IDEX 2023: EDGE unmanned air systems, today Reach-S, tomorrow Jeniah
With autonomy as one of its main pillars, EDGE, the UAE main defence industrial group, exhibited at IDEX the mock-ups of its Reach-S and Jeniah, the first one a conventional UAS capable to be armed, the second being a UCAV with stealth characteristics.
The first hint of a new UAS being developed by EDGE appeared in November 2021, when the mock-up was exhibited at the Dubai Air Show. Twenty-seven months later at IDEX it was announced that the Reach-S has already started its flight test programme. Developed by Halcon, the short time from computer screens to first flight was well explained by H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, the Chairman of the UAE group, in the interview he gave to EDR On-Line during the Abu Dhabi exhibition.
The Reach-S has the typical twin-boom architecture; linked to the wings, the two booms sustain an inverted-V tail plane. The aerodynamic fuselage is fitted with a forward tricycle landing gear, the forward leg being retractable, the body top rear hosting the air intake for the 110 hp Rotax 912 four-stroke four-cylinders piston engine that activates a pushing propeller. Overall length is 5.5 meters, while wingspan is 12 meters, the Reach-S having a 24 hours endurance and a 19,000 feet operational ceiling, the data link range being 200 km. Maximum speed is 200 km/h, while cruise speed is 145 km/h, payload being 120 kg over a 640 kg maximum take-off mass.
The payload includes not only sensors but also weapons; the mock-up was fitted with two Desert Sting Single Rack per wing, each carrying a Desert Sting 16 guided bomb produced by Halcon itself. A 23 kg ordnance with a 12 kg warhead, it is equipped with a GAINS (GNSS Augmented Information Navigation System), a semi-active laser seeker being also fitted, the combination of the two providing a 3 meters CEP while the satellite guidance only ensures a 10 meters CEP. Declared range is over 15 km, however this is when the DS 16 is launched from 30,000 ft, therefore the range should be less than 10 km when launched from the Search-S. It is to note that the four-racks, four bombs configuration totals 144 kg, which exceeds the declared payload; this configuration means that structurally speaking the wing can sustain a 74 kg load, the mass of two racks and two bombs, an attack mission probably accepting an endurance reduced by 15-20% that should allow a sufficient a trade-off between weapons load and fuel. While defence companies seldom reveal the price of their systems, the Reach-S was an exception. “Besides the short development time, the real disruption comes from cost. As similar systems cost falls between 3.5 and 5 million US$, our Reach-S will have a tag price of 1.1 million US$, which means over 70% lower than the average in that same category with similar specifications,” H.E. Faisal Al Bannai explained, underlining his company philosophy which aim is to be agile, fast and efficient. The final answer now goes to the market.
While the Reach-S is now a reality, the other top-notch unmanned air system exhibited by EDGE at IDEX is still in the development phase. The Jeniah is definitely an unmanned combat air vehicle, UCAV in short, with a typical stealth configuration, which is being developed by ADASI (Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments), the EDGE entity specialised in autonomy. Its black shape attracted many visitors who were passing in the main aisle of the ADNEC exhibition centre. The Jeniah is 10.5 meters long and is fitted with trapezoidal wings with a 6.5 meters span and a V-shaped tail-plane. Maximum take-off mass is in excess of 4,000 kg, with a payload of 480 kg representing slightly more than 10%. All the weapon load is obviously hosted in the weapons bay, to ensure maximum stealthness. Propulsion is provided by an unspecified jet engine, which will ensure a maximum speed in excess of 1,000 km/h, cruise speed being Mach 0.8. No indication of the level of autonomy were provided, but we must expect the Jeniah being fitted with a top-level package. When will the EDGE UCAV fly? Will ADASI be able to follow the same path of the Reach-S with a much more advanced system? And will it be as disruptive in terms of pricing as its more conventional cousin? Answers will probably come at IDEX 2025.
Photos by P. Valpolini
