Swedish firm CybAero received approval to deliver the first APID One unmanned helicopter to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) under a framework agreement it signed one year ago. The eight-year agreement, valued at SEK 700 million ($84 million), calls for CybAero to supply 70 helicopter systems.
Following flight trials and factory testing, CybAero received AVIC’s approval to deliver the first helicopter, a demonstration system. The firm said it obtained an export license from the Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls on June 26. CybAero’s distributor, ACC Group, will deliver the helicopter this month.
The APID One, powered by a Wankel engine, has a maximum takeoff weight ranging from 397 pounds to 485 pounds depending on its configuration. It can fly up to six hours, and from 31 miles to 124 miles (50 km to 200 km), depending on the mission, according to CybAero.
The firm conducted several flights in Hainan, China, this spring with AVIC and ACC. On April 27, it performed “a long flight” for 70 invited representatives of the Chinese Fisheries Agency, the China Maritime Police, the China Maritime Safety Administration and shipyards. “One purpose of the demonstration was to show how the helicopters can identify boats and ships by producing video documentation of their registration numbers and positions,” CybAero said.
Based in Linköping, Sweden, CybAero was founded in 2003, but it traces its beginnings to a longstanding research collaboration between Linköping University and the Swedish Defense Research Agency. Last year, U.S. drone manufacturer AeroVironment converted a loan to CybAero into an 8.5 -percent share.
CybAero said it received an order in March for the first five systems under the framework agreement it signed with AVIC in July 2014. The firm plans to deliver the systems to ACC this fall.
“We have now initiated the delivery phase of our largest order ever, which feels extremely exciting. CybAero is now taking the step from being a development company to becoming a production company,” said CEO Mikael Hult.