South African company SSASS Holdings (Solutions, Sensors, Aircraft, Software and Services) is assembling fixed wing vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at its new Centurion facility for surveillance, monitoring and other tasks.
SSASS CEO Dean Polley, exhibiting at the Aero South Africa exhibition at Wonderboom airport last week, told defenceWeb that his company opened a new premises in Centurion in September last year and is assembling its SR series fixed wing aircraft with a quadcopter component for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). Transitioning to horizontal flight gives far greater range than pure VTOL aircraft.
SSASS offers a range of UAV solutions, but its largest and most important types are its SR series, offered for aerial surveillance and monitoring, surveying, mapping and photogrammetry, agriculture and farming, law enforcement and other roles.
The SR-50 is the largest in the series with a 4.8 metre wingspan, 15 kg payload, 82 km/h speed and 50-100 km control range. The SR-50E electric version has a 4.5 hour endurance while the SR-50H petrol version can fly for ten hours.
In the middle is the SR-25E with a 4.2 metre wingspan, 10 kg payload, 3.5 hour endurance, 70 km/h speed and 50-100 km control range. On the smaller side is the SR-10E with a 2.4 metre wingspan, 1.5 kg payload, three hour endurance, 70 km/h top speed and 10 km control range.
Each aircraft is built to order in line with client specifications and can be fitted with multiple payload options in a quickly detachable payload pod. Payload options range from mapping systems to electro-optical/infrared cameras with object tracking etc. For military applications, although the aircraft are designed for use in non-combat security and surveillance roles, they do facilitate the installation and integration of select weapon systems that could be used in supporting ground troop operations if required.
SSASS completed tests flights of its first SR-25E in February, and has a first local client for the model, which is fitted with a RIEGL miniVUX-1UAV laser scanning system but the open payload bay can accommodate a multitude of customised payload applications – the client has three payload options.
Airframes are manufactured in China and the avionics are sourced from uAvionix Corporation in the United States, with assembly and customisation in South Africa. Total lead time from order to delivery of an aircraft is six to eight weeks, including airframe manufacture, payload integration, and testing.
The avionics supplied by uAvionix Corporation include the George G3 autopilot, truFYX GPS, SkyLink radio systems, pingRX Pro ADS-B receiver and a ping200X Mode S ADS-B transponder. What differentiates the SR series from other platforms is the separation of the command and control (C2) radio link from the data and gimbal control radio link. The onboard SkyLink air radio system is seamlessly integrated with the George autopilot and is paired with the SkyStation ground radio system. This provides a Control and a Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) link which is unique to unmanned systems. Multiple SkyStations can be deployed to support network and frequency roaming on the SkyLine C2 network.
With the 10 Watt radio, UAV communications range is 160 km, but if the radios are connected to Starlink satellite, communications range could be unlimited, and the aircraft could be flown from anywhere.
In addition to UAVs, SSASS brought to Aero South Africa 2024 its UAV mobile operations vehicle, which contains a fully configured ground control station. It also displayed its various avionic components – SSASS is a reseller of Sagetech micro transponders, and supplies these for the locally manufactured Milkor 380 UAV – the largest such aircraft designed and built in Africa.
Drone in a box
SSASS sees a bright future for UAVs, especially as artificial intelligence and automation make them more accessible, and prices continue to come down. One new innovation Polley sees promise in is the ‘drone in a box’. On the SSASS display stand at Aero South Africa was a DJI Dock 2 ‘drone in a box’ – a self-contained UAV launching system complete with weather station and power supply. An operator can install the box and leave it until connecting from anywhere in the world to either launch and fly the drone manually or autonomously – on day one of Aero SA 2024, SSASS flew a ‘drone in a box’ mission from 40 km away.
The UAV can be automatically launched to perform pre-programmed surveillance routes, for example, and when it’s done it returns to the box and charges up for the next mission through wireless induction charging. Endurance is 35-40 minutes and range 7 km. In South Africa, one of the first applications is deployment in a residential estate in Johannesburg.
Polley told defenceWeb the ‘drone in a box’ solution would be ideal for mining surveillance – one client manually flies UAVs to detect illegal miners every night, but the operators require an armed guard as there have been attacks on them. Using a ‘drone in a box’ solution would reduce the risk and staff required and reduce overall costs, he said.
