WDS: Milkor UCAV shows its teeth

Known as the Milkor UCAV in this armed form, the aircraft is ITAR-free, and has a ‘payload agnostic’ systems architecture, allowing the integration of weapons from any source.

The aircraft can undertake various intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles with payloads including Sigint/Comint systems, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) and an under-nose Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR) gimble.

For armed missions, the aircraft can carry 400kg under the fuselage and 230kg under each wing.

The aircraft at the show carries an Al Tariq-X glide bomb under the centreline. Al Tariq-X is a kit that can be fitted to US Mk 81 and Mk 82 series bombs, with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) guidance, GNSS with semi-active laser and GNSS with imaging infrared (including automatic target recognition) guidance, and with sophisticated GPS anti-jamming solutions.

The aircraft also carries Desert Sting 25 glide weapons underwing, although it can also be armed with Halcon Desert Sting missiles or Thales FZ602 rocket launchers – both on dual racks.

Powered by a turbocharged piston engine running on Avgas or Mogas, the aircraft has a maximum endurance of 35 hours and a range of more than 2,000km, and is certifiable allowing autonomous flight even in unsegregated civil airspace.