Squire: Electric ground-effect drone takes off for the first time
The unmanned ground-effect vehicle Squire has flown for the first time. The drone is primarily intended for military use.
Squire ground-effect drone in flight.
(Image: Regent Craft)
US company Regent Craft has tested the unmanned ground-effect vehicle Squire in Narragansett Bay in the US state of Rhode Island. The ground-effect vehicle flew for the first time during this test, the manufacturer announced.
The drone can move on and above the water in three ways: it can float, hover on hydrofoils on the water, and finally fly using the ground effect. In flight mode, Squire hovers close to the water surface, gliding on a cushion of air. This creates no friction with the water, increasing lift. Flying by ground effect also has the advantage that the drone remains under the radar.
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On the water, Squire can move efficiently on wings, so-called hydrofoils. When these are streamed, they lift Squire out of the water. This means the engine no longer has to fight against the resistance of the water, making it significantly faster. This allows it to reach the takeoff speed required for wing-borne flight more quickly.
Squire is electrically powered
Squire is just under 4 meters long and has a wingspan of just under 5.5 meters. The drone is powered by eight electric propellers. It flies up to 70 knots (130 km/h) and has a range of more than 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers). It can carry payloads of just under 23 kilograms.
Squire is primarily intended for military use; the drone can be used as a transporter, for example, to transport ammunition or medical supplies. Above all, however, it is intended to be used as a reconnaissance vehicle and for submarine detection. Finally, Regent also sees an application for the coast guard in search and rescue missions.
In addition to the unmanned, military ground-effect vehicle, Regent Craft also builds the civilian ground-effect vehicle Viceroy, which offers space for twelve passengers and a two-person crew. Regent Craft has been testing it since last year. In the civilian sector, the company has orders worth over 10 billion US dollars. In addition, there is a 15 million US dollar contract with the US Marine Corps.
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Ground-effect vehicles have existed before: in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, Ekranoplans were built for amphibious missions and coastal defense, the so-called Lun class. The largest Ekranoplan was the Korabl Maket (KM), also known as the Caspian Sea Monster. It was about 100 meters long and weighed 240 tons. It could be loaded with around 300 tons of payload and raced across the Caspian Sea at speeds of up to 500 km/h.
(wpl)
