The UMS Skeldar V-200 is a medium-range

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...

(Vertical Take Off and Landing)

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) developed by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

aerospace company

Saab Saab or SAAB may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB ** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB * Saab Automobile, a fo ...

. The Skeldar can be used for surveillance, intelligence gathering, light cargo transportation, and

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

Development

The Skeldar is a derivative of

CybAero CybAero is an aerospace company industry based in Sweden. CybAero develops and manufactures remotely piloted helicopters. The company is a public company traded on First North on Stockholm Stock Exchange. In June 2018, the firm filed for bankrupt ...

’s APID 55 UAV system, and its development started in 2005. In June 2006 the Skeldar V-150 was unveiled at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris, France. The Skeldar V-200 is the designation for the developed version of the system.

Design

The Skeldar V-200 can take-off and land on an area of 15×15 meters. Take-off and landings can be made autonomously. Skeldar V-200 is modular in the sense that payloads can be changed depending on the mission characteristics, for example it can be equipped with laser pointers, range finders, electro-optical & infrared (EO/IR) 3D mapping, a light cargo hook and SIGINT (Signals Intelligence). The Skeldar V-200 can be operated in both in land and naval operations, by 2–4 people. A UAS Control Station can be integrated into a ground-vehicle such as an APC or truck. For naval operations the control station can be integrated into a ships normal operator consoles and combat management systems. In 2009 Saab partnered with Swiss UAV to jointly develop and market three VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) designs: the Skeldar V-200 and Swiss UAV's Neo S-300 and Koax X 240. The three systems can be controlled from a Saab common ground control station. In the end of 2015 Saab partnered with UMS and created the company

UMS Skeldar UMS Skeldar AG is an aircraft manufacturer based primarily in Switzerland, and with manufacturing facilities in Sweden. It was formed in 2018 as a joint venture between majority shareholder UMS Aero Group and Saab. Its principle product is the Sk ...

. In September 2018, UMS Skeldar V-200B was selected by the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

for use on board K130 Braunschweig class

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s. The Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Navy Component will use the V-200 on their future MCMV's (mine countermeasure vessels), of which the first will be operational in 2024.

Operators

; *

Belgian Navy The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Naval Component ( nl, Marinecomponent; french: Composante marine; german: Marinekomponente ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium. History Early history The Belgian Navy wa ...

; *

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

known as CU-176 Gargoyle in Canadian Service ; *

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

(on trials) ; *

; *

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

;

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

Specifications (V-200)

''Source:'' Saab Skeldar V-200 Technical specifications Length:
Width:
Height:
Main Rotor Diameter:
Max takeoff weight:
Max takeoff altitude:
Payload: Maximum speed:
Mission radius:
Endurance: +6 hours
Power rating:
Service ceiling:
Takeoff preparation time: <15 min

References

External links

V-200 web page on company site
* . * . * * {{Canadian Forces aircraft Skeldar Military helicopters 2000s Swedish helicopters Unmanned helicopters Unmanned military aircraft of Sweden Single-engined piston helicopters