An FAA filing reveals the Group 3 UAS is a fixed-wing, propeller-driven design powered by a small internal combustion reciprocating engine.
US defence start-up Anduril Industries has asked American civil aviation regulators for approval to begin flying a new remotely piloted aircraft dubbed the CP-200.
A petition filed with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this month asks the agency to approve test flights with the CP-200 at an undisclosed closed test facility. A public version of the document was submitted to the FAA on 18 September and posted to the US Federal Register on 22 September.
Anduril describes the CP-200 as a fixed-wing, propeller-driven unmanned aircraft powered by a single “small internal combustion reciprocating engine”.
“It is of conventional carbon-fibre construction with a twin-boom empennage, and it takes off and lands conventionally on wheeled landing gear from a runway on the test range,” the company says in its filing.
The weight is described as being “well in excess” of 30kg (55lb), but under 91kg. That would put the CP-200 in the Pentagon’s Group 3 category of UAS classification.
Details about the aircraft and associated test plan are withheld from the public filing but provided by Anduril to the FAA in a separate confidential packet. These include traits specific to the engine, propeller and airframe. Performance metrics like airspeed, range and endurance are also not publicly disclosed, nor is the location of the test range. A confidential questionnaire concerning the CP-200 was submitted to the FAA on 28 September.
Anduril describes the CP-200 as an “aerial integration platform for sensing, computing, and communications payloads and for mission-autonomy engineering”.
Potential use cases for the remotely piloted aircraft include developmental and acceptance flight testing, payload and autonomy testing, crew training and currency flights, failure testing, noise assessment, regulatory compliance verification, and durability and reliability testing, per Anduril’s petition to the FAA.
There is no cockpit or pilot station onboard, and the filing states the CP-200 is not eligible for an airworthiness certificate in its current developmental configuration, prompting Anduril to propose that a pilot-in-command determine airworthiness ahead of each sortie via preflight inspection.
The Southern California start-up is a global leader in autonomous aviation, being one of two companies selected by the US Air Force to provide the first increment of uncrewed fighter jets known as collaborative combat aircraft (CCA).
Anduril is currently flight testing its FQ-44 Fury CCA and is preparing to launch serial production of the FQ-44 next year from its Arsenal 1 factory in Columbus, Ohio. Rival General Atomics is on a similar trajectory with its FQ-42 Vengeance CCA.
General Atomics has a number of already flying uncrewed aircraft used to support its FQ-42 development effort, including the MQ-20 Avenger. The MQ-20 is also acting as a CCA surrogate, supporting broader US Air Force efforts to integrate uncrewed fighters with conventional aircraft.
A testbed aircraft like the CP-200 could help Anduril accelerate its own internal development efforts and secure new business supporting testing and integration efforts for government and industry customers.
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