united 40 goes twin
by: Published: 19 feb 2013
one of the most impressive displays in the outside exhibition area is adcom’s united 40 medium-altitude, longendurance (male) unmanned air vehicle, writes david donald.
The design was first revealed in 2011 at the dubai air show, its name reflecting the 40th anniversary of the united arab emirates that was celebrated that year.
Since that time, the design has evolved from the block 1 configuration shown at dubai to the block 5 that is on display here.
Originally powered by a tail-mounted rotax pusher engine, which was augmented for take-off/ climb by an internal electric motor, the design now features a pair of tractor engines under the forward wings, and has a taller fin. With a fuel tank capacity of 1,400 litres, the united 40 has a claimed endurance of more than 100 hours. Maximum payload is 1,050kg and ceiling is 8,000m.
Based in abu dhabi, adcom (stand cp-320) has forged a reputation for taking innovative approaches to uav design, and the united 40 does not disappoint on account of its serpentine fuselage and tandem-wing layout.
The latter was adopted as it provides very forgiving centre-of-gravity limits, and it reduces ground footprint when compared with a more traditional wing configuration.
Adcom began flight tests with small-scale tandem-wing designs in 2009, with increasingly larger vehicles being flown. The united 40 has been flown in its block 5 configuration.
United 40 can carry up to 10 powered precision bombs, with four carried externally on pylons under the rear wing, and six more on an internal launcher.
The weapons have a swivelling wing and a small jet engine.
