Brazil’s XMobots is working to integrate its Nauru 1000C fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing
(VTOL) long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with the MBDA Enforcer Air guided
missile.
The integration could be achieved by 2025, Giovani Amianti, XMobots’ CEO, told Janes.
The team is doing a proof-of-concept study for the integration, Olivier Melamed, international cooperation and offset manager at MBDA, told Janes . A feasibility study is planned, and three test
launches will be conducted at a later stage, he added.
The UAV can be equipped with two side-mounted launch tubes, each capable of launching a single
missile.
XMobots and MBDA signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2022 to explore
integrating the missile into the UAV.
The Nauru 1000C is today fitted for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), with the
ability to receive the XMobots XSIS222A electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) gimbal, a 3D scanner, and
a ground moving target indication and synthetic aperture radar, according to Amianti.
The fire-and-forget 89 mm precision-guided, day-and-night Enforcer Air missile with an EO/IR
seeker and a multi-effects warhead was designed to engage lightly armoured and soft-skinned
vehicles up to 8 km.
The 2.9 m-long UAV features a wingspan of 7.7 m, a maximum payload of 18 kg, a maximum
take-off weight (MTOW) of 150 kg, 10 hour autonomy, a cruise speed of 112 km/h, a service
ceiling of 10,000 ft, and a maximum range of 60 km, Amianti said.
The Brazilian Army has expressed interest in arming its three Nauru 1000C UAVs (designated the
V2-1 Nauru), which were ordered in December 2019 and entered service in 2021 in a BRL15.7
million (USD2.9 million) contract. The 6th Military Intelligence Battalion operates the aircraft in
the ISR role.
XMobots has also developed an ISR version of its hybrid-powered fixed-wing VTOL UAV, Nauru
500C.
The Nauru 500C ISR has a wingspan of 3.5 m and a length of 2.9 m. The aircraft weighs 29 kg and
has a seven-hour endurance, with a top speed of 60 km/h with a 2 kg payload, Amianti said.
Jane´s Defence Weekly
Victor Barreira – Rio de Janeiro
Publicado em 23 de março de 2023.