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 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 ...

. Its principle product is the Skeldar range of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) rotorcraft. The company also owns the

Hirth Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet en ...

company, whose range of light two-stroke engines provide the power units for the rotorcraft.

Formation

Swiss UAV AG was a privately owned company based in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

that designed and manufactured

unmanned aerial vehicles 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 ...

(drones). It entered a partnership with

in May 2009. In 2013 Swiss UAV was acquired by Unmanned Systems AG and the following year merged into

UMS Aero Group 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 ...

alongside Swedish company Unmanned Systems AB. At the end of 2015 UMS Aero Group and Saab, manufacturers of the Skeldar unmanned vehicle, formed UMS Skeldar, a joint venture in which UMS Aero Group is the majority partner. Besides its Swiss headquarters and manufacturing, it maintains a manufacturing facility in Sweden, as UMS Skeldar Sweden AB.

Aircraft

Earlier types have included: * F-330 Fixed-wing UAS. * F-720 Fixed-wing UAS. * R-350 Rotary UAS. Current products include two rotorcraft drone systems: *

UMS Skeldar V-200 The UMS Skeldar V-200 is a medium-range VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) developed by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. The Skeldar can be used for surveillance, intelligence gathering, light cargo transportat ...

* UMS Skeldar V-150

Subsidiary companies

UMS Skeldar acquired the long-established

German light piston engine manufacturer in 2018. Hirth provide the heavy-fuel (jet fuel) engines used in the rotorcraft.UMS SKELDAR Announces Acquisition of Global Engine Manufacturer Hirth Engines
Hirth Engines, 2018. (retrieved 23 August 2022)

References

{{reflist Aircraft manufacturers of Switzerland