DEFEA 2025 – EDGE Autonomy: Penguin C VTOL, adding aerodynamics to vertical operations capability
When considering an aircraft range, reducing the drag is a key issue. This is what EDGE Autonomy did on its Penguin C VTOL UAS, showcased at DEFEA. Not new, it was however interesting to have a closer look at the solution adopted
Adding a motorised pod under each wing of a UAS, transforming it into a VTOL platform, has become standard issue. The four rotors, two for each pod, provide vertical lift at the beginning and at the end of the mission, while once airborne a horizontal thrust system, usually a rear electric motor or internal combustion engine, drives a propeller which generates the forward speed capable to exploit wings lift.
At this point the vertical lift suite is turned off, to be switched on again at landing. During the whole mission the propellers will remain still, aligned with the pod, their presence generating vortex that in turn increase drag, therefore reducing the overall aerodynamic efficiency of the platform.
A solution to this issue comes from Latvia, where the Penguin C VTOL was designed in Latvia, the UAV being now part of EDGE Autonomy portfolio, a US company that maintains a facility in Riga.
The solution was theoretically quite simple; hiding propellers under an aerodynamic cover. Practically things are a bit more complicated, as this means adding mass to the system, as well as complexity, going against an old engineers say, “what is not there does not fail”. Latvian engineers developed a very light cover which is lifted when VTOL propellers operate, leaving sufficient space to allow them rotating freely. When the vertical lift is not necessary anymore, propellers align with the pod and the cover is lowered, giving the pod the best possible aerodynamic shape, thus reducing drag as much as possible. In the drag reduction versus mass increase equation, the first element wins, as EDR On-Line understood that this solution allowed increasing the Penguin C VTOL efficiency by 30%.
The UAV is powered by a 56 cc two-cylinder electronic fuel injection engine using unleaded gasoline or C10 fuel, and fitted with a proprietary silent muffler to reduce acoustic signature. The engine provides a 3.2 kW output (around 4.3 hp), and allows the EDGE Autonomy UAV to remain airborne between 10 and 14 hours, depending on the payload installed. Maximum payload is 4.5 kg, over a maximum take-off mass of 42 kg. EDGE Autonomy proposes the gimbals developed by its Octopus ISR Systems division, available in different sizes and quality, ranging from HD to 4K resolution for the day channel and from WIR to LWIR for the thermal one.
Another interesting feature of the Penguin C VTOL is that the front part of the fuselage, under which the optronic payload is fitted, rotates 180°, bringing the gimbal in the upper position when the airframe is close to the ground, avoiding any possible damage.
The Penguin C VTOL has a 4.1 metres wingspan, flies at a cruise speed between 53 and 58 knots, maximum speed being 70 knots, can reach a 13,000 ft altitude while maximum take-off altitude is 2,000 metres.
A compete system is made of one ground control station, one tracking antenna, the Silvus UHF, L,C or S band 10 W data link ensuring a range coverage up to 180 km, and three aircraft. These are transported, disassembled in rugged cases, the mass of the overall system being under 650 kg, easily transportable on a light vehicle. The crew is made of two operators, who can make the system ready to operate in less than 30 minutes.
EDR On-Line understood the Penguin C VTOL is in service with an undisclosed customer. New products are being developed, apparently without the drag-reduction solution. This might indicate some issues with reliability, what is there can fail, however benefits are undoubtedly interesting, hence similar solutions might well appear again in the future to considerably improve endurance performances of airborne platforms with a C/VTOL architecture.
Photos by P. Valpolini
