Leonardo unveils British Navy Proteus rotary wing UAS final design

BELFAST — Leonardo has released the final design of the Proteus Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System (RWUAS) demonstrator, under development for the UK Royal Navy, ahead of its first flight expected later this year.

Bearing resemblance to the manufacturer’s AW09 light single-engine helicopter, the three-ton aircraft is distinguished by a five blade main rotor system and modular payload bay.

In a company statement today, Leonardo said that Proteus “will be used to demonstrate advances in autonomy and payload modularity and interchangeability, whilst developing cutting-edge new rotorcraft technologies including design and manufacturing techniques.”

Proteus sits under a four-year RWUAS Technology Demonstration Programme (TDP) contract, valued at £60 million ($75 million) and issued to Leonardo by the UK Ministry of Defence in July 2022.

The demonstrator is aligned with the Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATx) strategy — a long term Fleet Air Arm evolution plan that stretches to 2040.

Leonardo noted that the strategy includes “building mass at sea and supporting future anti-submarine warfare missions.”

To reduce design costs and quicken the pace of Proteus aircraft development, the manufacturer has also drawn heavily on “components” from within the company’s helicopter and UAS portfolio.

“This design will demonstrate the viability of large UAS in the maritime environment and will function as a test bed for the development and demonstration of autonomous capability,” it added. “This includes flight control laws and algorithms for large autonomous Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft.”

Leonardo labels its production facility in Yeovil, southwest England, as the “Home of British Helicopters,” and said that the site “maintains an aggressive autonomy development roadmap, which covers the capabilities required to conduct autonomous flight and deliver mission capability.”

The manufacturer has leaned on autonomy and cutting edge technology to support development of Proteus, which includes a digital twin and “more than 40 components manufactured with advanced composite materials and the use of AI in its control software.”

As Breaking Defense previously reported, Leonardo had settled on an assessment of “potential systems” for integration before moving to a final aircraft design, with a model displayed at DSEI in 2023 largely based around intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, as well as maritime and logistics supply missions.

Leonardo did not share details of key subsystems that will be integrated on Proteus, including an engine type, though France’s Safran Arriel 2K engine, the AW09 powerplant, stands out as an obvious candidate.

Phil Bartlett, head of future programs at Leonardo Helicopters UK told Breaking Defense in a statement that Proteus first flight preparations — a milestone set for mid-2025 — are “progressing at pace.”

“We’re pulling together a range of exciting new technologies for the Proteus demonstrator, so there’s a lot to do and a lot of moving parts to get in place before that happens, but the team are highly motivated to deliver this key milestone and we’re really seeing the benefits of our use of digital engineering techniques such as digital twinning,” he added.

Echoing such sentiment, James Morris, UK Defence Equipment and Support, Future Capability Innovation maritime head, said in comments to media, “This is an exciting and novel project that demonstrates collaboration, new ways of working with industry, the application of Agile principles and highlights how DE&S can work at speed to deliver ground-breaking capabilities into the Royal Navy.”