Argus One UAV with Pod Bay and Propulsion System Completes Flight Tests

World Surveillance Group (WSGI) has declared that the Argus One UAV has successfully completed a series of flight tests after being armed with a new pod bay and integrated propulsion unit.

These flight tests are preparatory steps for the flight tests and demonstrations that are coming up at the Oklahoma Training Center – Unmanned Systems in Lawton and the US Department of Energy Nevada Test Site. The flight testing and demonstrations are being conducted by Eastcor Engineering, which is a technical partner of WSGI, at Easton Airport.

The new pod bay has been re-designed by using new electronics and the propulsion unit has been improvised with a more powerful propeller, which has better handling and manoeuvrability. The electronics of the bay has been built using tailor made PC-boards that are run by control software which has been designed especially for Argus One UAV. The pod bay has been designed to be a plug-and-play device, which facilitates quick and easy integration of payloads used for various airship missions. During the testing of the Argus One the airship was flown for around two hours under constant monitoring. It was observed that the airship exhibited no signs of stress or fatigue after the pod bay and propulsion system were integrated with it. Another observation was that the Argus One displayed improved manoeuvrability and ability to navigate through strong winds.

Source: http://www.wsgi.com/