GKN reveals mock-up of Swedish uncrewed air vehicle demonstrator

GKN Aerospace has unveiled the first full-scale mock-up of an uncrewed air vehicle and its accompanying turbojet engine, developed under a rapid development contract for the Swedish defence ministry known as Project Otto.

Sweden awarded the contract, worth SKr150 million ($15.8 million), to GKN in November of last year, giving the firm 18 months to design and demonstrate a low-cost uncrewed platform. According to GKN, the turbojet engine intended to power the demonstrator has already begun running.

Sara Eklof, senior vice-president of government solutions at GKN, said the project had moved from concept to tangible hardware within less than a year. Brigadier Carl-Frederick Ekstrom, head of air and space systems at Sweden's FMV defence materiel administration, said the platform was not meant to become a product itself but rather to show that industry and the armed forces could work together quickly and cheaply to solve problems. He said the exercise was as much about proving a collaborative process as about the vehicle itself.

Ekstrom said he was highly confident the aircraft would fly no later than early next year, though he did not give a precise date.

The vehicle resembles a low-range strike missile or a one-way effector, according to GKN, with a range of roughly 600 to 1,000 kilometres, a payload capacity of 100 to 300 kilograms, and high subsonic speed. It can be launched from the air or the ground.

GKN said it drew on expertise across its global operations for the project, with its Dutch division responsible for producing the composite fuselage, according to Joakim Andersson, the company's president of engines.