Paramount unveils VTOL V-Raven drone

Paramount, the South African company, has introduced a vertical take-off and landing uncrewed aerial vehicle built mainly for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The V-Raven was shown for the first time earlier this month at the Africa Aerospace & Defence exhibition near Pretoria. It is a development of an earlier rail-launched model, the N-Raven.

According to Paramount, the aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 65kg and cruises at roughly 75kt. It can carry a range of electro-optical and infrared sensors.

In its standard petrol-engined setup, the company cites a maximum range of 648nm and eight hours of endurance. With an electric propulsion option, those figures fall to 135nm and two hours.

Paramount says African armed forces face growing and complex security problems across large, hard-to-reach territories. They need sustained surveillance to watch remote areas, follow movements and build situational awareness where conventional aviation infrastructure is scarce or absent.

A light-attack version was shown at the exhibition fitted with Rheinmetall's LongClaw lightweight glide bombs. Paramount says this variant will be developed in stages, with work covering integration of systems, ground tests and flight trials to validate the platform and its mission equipment over time. The immediate priority remains the ISR configuration, while the family design leaves room for other mission setups, according to the company.