Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will present new solutions for landing and take off of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), implemented in the Panther UAS, at the 52nd Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences.
The Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences is held every year by the Israel society of aerospace sciences. Lectures are given by world leading experts and representatives from the Israeli defense and Hi-Tech industries, the Israel Air Force, and leading Israeli academic institutions.

This year’s conference will be held on February 29th at Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv and on March 1st at the Technion Campus in Haifa. New aeronautical, commercial and military aviation state-of-the-art technologies will be presented by first-class experts from various countries. Chair of the program committee is Gila Ghilai from IAI.

Optimization of prop-rotor design for V/STOL electrically powered UAS is one of the subjects that will be presented by IAI’s experts. A prop-rotor design method for an electric propulsion system will be explained in details. The design was adapted for IAI Panther UAS, powered by three electrical engines. The Panther is designed for vertical take-off and landing like a helicopter, and level straight flight as a fixed-wing aircraft.

Prop-rotor design problem involves a compromise between two different flight conditions: hover and cruise. This drives the designer to use multidisciplinary design optimization methods. The design framework is based on ESTECO modeFrontier® design environment. The process formulation refers to a multi-goal design problem with several design constraints.

Among other subjects to be presented by IAI’s experts are: missile guidance, structural integrity of aircraft, recent innovations in IAI’s new business jet program, specialized airframe technology for UAS and civil applications for UAS and Maritime UAS.

Background Material – The Panther UAS: With its 3 ultra-quiet electrical motors, the Panther tactical UAV, which weighs roughly 65 kg, can takeoff and land vertically on any unprepared area. The Panther utilizes Tilt Rotor technology for maneuvering the platform in various modes: pinpoint hovering like a helicopter, and straight and level efficient endurance flight like a fixed wing aircraft. A typical mission can take approximately 3 hours, at an altitude of 2000 feet above ground. It can not be heard or seen from the ground. The operational range is 25-50 km according to mission profile. The Panther is equipped with an advanced autonomous flight control system controlling the transition between the various modes as well as during the Automatic Vertical Takeoff and Landing (AVTOL) phases. The Panther UAS carries IAI’s Mini-POP (Plug-in Optronics Payload) – a day/night stabilized camera including, in addition to specific customer’s requirement, a laser range finder, laser pointer or laser designator.

Source and photo: IAI