Gorge-based drone manufacturer Insitu debuted a variant of the Integrator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the Integrator VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) at the U.S. Navy’s premiere trade show, Sea Air Space 2023, near Washington, D.C., last week.
Justin Pearce, Insitu’s vice president of engineering, said the original Integrator uses a stationary launch and recovery system, and this new variant has a more portable system that allows for further modularity on the Integrator, a UAV designed for forward reconnaissance.
This new Integrator uses a secondary drone, a multicopter, to take off in a similar fashion as a helicopter, primarily so it can take-off and be recovered in tight quarters, such as ship decks, and in challenging conditions, such as on the high seas.
“Integrator VTOL is a no-compromise unmanned aircraft system,” said Diane Rose, Insitu president and CEO, in a press release. “Customers can finally have it all: Vertical launch and recovery with industry-leading payload capacity and endurance for their most critical missions, even in the most extreme maritime environments and sea states, without sacrificing valuable transport, deck, or hangar space.”
To deploy the new Integrator, the multicopter attaches to the Integrator and climbs into the sky. Once it reaches the desired altitude, the multicopter gains speed before releasing the Integrator, allowing it to perform long-range, wide-area surveillance missions. The multicopter then returns to its original position, and during recovery, climbs back into the sky with a long rope and catches Integrator as the UAV flies into the rope, lowering it back onto the landing area.
Pearce said the Integrator was made with customer demands in mind.
“Customers want to have more mobility, and are interested in VTOL,” he said. “Our belief is, with the national defense strategy and pivot to the Pacific with certain threats, that America and our allies are going to have to come from the sea … We’re known for operating off of ships, and we’ve done that longer than most, so for us, this is an evolution.”
The base of the Integrator remains unchanged. The VTOL system now allows for 16 hours of endurance, carrying 40 pounds of modular payloads, such as cameras. Insitu partners with, among others, Hood River-based firm Hood Technology Corporation which specializes in stabilized camera turrets primary for manned and unmanned aircraft.
The Integrator VTOL system is being offered to military customers domestic and international, Pearce said.
“As somebody who’s local, I take very seriously our position in the Gorge, the importance of Insitu being successful, and so I’m really excited about Integrator VTOL, because it continues to position Insitu and the Gorge to be a leader in technology,” Pearce said.
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