Babcock Australasia, in collaboration with PteroDynamics, recently demonstrated a novel unmanned aerial system (UAS) to the Australian Defence Force, according to a company announcement.
The showcase featured PteroDynamics’ XP-4 “Transwing” aircraft, a unique vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone. The statement mentioned that this design allows the aircraft to fold its wings during flight, enabling it to operate with the launch flexibility of a helicopter and the speed and endurance of a fixed-wing plane.
The demonstration was part of the Australian Army’s Robotic and Autonomous Systems-eXperimentation (RAS-X) program. As noted in the report, the XP-4 successfully proved its flight capabilities, which could offer a significant advantage for defence intelligence, surveillance, and logistics operations.
