TEWKSBURY, Mass.– Massachusetts-based Ascent AeroSystems today announced that it completed the final delivery of all “Spirit” dual-rotor coaxial drones to launch customer Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos.
“Ascent AeroSystems is pleased to announce that we have completed the delivery of all Spirits to our launch customer, Dynetics,” said Ascent AeroSystems founder and CEO Peter Fuchs. “This represents a critical milestone for Ascent AeroSystems as a company and an important step in our valued partnership with Dynetics.”
With a unique cylindrical configuration that’s far more portable and rugged than conventional multi-rotor drones, Ascent’s coaxials are ideal for mission-critical operations in the toughest environments. The delivery of vehicles provided an opportunity for Dynetics to validate the vehicle’s performance characteristics and develop new payload systems that will provide additional capabilities for customers in the defense and intelligence communities.
Mark Miller, Dynetics’ Vice President and Division Manager of Missile and Aviation Systems, said, “Dynetics continues to be impressed by the performance and reliability of Ascent’s coaxial UAVs, and we are looking forward building on our existing capabilities as we add the Spirit to our portfolio. Its compact, rugged form-factor, modular design and outstanding flight performance overcome persistent limitations of conventional multirotors. Other unmanned systems on the market simply cannot do what a Spirit can do.”
John Roy, Dynetics’ Department Manager for Unmanned Systems, commented on the company’s experience with recent testing of the Spirit. “Setting the form factor and performance aside, the Spirit’s highly flexible architecture and available payload development kit make it the ideal platform to develop highly specialized payloads and build on Spirit’s unparalleled versatility. Rather than investing resources in the development of yet another conventional multirotor, we can focus on developing payloads and capabilities that we’re best at.”
Accepting orders for fall delivery
Production has begun and the next available delivery positions are for October. Spirit is available in a variety of configurations, including ready-to-fly versions that include variety of EO/IR camera options. A choice of ground control stations is also available. Inquiries can be made at www.ascentaerosystems.com.
