Thales Advances UAS 100 Toward European Certification
Thales has set its sights on achieving European civil certification for its UAS 100 unmanned air system by 2023, following the successful first flight of a half-scale demonstrator on 22 June. Developed in collaboration with French general aviation manufacturer and composite materials specialist Innoaire Aviation, along with autopilot software provider Hionos, the aircraft is designed to combine safety, endurance, and low acoustic signature through a distinctive hybrid propulsion layout.
The UAS 100 features a tri-hull airframe driven by three separate engines: two electric motors and a mid-mounted conventional engine, each connected to its own propeller. This arrangement is intended to enhance redundancy and operational reliability. “Having three engines is part of the safety concept,” stated Marc Duval-Destin, vice-president strategy, product policy and innovation at Thales’s flight avionics business. The aircraft’s wingspan measures 5.4 meters (17 ft 6 in), and it can sustain autonomous flight for up to five hours. Short take-off capability means it requires significantly less runway than a football pitch to become airborne.
With a maximum take-off weight of 100 kg (220 lb) and a payload capacity of 10 kg, the UAS 100 is positioned for a range of commercial and governmental missions. Thales anticipates applications such as powerline inspection, border surveillance, wildfire monitoring, event security, and search and rescue operations. The system can carry multiple payloads simultaneously, for example combining an electro-optical sensor with a GSM signal receiver to aid in locating missing persons.
Military potential is also under consideration, with development supported by France’s Defence Innovation Agency. The modular design allows for mission-specific adaptations, including the option to fit larger wings for extended surveillance endurance. Operational concepts focus on automatic flight in non-segregated airspace, generally below 10,000 ft and potentially as low as 1,500 ft over populated areas. “It is not our aim to operate in controlled airspace,” Duval-Destin emphasized. “Our challenge is to fly in open zones, near general aviation, to be safe doing that with a light system that is easy to operate and deploy.”
Compliance with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s Special Condition – Light Unmanned Aircraft Systems regulations is a core objective. Thales asserts that the UAS 100 will deliver “world-class flight safety performance” for its category. “We have safety features that have no equivalent on the market today,” Duval-Destin said, highlighting the inclusion of co-operative sense-and-avoid technology, with ongoing work to integrate non-cooperative detection capabilities. The platform’s jam-resistant navigation system is designed to maintain safe operation even in electromagnetically dense environments.
Emmanuel Guyonnet, drone programme director at Thales’s flight avionics business, noted, “We will be capable of still flying even after having two failures of our critical systems, and land safely in a known remote area.” This resilience is intended to set a benchmark for light unmanned systems. Yannick Assouad, Thales’s executive vice-president, avionics, remarked that “the new system paves the way for the [unmanned] air mobility solutions of tomorrow,” underscoring its potential role in shaping future aerial logistics and monitoring networks.
Testing with the half-scale prototype will advance toward automatic beyond line-of-sight operations, with a public flight demonstration planned during the UAV Show near Bordeaux on 21 October. The first flight of the full-scale UAS 100 is scheduled for the second half of 2022. Market interest has already materialized, with Duval-Destin noting, “Our first prospects are out of France.”
