UAV Factory comms failure during 90 hour VTOL record attempt

On 2 May 2020, a small 25kg experimental UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) owned by the company lost communication with its controllers on the ground. This experimental Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft design was undertaking a phased test flight to attempt a 90-hour world endurance record.

As with any experimental flight testing, knowledge is gained only by flying the UAV to learn from successes and challenges. The lessons learned from this experimental design were to be applied in the company’s next generation production design.

Currently, efforts are underway to locate the aircraft and to understand why it encountered issues with communication. The last verifiable information about the plane’s location was obtained on 2 May 2020, at 7:30pm local time, 8 hours and 20 minutes after takeoff.

The company is in contact with both the local aviation authorities and the military to coordinate the search efforts. An investigation is underway to discover the reason for the communication loss.

UAV Factory has one of the best safety records in its class of aircraft. Over the past 10 years, the company flew over 7000 internal flight hours demonstrating its outstanding safety. UAV Factory UAVs are operating in more than 50 countries around the world, where they are used by militaries, commercial entities, and universities.

The Unmanned Aerial Systems manufactured by UAV Factory are supporting civilian life saving applications, infrastructure protection activities, and NATO military Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations.

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