Loitering munitions have joined the many unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that for years have been used for various military purposes, such as intelligence, reconnaissance, mapping or surveillance (ISR) missions. Others, such as MALE or tactical UAVs, have an offensive role and are used for combat missions.

Loitering munitions, also known as loitering drones or suicide drones, are a type of UAV that carries a payload and allows loitering around a target until the precise moment when the target is detected or conditions are right to carry out the attack. This is why they offer faster reaction times, while offering high accuracy. They are designed to neutralise ground targets from a distance and their design allows them to evade anti-aircraft defences.

Main advantages

This offensive system offers important advantages on the battlefield, as they are easy to store and transport, which gives them operationally shorter deployment times and allows greater agility in the development of the mission.

At relatively low cost, these intelligent systems can include beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) capabilities and high levels of manoeuvrability, as well as being equipped with state-of-the-art technology, allowing them to include an advanced data link for the transmission of mission data to all military units in the loop.

Some of the main advantages offered by loitering munitions or kamikaze drones are:

• Low cost
• Portable / fast deployable
• Easy to operate
• Flexible
• Accuracy and precision
• Usable in all phases of battle (attack, defence, retreat and advance)
• Mission abort function to avoid collateral damage

One of the critical features of these intelligent systems is that they allow to quickly switch from standard mode before detecting the target, to attack mode once detected, where high precision is needed as the target may be tiny, moving or even another autonomous vehicle.

For such missions where precision is a critical feature, Veronte Autopilot’s advanced technology offers UAV manufacturers precision and reliability, as well as extensive customisation and automation possibilities, including model-based design, which allows the creation of customised navigation logic programmes and control algorithms from an easy-to-use interface.

In addition, Veronte Autopilot allows the integration of Artificial Vision, which increases the precision in the designation of the target, with automatic tracking functions even in environments with loss of communications or GNSS navigation. This avoids interference techniques of navigation systems such as Jamming or Spoofing, which can hinder or prevent the correct development of the mission by altering the quality of the positioning signals or even supplanting them.

At Embention, we offer manufacturers of this type of UAV an adapted version of our Veronte Autopilot with all the functionalities and reliability of the same at a low cost. All this, with a very reduced size and weight.