Thales announced it has successfully completed the first flight of the 1/2 scale prototype of its long-range drone, the UAS100.

The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) was developed in cooperation with Issoire Aviation and Hionos and with the support of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

"With this new long-range UAS, Thales is providing the trusted solution needed for civil, government and military inspection and security applications,” Yannick Assouad, the Executive Vice-President of Avionics at Thales commented. “As well as meeting today's operational requirements, the new system paves the way for the air mobility solutions of tomorrow." 

Intended for various applications such as large infrastructure inspection, coastal or border surveillance, search and rescue operations, or even defense missions, the UAS100 will have a range of over 100 kilometers (62 miles). 

Its two electric motors will offer a reduced carbon footprint and cost and enough discretion to operate over populated areas. In addition, a conventional engine will ensure enough redundancy in case of failure, thus meeting the criteria of the newly adopted European SC-LUAS (Special Condition - Light Unmanned Aircraft Systems) regulations.