Printed drones to hunt down drug-running boats
Under the gaze of a hovering quadcopter’s high-definition camera, a 4-metre-wingspan drone guns its twin engines and takes to the skies. So began the first flight of an uncrewed aircraft early last month that could soon be monitoring two seas – the English Channel and the North Sea – for risks to shipping, illegal fishing operations and even drug-running boats.
Called 2Seas, the UAV is designed to fly lengthy surveillance missions for coastguards in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. It is a direct descendant of the catapult-launched, 1.5-metre-wingspan, electric-powered SULSA (Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft) – the world’s first all-3D-printed drone, built at the University of Southampton, UK. SULSA’s first flight was exclusively revealed by New Scientist in August 2011.
