ShadowVu Ltd, based in Oxfordshire in the UK, has revealed the results of studies into Ultra-High Volume One Way Suicide Drones in the form of the FW1 (Fixed-Wing UAV) and the QC1 (Quad Copter).
These two prototype designs are for military applications under NATO Class one to three.
There are many advantages to ultra-high levels of drone production, not only in significant cost reduction, but also in enabling very large intelligent swarms for various missions such as attacking with overwhelming force using munitions, electronic warfare countermeasures to confuse the enemy, as well as intelligence gathering, surveillance and observation.
The FW1 and QC1 can also be used as a force doubler with every soldier being issued a drone as well as being used in special operations. Ultra-high drone production methods also make them ideal for one-way suicide missions.
According to ShadowVu these numbers are not currently seen in the global drone industry: 20 parts every one minute, assembly times of one every three minutes and up-to 10 million units per year (numbers extrapolated from individual production methods).
The FW1 and QC1 can be put into production rapidly to aid the war in Ukraine, with professional and consumer models following on. Both are designed for multi-mission payloads that can easily be adapted and will require little-to-no set-up out of the box.
The following factors were studied:
- The production UAVs (or FPV drones) in very high volume
- The use of a minimum of 85% sustainable materials
- A minimum of 85%+ of all parts to be manufactured in-house
- Disposable per unit cost (circa $£€100)
- An open electronics platform for third party integration
- A closed loop supply chain within NATO countries
ShadowVu Ltd’s production methods and FW1 and QC1 technical details are still under wraps. However, ShadowVu Ltd’s, Founder, Jim Thomson is very confident that all the manufacturing can be completed under one roof, in a single dedicated factory.
As a start-up, ShadowVu Ltd is open to discussions with interested parties within the NATO family, as well as potential partners and investors.
