Navy chooses Martin UAV for prototyping

By Jordan Wolman / April 13, 2021 at 11:04 AM

Based on a tech demo in Arizona this past December, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division will move forward with prototyping and development of an aircraft produced by Martin UAV.

Martin UAV was selected out of 13 original submissions to the Navy's June 2020 call for unmanned aerial systems that are capable of operating in "austere deployed environments without ancillary support systems" and with a preference for systems that do not need launch or recovery equipment.

Two systems were then chosen for a live tech demo in December. Ultimately, Martin UAV's V-BAT was selected out of that competition, the Navy announced yesterday.

The tech demo involved "live flight demonstrations and performance of realistic scenarios," according to the Navy. A panel of "government personnel" observed the event.

According to Martin UAV, a Texas-based technology company, the V-BAT aircraft is the "only" single-engine, ducted fan vertical-takeoff-and-landing UAS with the ability to launch and recover from a hover, fly 11 hours in horizontal flight and transfer mid-flight to "hover and stare."

The V-BAT also has an open architecture. It is currently deployed through the Army's Future Tactical UAS program, U.S. Southern Command, a Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Coast Guard, Martin UAV said in an earlier press release.

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