Heavy duty sensor drone for helicopter replacement

Helicopters emit large amounts of CO2 per flight hour and per kilometer. A large portion helicopters flight hours are dedicated to sensor missions such as police and military surveillance, reindeer herding, border control, search and rescue, and more. To tackle these emissions, Katla has developed a scale prototype of an advanced drone with the aim of being large enough to accommodate relevant sensors but small enough to have low energy consumption and cost.

The drone is fully battery-powered, with negligible emissions compared to helicopters. The prototype has been shown to be able to fly in harsh winds and has the potential to handle both icing conditions, poor visibility, and precipitation, which is a prerequisite for replacing helicopters with sensors that often perform critical societal tasks.

Katla is now ready to continue development from prototypes to a fully developed product to replace helicopters under all operating conditions, for which this application is submitted.