TEKEVER has unveiled a new upgraded version of its AR3 UAS (unmanned aerial system) during the AUVSI Xponential 2022 trade show in Orlando, Florida. The new upgrades include a hot-swappable VTOL capability and integrated SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar). According to TEKEVER, the new AR3 is the smallest UAS to feature a high-performance, dual side-looking SAR.
The TEKEVER AR3 is a long-endurance UAS designed to support a wide range of demanding land and maritime operations. The addition of the optional VTOL capability increases the flexibility of deployment and reduces the required logistics. The VTOL capability is hot-swappable, allowing the user to decide which configuration to use just before takeoff, depending on the environment and evolving mission requirements.
If fitted with the VTOL option, the AR3 can fly up to 8 hours under real operational conditions with a full sensor package. Without the VTOL option, the endurance is increased to 16 hours.
The newly added Synthetic Aperture Radar provides the AR3 with a vastly greater operational range, and the ability to effectively detect, recognize and identify targets under any weather conditions. Covering more than 20,000 square nautical miles per mission, the new AR3 is ideal for wide-area surveillance missions.
Ricardo Mendes, CEO of TEKEVER, commented: “The new version of our vastly proven AR3 is a modular and transformable platform. Users no longer have to choose between having pure fixed wing assets for longer endurance missions, or fixed wing VTOL assets for more challenging deployment conditions. The AR3 combines both capabilities and provides users with the ability to decide the configuration just moments before takeoff.”
“Our SAR, which we named GAMASAR in honor of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, is designed and built by TEKEVER specifically to provide our customers with capabilities that are typically only available through much larger systems. With an extremely reduced logistics footprint, the unprecedented VTOL flexibility and the unique capabilities provided by GAMASAR, the new AR3 is a game-changer that provides our customers with tremendous value and cost-effectiveness.”
