Yates Electrospace Company to unveil widebody drone

Yates Electrospace Corporation (YEC) today announced the design completion and specifications of a widebody version of its Silent Arrow GD-2000 cargo delivery drone, to be unveiled at the United Kingdom’s Farnborough International Airshow in July.

The new drone was developed by YEC based on demand from the United States and allied foreign government special operators, including the U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. It will be 60% larger than YEC’s standard Silent Arrow GD-2000, which is designed for immediate air response and emergency relief, and the new drone will also include a cargo bay measuring 140 cubic feet that can accommodate five times more supplies, such as lifesaving medicine and tactical cargo.

The specification highlights of the new Silent Arrow GD-2000 WB are as follows:

• Gross weight: 2,000 lbs (907 kg);
• Cargo weight: 1,250 lbs (567 kg);
• Cargo volume: 140cubic feet (4 cubic meters);
• Glide ratio: 7.63:1;
• Standoff: 36 miles (58 km); and
• Logistics: 48ft wingspan, four spring-deployed wings stowed in 3.5-by-3.5-by-13-foot fuselage.

“The YEC engineering team used current flight data from the inaugural GD-2000 product line, along with extensive computational fluid dynamics analysis to optimize the aerodynamics and glide ratio of this rather massive cargo delivery platform,” said Chip Yates, YEC’s founder and CEO.

With two launch customers on hand, the company will pursue an “accelerated schedule” to deliver development units by the end of March 2020, and 10 flight test units throughout the second and third quarters of 2020, he concluded.