On July 18, Airbus Defence and Space completed a test of SAGITTA, a jet-propelled, autonomous demonstrator. The research vehicle is three meters long and three meters wide, one-quarter scale compared to what Airbus hopes the final version will be. It flew its first successful test in Overberg, South Africa on a pre-programmed course.
Image credit: DLR
The airframe is made of carbon fiber composite, with a maximum takeoff weight of 150 kg (330 pounds). More details can be found at Airbus’ website here.
Image credit: DLR
SAGITTA was built in partnership with the technical universities of Munich and Chemnitz, the University of the Federal Armed Forces (Universität der Bundeswehr) in Munich, the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences, and the German Aerospace Centre DLR.
Image credit: DLR
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
