Alpha 800 Is The Evolution Of The Sniper Aircraft

Alpha Unmanned Systems has taken the wraps off its latest unmanned helicopter ... the Alpha 800.

The company says the new aircraft is the evolution of the Sniper, and includes all the developments and improvements of the last 18 months of extensive work of research, development and innovation.

Improvements apply to all the systems in the helicopter from the mechanics to the electronics on board or available payloads. In the airframe, the FlyBar has been removed; the landing gear has been completely redesigned reducing weight and enabling better line of sight for the antennas. The modifications resulted in a weight savings of more than 500 g (approx. 1 pound) that has been used to increase the fuel capacity by 600cc (approx. 0.15 gallons). In addition, some critical components such as servo-actuators have a manufacturer-guaranteed service life which gives the system an extra level of safety.

The electronics are IP64 rated which means that the helicopter can operate in marine environments or under the rain. In addition, it includes safety and redundancy elements such as redundant power source, double autopilot power supply and resettable fuses at all payload and servo ports.

Alpha Unmanned Systems has also worked on integrating a multitude of payloads and currently offers up to 15 different possibilities covering all types of applications for multiple sectors: from surveillance, inspection, agriculture, mining, to mapping LIDAR or GIS. We offer dual sensor cameras; day & night vision and some of them offer up to 40x optical zoom or high resolution and frame rate infrared sensors. Thanks to that we cover a wider range of applications, being able to offer ready-to-fly solutions for professional or industrial users.

The improvements enable the new Alpha 800 to have a 3 kg (approx. 6.6 pounds) up from 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds). Endurance has been increased to 2 hours & 30 minutes, a longer range and the necessary maintenance of the mechanics has been kept to a minimum.

(Image provided with Alpha Unmanned Systems news release)

FMI: www.alphaunmannedsystems.com