Yates Electrospace Corporation (YEC) has announced that it has completed the design and specifications for a wide-body version of its GD-2000 cargo delivery drone. The new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be unveiled at the 2020 Farnborough International Airshow.
The new wide-body version of the Silent Arrow is 60% larger than the standard model, featuring a cargo bay with a capacity of 140 cubic feet, allowing the drone to carry five times more cargo including life-saving supplies, medicines and tactical equipment. This new version of the Silent Arrow has been developed based on demand from U.S. and allied foreign government special operations forces, including the U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).
The standard version of the Silent Arrow GD-2000 cargo delivery drone was previously unveiled at the Defense & Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition.
Silent Arrow is designed for immediate air response and emergency relief during demanding conditions and tight timescales, and features integrated packaging with the drone’s unique spring-deployed wing system transported inside the fuselage. The aircraft’s high standoff distance makes it well-suited to both tactical resupply and humanitarian / disaster relief applications.
Specifications of the new Silent Arrow GD-2000 WB include:
- Gross Weight: 2000 lbs (907 kg)
- Cargo Weight: 1250 lbs (567 kg)
- Cargo Volume: 140cu/ft (4 cu/m)
- Glide Ratio: 7.63:1
- Standoff: 36 miles (58km)
- Logistics: 48ft wingspan (4 spring-deployed wings) stowed in 3.5ft x 3.5ft x 13ft fuselage
Chip Yates, founder and CEO of YEC, commented: “The YEC engineering team used current flight data from the inaugural GD-2000 product line along with extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to optimize the aerodynamics and glide ratio of this rather massive cargo delivery platform. With two launch customers on hand, our accelerated schedule delivers development units by the end of March 2020 and 10 flight test units throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2020.”
