Dubai Air Show 2023 – EDGE unveils its Reach-M MALE UAS
Citat:Less than nine months after the UAE exhibition, EDGE is unveiling at the Dubai Air Show a second member of the Reach family, the Reach-M. If “S” was standing for Small, “M” should stand for Medium, the new UAS being definitely much bigger than the one unveiled at IDEX. It has a 1,500 kg maximum take-off mass, versus 640 kg of the S-model, its payload being 350 kg, nearly three times the 120 kg of the smaller airframe.
The Reach-M maintains the twin-boom architecture, typical of UAS powered by a pushing propeller; linked to the wings, the two booms sustain an inverted-V tail plane. It is fitted with a tricycle landing gear, with a retractable front wheel, the two wheels fitted under the wings being also retractable, which was not the case in the smaller UAS. This allows reducing the drag when airborne, propulsion being ensured by an undisclosed engine, the Reach-S being powered by a 110 hp Rotax 912 four-stroke four-cylinders piston engine, a three-blade being also adopted here although of bigger diameter. The air intake remains on top of the rear fuselage, as in the previous model.
The wingspan is 17 meters compared to the 12 meters of the “S. Endurance is comparable, both being able to fly continuously for 24 hours, the same applying to range, which is 200 km when fitted with a line-of-sight data-link, while of course if a SATCOM data-link is installed range is limited by endurance and mission profile.
Cruising speed is increased from 145 km/h to 170-180 km/h, an over 17% increase that will certainly affect mission range, while also the ceiling augments considerably, stepping up from 19,000 to over 26,000 feet.
https://www.edrmagazine.eu/edge-unveils-its-reach-m-male-uas
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