Vanilla Unmanned demonstrates >3-day BVLOS ISR capability
CALIFORNIA – Vanilla Unmanned successfully demonstrated 73.5 hours (3 days, 1.5 hours) of continuous flight while providing HD EO/IR video and command & control (C2) over satellite communications (SATCOM). This flight demonstrates Vanilla’s capability to provide uninterrupted ISR services for multiple days on a single flight at beyond line of sight (BLOS) range, an unmatched capability for Group III UAS.
The 73.5 hr flight occurred between February 18th – 21st and was one of several concurrent flight evolutions.
Vanilla Unmanned holds official and unofficial world records for endurance, and is capable of flights up to 10 days covering 15,000 nm. The multi-mission heavy-lift variant which completed this 73.5 hr flight can carry payloads across multiple internal and external mounts, enabling multi-day, multi-INT missions on a single flight.
The demand for cost-effective airborne ISR is strong and growing, and Vanilla directly meets this unfulfilled national security requirement. “Our goal is to get a low-cost, ultra-long endurance ISR asset to the warfighter that can carry real mission payloads. The system that flew these last three days costs less than [DoD] pays for some ordnance,” said Kurt Parsons, Platform Aerospace CEO. “It’s not just the sticker price for this record-setting system, but also a multi-day flight model with drastically reduced manning and logistics costs.”
Vanilla Unmanned is owned and operated by Platform Aerospace, an industry leader in agile manufacturing and rapid prototyping. Vanilla’s record-setting success is made possible by Platform’s teammates who include AlarisPro (fleet management SaaS), Avwatch (tracking antenna), Inmarsat Government (satellite communications (SATCOM)), L3Harris WESCAM (EO/IR payload), Mission Secure (cybersecurity), and Progeny Systems (sensor data PED). The Vanilla program is sponsored in part by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
If you’re interested in hearing more please contact Greg Pappianou (greg.pappianou@platformaero.com).
About Platform Aerospace
Platform is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) dedicated to supporting the warfighter and its customers’ success. Platform is AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 certified, and specializes in manufacturing, modification and prototyping, and engineering services on a rapid timeframe. Platform has demonstrated its ability to take complex systems from “the back of the napkin to flight” through hundreds of successful projects over the past 27 years for defense, civil government, and commercial customers.
