AUSA 2023 — At the Hellenic booth at the Association of the United States Army conference, it is hard not to notice the five-foot-long quadcopter equipped with rocket launcher, a rare combination, developed by startup Spirit Aeronautical Systems (S.A.S) technology
The final industrial configuration of the rotary drone SARISA SRS-1A with RL275-1S rocket launcher is being exhibited for the first time at the defense expo in the US, and company officials told Breaking Defense that the system is gaining increased interest from Ukraine and other countries.
“This is a unique systems that is not developed by others. Rockets are normally being shot out of the big helicopters like the Apache and Cobra. We give an alternative solution for that, through the drone saving lives,” S.A.S technology Vice President Fotis Kampiotis told Breaking Defense.
The kinetic thrust of a rocket launcher requires an effective stabilizer to keep the drone balanced while shooting to hit the target.
“Right at the back of the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle], there is a system that absorbs much of the kinetic energy produced by the firing, which is an absorbing mechanism we have developed at special absorbing positions in the drone body,” S.A.S technology designer Christos Christou told Breaking Defense.
Successful rocket launching tests were conducted earlier this summer, the officials said. French firm Thales is the provider of the rockets for S.A.S technology.
“It is a high-precision weapon because it can actually hits the target with high precision from a distance of less than one meter or from up to kilometers away,” Kampiotis said.
He added that the system can have any type of communication, stating, “It is radio controlled, within the line of sight but it can also have SATCOM for extended application,” he said.
Kampiotis said that the quadcopter can’t currently be linked to Link-16, since it hasn’t received the order, but the drone is agnostic for data sharing.
According to company officials, the system is ready for production.
SARISA SRS-1 A can be equipped with one or two launchers of HYDRA 70, 2.75-inch / 70mm diameter rockets. The quadcopter can either be controlled by a large S.A.S-made control station for more demanding operations, or by a small off-the-shelf controller.
“We are here to declare our presence in the international market. The American market is a very attractive market for us and we’d like to be here. We have received a lot of inquiries from American entities here, military and other companies” Kampiotis said.
He added that the firm is seeking business-to-business opportunities to integrate systems with other companies.
In addition to apparent interest from Ukraine, Kampiotis said the firm “right now [has seen] a strong interest from the Hellenic army.”
Aside from the use of a rocket, the company said the drone can be used for transportation and logistics in different configurations.
“We’re working with many partners around Europe for European defense fund’s EDF programs, and we are a very flexible company seeking cooperation,” Kampiotis said.
Just behind the quadcopter the firm was displaying another platform, the AIHMI AHM-1X, a standoff loitering munition that is still under development but the company says could be integrated on the SARISA drone or helicopters.
“It can be dropped like a bomb, and it can glide with a ratio of 15-kilometer without an engine. Now, it has an engine which will give it around 50 extra kilometers, so in total 60 kilometers before it hits the target,” Christou said.
This loitering munition is still in the testing phase and will be ready for production by the end of 2024.
PHOTOS: AUSA 2023
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