Leonardo: first unmanned flight on board for the SW-4 Solo helicopter

(To Leonardo)
27/02/18

Leonardo announced today that the SW-4 Solo remote control helicopter successfully completed its first unmanned flight on board at the Taranto-Grottaglie airport. The helicopter remained in flight for 45 minutes, satisfying expectations and showing excellent qualities of controllability of the systems and maneuverability. The tests carried out included, among others, remote ignition and shutdown of the engines, automatic take-off and landing, stationary flight and moved to and from the operations area, simulation of a surveillance mission. The SW-4 Solo has reached a quota of about 450 meters and a speed of about 110 km / h.

"This result - declared Alessandro Profumo, Managing Director of Leonardo - provides further proof of Leonardo's leadership in Europe in an increasingly important sector such as the development of complete 'unmanned' systems. We will continue to invest with increasing commitment to innovation and to expanding our presence in this field. We are pleased - added Profumo - of the contribution provided by the Grottaglie airport and of the collaboration assured by our partners and the competent authorities for this important success ".

The Solo, a derivative of the SW-4 helicopter produced at the Leonardo plant in Poland and equipped with advanced systems and sensors also made by Leonardo in Italy and the United Kingdom, is unique in its kind because it is designed to operate with or without a pilot on board (RUAS / OPH - Rotorcraft Unmanned Aerial System / Optionally Piloted Helicopter). The start of the experimental campaigns at Grottaglie dates back to December 2016, interspersed with various test activities in Poland, with the aim of verifying the behavior characteristics of the aircraft and validating flight procedures, both in normal and emergency conditions.

The first activities in Italy were carried out as part of a collaboration started in the 2015 between Leonardo, Aeroporti di Puglia (AdP) and the Aerospace Technological District (DTA) for the "Grottaglie Test Bed", which is a candidate to become the solution Italian to the request of the national and European industry for the experimentation of 'unmanned' aircraft. Among the objectives, also the validation of procedures and regulations for the use of unmanned aircraft. The tests carried out benefited from the strong collaboration assured by ENAC and ENAV. The SW-4 Solo has also been the protagonist of other successful demonstration campaigns in Italy and the United Kingdom.