Following the successful launch of the country’s first Microjet Engine series, Poeir has moved on to develop India’s first Heavy lift Hybrid drones, which was launched at Aero India 2019. With this launch the company aims to establish itself as industry leaders in providing propulsion solutions to UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems).
The Heavy-lift Drones are fundamentally unmanned aircrafts with fully customizable payload options that make them suitable for a wide variety of professional applications, from Law Enforcement to Search and Rescue Operations. The company has developed the following models of heavy-lift drones:
Hybrid Drone DRE 4 is a Hexacopter powered with 4 kW APU and took its first flight in 2019. It has the capacity to lift up to 5kg in a flight time of 60 minutes.
Turbo Shaft MTS 30 is under-testing for Hybrid Drone DJE 30 and Urban Firefighting. It is suitable for multirotor craft weighing up to 200kg.
Hybrid Drone DJE 30 is again a Hexacopter powered with 30 kW APU, currently under flight testing. It can take a payload of 75kg with a mission duration of 120 minutes.
Urban Firefighting Hopper is specially designed to restrain fire in high-rises. The hopper is jointly developed by Poeir Jets and Drone Hopper, a company in Spain. It can take a load of 180kg with a mission duration 60 minutes.
These battery and turbine engine powered drones are suited for the global market in the fields of Heavy-Lift Cargo, Civil, Agriculture, Forestry, Defence and other strategic applications. The drones are easy to launch, assemble, service and operate. To ensure reliability they are undergoing rigorous in-house testing and are expected to be ready for the market by 2021.
Devathathan Mookiaha, Director of Poeir Jets, says “The company is currently also developing an Air Tractor that has wide applications. As per our study and understanding, we have realised that there’s a good demand for such specialized equipment in the near future. Our team is constantly innovating and working on building the information bank. We are also leveraging futuristic technologies like 3D printing technology so that there is a quicker turnaround time in developing these systems. This will help us achieve the most innovative design objectives while effectively addressing market expectations.”
Adds Sridhar Balaram, Co-Founder and Director, Poeir Jets, “We are happy to announce the launch of the 4 variants of these commercially viable Drone variants for global markets and India. Our expertise in 3D printing has come to the fore in developing these unique designs to address specific requirements. In line with our success in indigenously developed Microjet Engines, we see drones as presenting the next big opportunity in modern day aviation.”
The company’s earlier development on Microjet engines MJE 20 and MJE 40 has successfully undergone testing and will be ready for the market in the next 12 months.