New Cassidian UAV Enters Integration Phase

Cassidian’s Sagitta UAV demonstration project has entered the integration phase; a flight demonstrator will be built to show advanced UAV technologies, with the first Sagitta flight scheduled for 2015, according to a Cassidian announcement.

Defense News have reported that the first wind tunnel tests have been completed on the Sagitta demonstrator, which will be a tailless flying wing with a wingspan of 12 meters, and built at a 1:4 scale.

“After two years of intense design work, the first parts of the extremely light-weight carbon fiber structure are now in production, and a dedicated system integration rig has been set up to start assembly of the individual avionic components and to perform the required hardware-in-the-loop simulations,” Cassidian said.

The Sagitta project will research several aspects of UAVs, including design, aerodynamics, flight controls, communications and data processing, aerial refueling and simulations.