOW with a 15kg (33lb) payload. Cruise speed is 64kts (120km/h).
The Milkor Aerospace UAVs are International Traic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)-free and can be conigured to meet customer requirements. This includes optional weapons and diferent sensors, including electrooptical/ infrared (from Epsilon and Hensoldt), synthetic aperture radar and communications/ signals/electronic intelligence payloads. Piston or turboprop engine options are available, and a complete training and support package is ofered.
