Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones have become common place for defense, offering a huge array of use cases and benefits that help achieve an edge on the battlefield. From providing humanitarian aid through pinpointing (and in some cases even targeting) signals of interest beyond enemy lines to ensuring equipment is operating correctly, it is clear they have become a must-have for every defense operation. But with so many drones on the market, how do you know which you might need for those different applications?

Does size matter?

Drone sizes vary massively, from micro-drones, mainly for personal use, weighing just a few grams to larger models exceeding 1000kg. In the defense sector, size matters and generally larger drones will be deployed. The size depends however on a few factors, such as the payload you need to carry and application of the drone. It may, for example, be that one drone has multiple functions, and therefore needs to carry multiple payloads. If, however, the payload is small and lightweight, and it is important to remain as hidden as possible, you may want to look at using a much smaller drone. 

Of course, the other factor with size comes down to how it is getting to the field. If it has to be carried for a large portion of a route, rather than transported on another vehicle, then ensuring the smallest possible size and weight possible for any given application will be important.

Covering the distance

One of the biggest factors in defense operations is how far you need the drone to travel, and for how long, and that will change in each scenario. In certain cases, it will also be important that the drone can reach higher altitudes to avoid easy detection. This will all generally also have an impact on the size and weight of the drone, so needs to be considered along with those parameters. We recently partnered with Skyeton for defense applications because its Raybird drone can travel up to 2,500 km with a max flight altitude of 5,500m, and a flight time of 28 hours.

Regional considerations

Operating drones in some parts of the world can be challenging. While most places will allow it under the right circumstances and with the right approval procedures in place, certain countries have specific approved drones. In those cases, while it isn’t impossible to work with them to approve a new model, it is extremely time-consuming and often they will prefer to stick with the ones that have been pre-approved. This means in those cases you simply have to work in those parameters and make those work as best you can for the application you need.

Integrating into existing infrastructure

Most military organizations are already using drones for a whole plethora of use cases. At the same time, they have a wealth of other existing infrastructure, from aircraft to fixed platforms covering every possible scenario. Whatever the application, it is important that the equipment needed is adaptable and lightweight enough to be used in all of these scenarios and integrated with that existing infrastructure, no matter what that looks like. 

At Quadsat, our payload is platform-agnostic and lightweight enough to be seamlessly integrated with any existing infrastructure, from very small drones to the largest military drones and beyond. And the possible use cases are growing too. Our payload delivers next-generation RF capabilities across the electromagnetic mission space – from real-time spectrum monitoring and emitter detection to comprehensive validation of antennas and RF systems. These payloads combine advanced RF and robotics systems with intelligent software to deliver mission-ready electromagnetic warfare (EW) capabilities. 

The Quadsat team will be exhibiting at DALO Industry Days from 20^th – 21^st August. Get in touch to book a meeting.