Modular Payload Interface Kits Introduced for Puma UAS

AeroVironment has introduced new standardized modular payload interface kits for the company’s RQ-20B Puma tactical unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The kits are designed to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Modular Payload Standard, which was established to create a modular architectural standard for a wide variety of payloads on Groups 1 through 3 UAS.

The new kits enable third-party payload manufacturers, as well as United States Department of Defense and international partners, to quickly and easily develop and integrate payloads onto the RQ-20B Puma. The self-contained units provides all of the mechanical and electrical interfaces required to enable RQ-20B Puma to mate with new payloads, regardless of whether or not they were developed specifically for the RQ-20B Puma platform. This interface kit not only allows for more rapid integration of new payloads, but it also reduces time and complexity for operators to swap them on the flight line and reduces government cost for new integrations.

Trace Stevenson, AeroVironment vice president and product line general manager for small UAS, commented: “AeroVironment’s standardized modular payload interface kits enable customer-driven payloads to be rapidly and effortlessly integrated into the thousands of digitally enabled Puma systems already deployed, resulting in a more capable solution that is adaptable to more mission sets at a fraction of the cost of a new system.”