AREA-I Altius

History of the AREA-I Altius

The Area-I Altius-600 is an autonomous, highly flexible, tactical-grade Air-Launched Effect (ALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The vehicle can be tube-launched or air-launched, and is ready for land or sea operations within minutes of being out of the box.

This multi-mission solution is capable of operating in low and mid-altitude environments with a lifespan of over 4 hours and a range of up to 275 miles at 100 mph. The design has been shown to integrate with existing U.S. military hardware, including the C-130 Hercules family of tactical transport aircraft, the UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter, the P-3 Orion surface platform for special missions, and light duty Flatbed.

The payload is modular, allowing customers to equip the system as needed based on mission requirements. This enables the Altius-600 to perform critical missions such as intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and counter-drone on the battlefield.

Its overall layout consisted primarily of a tubular fuselage (housing for power sources, engines, payload and optics) with a straight monoplane main aircraft and a swept empennage. The engine turns to propel the twin-blade propeller at the rear of the fuselage. The aircraft can be launched via the Common Launch Tube (CLT) or Pneumatic Integrated Launch System (PILS), allowing considerable tactical flexibility on the battlefield - it can be launched from fixed-wing, rotary-wing, vehicle and ship platforms.

The entire unit weighs 27 pounds.

The Altius-700, announced in November 2021 as the larger variant of the Altius-600, can now fly for more than five hours and carry multiple payload types, meeting multiple mission requirements at once.

Specification

Fundamentals

Years of Service

2020

Origins

United States

Status

Active.

Limited service.

Crew

0

Production

10

Manufacturer

AREA-I, Incorporated USA

Carrier

US (probably)

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Disable support (CAS)

Designed to operate near active ground elements with a wide range of air-to-surface weapon and ammunition options.

nautical/navy

Water mobility capability for a variety of land-based or ship-based maritime missions, supported by Allied Naval Surface Forces.

Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), reconnaissance

Monitor ground targets/target areas to assess surrounding threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Special Forces

Serve special forces/special operations forces and missions.

Unmanned ability

Aircraft designed (or later developed) have inherent unmanned capabilities and can fill a variety of battlefield roles.

Note features

Pusher bracket

The design features a rear-facing pushrod arrangement in contrast to the more traditional drawbar arrangement.

Sturdy aircraft frame

The inherent ability of the airframe to take significant damage.

Extended range performance

Ability to travel long distances using on-board fuel supplies.

Operation Lakes

Able to operate over the ocean and survive certain harsh marine environments.

Unmanned operation

The design features the ability to fly without a pilot, with actions controlled by onboard programming and/or ground operators.

Camera equipment

Payload supports photographic devices that provide still and/or live image/video results.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

3. 3 feet

(1.00m)

Width/span

8. 3 feet

(2.54m)

MTOW

26 lbs

(12kg)

Main Aircraft Structure

Monoplane/Shoulder/Straight

Monoplane

Designed to use a single main wing main aircraft; this is the most popular arrangement of main aircraft.

Shoulder

The main aircraft is mounted on the upper part of the fuselage, usually on an imaginary line that intersects the pilot's shoulders.

Straight

Floor plans involve the use of simple, straight main plan elements.

(The structure descriptor refers to the production variant AREA-I Altius-600)

Performance

Installed:

1 engine driving a two-bladed propeller in a thrust arrangement aft of the fuselage.

Maximum speed

104 km/h

(167 km/h | 90 knots)

Cruising speed

68 km/h

(110 km/h | 59 kn)

Maximum speed difference

+35 km/h

(+57 km/h | 31 knots)

Area

273 km

(440 km | 815 nautical miles)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

ARMOR

Variable based on task requirements; held internally.