The U.S. Army tested a drone with a 3D-printed engine that runs on heavy fuel
The U.S. Army conducted tests of a drone equipped with a 3D-printed power plant designed to run on heavy fuel. The development is intended to increase the flight duration and speed of drones, as well as expand their operational capabilities.
It is noted that researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command have developed an advanced engine for drones as part of a new research program.
“The program addresses critical issues of power and thrust, which should allow drones to fly longer and faster, operate at higher altitudes, carry heavier payloads, and operate in extreme conditions,” said research program director Chol-Boom Kwon.
According to him, during development, researchers used advanced hydrodynamic modeling to solve the challenges of efficiently burning heavy fuel in a rotary engine.
In particular, the team succeeded in improving fuel atomization and vaporization while minimizing leaks of compressed air and fuel vapor.
The new rotary engine has been integrated with a 400-volt motor-generator system. Together, they form a heavy-fuel series-hybrid power plant.
It was developed to support vertical takeoff and landing operations, particularly under challenging operating conditions.
It is reported that the new unmanned aerial vehicle is planned to be provided to U.S. military partners for further experimentation and development. This will allow for continued testing of the technology and an assessment of its capabilities under various conditions.
This was reported by the U.S. Army.
Earlier, on October 7, the first French Dassault Falcon 8X Archange electronic intelligence aircraft arrived at Evre-Fouville 105 Air Base in Normandy. It is from there that the French Air and Space Forces will continue to operate this type of aircraft. After landing, the aircraft entered a phase of technical and operational testing.
On October 29–30, NATO held the NATO FUSE event in Latvia, where it tested approaches to countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), exchanging data among allies, and accelerating targeting processes. The event, organized by NATO’s Transformation Command, brought together three initiatives: Digital Backbone eXperimentation (DiBaX), the Layered Counter-UAS Initiative (LCI-X), and Next Generation Targeting (NGT).
