- Key design parts embody an modern modular payload bay.
- Leonardo is utilizing superior digital design and manufacturing methods within the growth of Proteus, together with a digital twin for artificial growth, greater than 40 parts manufactured with superior composite supplies and using AI in its management software program.
- The fast-moving programme will see the primary flight of the brand new rotorcraft in mid-2025, following contract award in June 2022.
Leonardo, the Royal Navy and the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Gear and Assist (DE&S) Future Functionality Innovation (FCI) group have unveiled the design of the Proteus know-how demonstrator plane. The circa three-tonne uncrewed rotorcraft can be used to reveal advances in autonomy and payload modularity and interchangeability, while growing cutting-edge new rotorcraft applied sciences together with design and manufacturing methods. Its growth helps the Royal Navy’s Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATx) technique, which covers the evolution of maritime aviation out to 2040. This consists of constructing mass at sea and supporting future anti-submarine warfare missions.
The design of the Proteus know-how demonstrator, photographs of which had been printed at the moment, reveals that it has drawn on parts from all through Leonardo’s helicopter portfolio with a purpose to scale back prices and speed up plane growth. Leonardo has additionally drawn on data and expertise from throughout its current Uncrewed Air System (UAS) programmes.
This design will reveal the viability of huge UAS within the maritime atmosphere and can perform as a take a look at mattress for the event and demonstration of autonomous functionality. This consists of flight management legal guidelines and algorithms for big autonomous Vertical Take-Off and Touchdown (VTOL) plane.
Uniquely, the Proteus design includes a modular payload bay. That is designed to allow flexibility in mission roles, together with the power to commerce gasoline for mission payload. The power to plug in particular payloads for various missions goals to offer commanders within the subject a variety of choices from a single sort of plane. That is each operationally helpful and delivers worth for cash by avoiding the necessity to purchase and keep a number of totally different fleets of plane.
Leonardo’s website in Yeovil, the House of British Helicopters, maintains an aggressive autonomy growth roadmap, which covers the capabilities required to conduct autonomous flight and ship mission functionality. In follow, this implies maturing and testing a variety of transformative applied sciences and methods, for the design and manufacture of rotorcraft in addition to on-board the plane itself.
As an illustration, Leonardo has created a ‘digital twin’ of the Proteus know-how demonstrator to help in growth. Utilising a digital twin, Synthetic Intelligence (AI) and Machine Studying (ML) algorithms in an artificial atmosphere allows Leonardo to check, modify and show functionality with out the necessity for dwell plane trials, thereby decreasing prices and considerably accelerating growth when in comparison with conventional rotorcraft programmes.
Leonardo can also be experimenting with the applying of latest digital manufacturing applied sciences in rotorcraft manufacturing, together with additive layer manufacturing (3D printing) and using cost-effective low temperature treatment composite supplies, which require fewer manufacturing levels within the manufacturing of components.
As soon as confirmed, these applied sciences can be employed extra extensively to ship agility by means of spiral growth methods, scale back through-life prices compared to standard crewed plane, and enhance manufacturing resilience and sustainability all through Leonardo’s provide chain.
Along with innovating in applied sciences, Leonardo can also be utilising the Proteus programme to rework its strategy to collaboration with prospects and finish customers. The corporate is drawing on ‘Agile’ methodology that breaks the venture into phases and emphasises steady collaboration and enchancment. This nearer collaboration between Leonardo, DE&S and the Royal Navy has enabled the €71M (£60M) venture, initially contracted in 2022, to maneuver ahead at-pace, with the demonstrator on-track to fly for the primary time in mid-2025.
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