Long-Endurance Autonomous UAS Demonstrated at US Army’s Project Convergence

The aircraft acted as a critical communication tier in the absence of established networks and connectivity By Mike Ball / 17 Nov 2022
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Kraus Hamdani Aerospace has demonstrated its K1000ULE long-endurance fully electric autonomous UAS (unmanned aerial system) at the U.S. Army’s Project Convergence 2022 (PC22), an event that aims to develop joint all-domain command and control technologies. The company also introduced upSwarm, a smart mission-based drone swarming capability.

Throughout PC22, which evaluated over 300 of the newest technologies with the help of U.S., U.K., and Australian service members, researchers and industry partners, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace showcased the full suite of capabilities for upSwarm and the K1000ULE. The systems provided a critical communication tier in the absence of established networks and connectivity. Various flights during the exercise spanned anywhere from seven to twelve hours nonstop, and multiple aircraft were flown using a single ground control station up to 20,000 feet above ground level while simultaneously using the UAV’s full-motion video, geospatial camera and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) payloads and sensors.

With the survivability of the aircraft, endurance and onboard edge based AI capabilities of the aircraft being key differentiators, the K1000ULE was able to successfully act as the communication extension and provide the radio bridging needed across disparate radios on different land and air assets (air-to-air and air-to-land). As an end-to-end service providing non-stop data and intelligence across its communication infrastructure, the K1000ULE was able to provide persistent sensory capabilities and tactical communications to users across various air assets and land based processing centers.

As a cost-effective solution, the military will be able to use hundreds or thousands of systems at a time to provide its warfighters with full battlespace connectivity, common operating picture and increased situational awareness. In collaboration with the Army, Kraus Hamdani Aerospace plans to further provide persistent airborne services and technologies to enable effective and timely decision-making in effort to streamline military operations for the future of defense.

Fatema Hamdani, CEO and Founder of Kraus Hamdani Aerospace, commented: “We are working to pioneer a new approach to aerial drone technology by supplying the military with problem-solving robots that enhance global connectivity and insights while providing necessary data and intelligence. This year at Project Convergence, we expanded our capabilities, and showcased how the success of the K1000ULE will transfer to our upSwarm based smart mission based swarming capabilities powered by our AI to provide multiple services to support the warfighter.”

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Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact