AeroVironment Unveils 'Snipe' Nano Quadrotor Drone

Small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) manufacturer AeroVironment on May 9 unveiled a wearable, five-ounce (140-gram) quadrotor that draws from advances in nano technology it first made with its Nano Hummingbird concept demonstrator. AeroVironment said a U.S. government customer took delivery of 20 systems in April.

Named “Snipe,” the new quadrotor is worn on the operator’s clothing and launched by hand. It can fly at speeds exceeding 20 mph, with one-kilometer (0.6 mile) range and 15 minutes of flight time. Designed for close-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the miniature aircraft is fitted with electro-optical/infrared, low-light and long-wave infrared sensors in an integrated tilt mechanism, said AeroVironment, which timed the announcement for the Xponential 2017 conference in Dallas.

“Snipe’s tiny size belies its impressive capabilities,” said Kirk Flittie, vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment. “While Snipe’s stealthiness makes it ideally suited for military applications, it’s an invaluable asset for anyone needing a ‘Class 0’ UAS to support their missions.”

Under a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency contract, AeroVironment in 2011 produced the Nano Hummingbird, a flapping-wing demonstrator weighing 19 grams. A Norwegian company—Prox Dynamics—has produced an 18-gram (0.6 ounce) “personal reconnaissance” helicopter called the PD-100 Black Hornet that it first sold in 2012 to the British Army. Sensor system manufacturer FLIR Systems acquired the company last year for $134 million.

AeroVironment, based in Monrovia, California, produces the hand-launched Raven, Puma and Wasp unmanned aircraft for the U.S. military, as well as the Switchblade expendable flying munition. At the Drone World Expo conference last November, it unveiled the Quantix hybrid drone, which transitions from vertical liftoff to horizontal flight, for commercial remote sensing applications.

Snipe is operated with a touchscreen controllers and can relay high-resolution images and record real-time video during day or night. Its integrated UHF radio provides for “excellent” non-line-of-sight command and control and is software-defined, allowing AeroVironment to sell it commercially. Despite its small size, the Snipe is capable of operating under in winds of 15 mph or more with gusts up to 20 mph, the company says.