Firm has already begun running a clean-sheet turbojet engine that will power the technology demonstrator.
GKN Aerospace has revealed the first full-scale mock-up of the uncrewed air vehicle and associated turbojet engine it has built under a rapid development contract from the Swedish defence ministry, ahead of a first flight next year.
Stockholm awarded the SKr150 million ($15.8 million) contract to GKN in November last year, giving the company 18 months to develop and demonstrate the low-cost uncrewed platform under what it calls ‘Project Otto’.
“Less than a year ago this was just a vision and today we can present the first tangible results,” says Sara Eklof, senior vice-president of government solutions at GKN.
Not intended as a product in its own right, the platform is designed to demonstrate that the Swedish armed forces and industry can collaborate to rapidly address problems in a cost-effective manner, says Brigadier Carl-Frederick Ekstrom, head of air and space systems at Sweden’s FMV defence materiel administration.
“The problem we wanted to solve was not a military one, it was how to do this together.”
Affordability, speed of development and security of supply were all key considerations for the project, he says.
“We proved we could learn together; for the FMV that’s the highest degree of output from this.”
Although unable to offer an exact date, Ekstrom says “with a high degree of assurance” that the platform “will fly no later than early next year”.
Resembling a low-range strike missile or one-way effector, the air vehicle boasts a range of 323-539nm (600-1,000km), can carry a payload of 100-300kg (220-660lb) and flies at high subsonic speeds, GKN says. It can be either air- or ground-launched.
Although developed under a Swedish contract, GKN drew on expertise from across its global business for the project, says Joakim Andersson, president, engines.
Production of the composite fuselage was handled by its Dutch operation, while the UK business carried out software and integration work, he says, with numerous SMEs also involved in the project.
GKN’s engine business, based in Trollhattan, Sweden, meanwhile, led the development of the small turbojet powerplant – the first clean-sheet aero-engine ever built in Sweden, says Andersson.
It began running the engine – the power of which has not been disclosed – on the test bench in July, he says. It is building several examples for the test campaign.
A “significant” portion of the engine components have been additively fabricated, he says, including parts of the compressor and cases, enabling the rapid pace of development and production.
If the company had been forced to rely on traditional forging or casting technologies, the timeline would have been significantly extended, says Andersson. “But after nine months we already have an engine.”
Sweden currently has no defined requirement for such an air vehicle, but should the testing prove successful “and the air force has a need, this demonstrator could go into production”, adds Ekstrom.
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