AVALON 2023: Sabrewing launches Rhaegal CAV

US company Sabrewing used AVALON 2023 to conduct a ‘soft launch’ of its Rhaegal family of Uncrewed Air Vehicles (UAV). More than 190 of its Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs have been ordered by Arabian Development and Marketing Company (ADMC) in Saudi Arabia and by Ameriflight. The company is represented in Australia by Todax Consultancy Group’s Senior Associate – Defence Sector, Mick O’Neill.

The Rhaegal-A, whose launch customer is ADMC, is a tilt-rotor UAV that claims a maximum take-off weight of 3,021lb in VTOL mode and 6,021lb in Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) mode, against an empty weight of 1889lb. It has a claimed range of 1021nm, endurance of about 5 hours and maximum altitude of 8,230m.

It is powered by a Safran Ardiden 3 turbine engine delivering a maximum continuous power of 1,660hp. In common with other members of the Rhaegal family, this powers a hybrid, turbo-electric powertrain with electrical power distributed to its four rotors.

Much bigger is the company’s Rhaegal RG-1 which Sabrewing describes as a high-efficiency, all-weather UAV with VTOL capabilities. It will carry a VTOL payload of up to 5,400 lbs some 1000nm at 200 knots. In CTOL mode it will carry up to 10,000lb the same distance off a 3,000ft take-off roll. Maximum altitude is 22,000ft

The 16m³ cargo bay is accessed through a nose ramp nose and can carry LD-1, LD-2 or LD-3 cargo containers or bulk cargo using a convertible roller floor. The Rhaegal RG-1’s wings fold to simplify ground transportation and stowage.

Air safety regulators around the globe have yet to allow fully autonomous aircraft to share air space so initial certification will be for a Man In The Loop (MITL) regime with a ground-based pilot controlling the aircraft throughout its flight.