Project authorization was issued for the Nauru 500C model, a drone that can perform BVLOS operations up to 60km and over 400ft
Pioneering is the word that best describes the entire trajectory of the Nauru 500C RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft), developed by Brazilian manufacturer XMobots. Ten years after the first generation of the model (Nauru 500A) received authorization from ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) for experimental flights, the 25 kg aerial robot - now in its 3rd generation (Nauru 500C) - obtained an unprecedented certification from the Agency in Brazil: the first project authorization for a drone with an eVTOL system, i.e. equipment capable of taking off and landing vertically, using electric propulsion for these procedures.
The ceremony to announce the conclusion of the project approval took place at ANAC's headquarters in São José dos Campos on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 29.
In a context in which aeronautical companies around the world have begun the race to launch the first flying car - one of the premises of which is eVTOL technology - the approval of the Nauru 500C project is seen as strategic for Brazil, even if the drone's purpose is mapping and surveillance of large areas.
"We're talking about the first eVTOL drone project in Brazil. eVTOL technology is very promising and will certainly revolutionize several markets, but especially agriculture, logistics and urban mobility. The approval of this project is a very important milestone for XMobots, as it makes us the first company to achieve certification of an eVTOL in the country. I'm sure that this certification is another step towards our goal of making drones a reality for our children and grandchildren, to the point where they become commonplace in everyone's daily lives," says Giovani Amianti, founder and CEO of XMobots.
The Nauru 500C drone certification campaign lasted three years and included numerous flight tests. In addition to eVTOL technology, one of the highlights of the ANAC-authorized project is the extension of the BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) flight envelope to a distance of 60 kilometers.
For Décio Gomes Palhas Junior, XMobots' Certification Manager, the authorization also represents a milestone in that ANAC has expanded the BVLOS operating envelope to a range of 60Km for the first time in Brazil. Until then, the record was 30km, held by the Echar 20D model, also developed and manufactured by XMobots. "The expansion of the operational envelope and the introduction of an electric vertical take-off and landing system posed major challenges for certification and for achieving the satisfactory levels of system safety required by ANAC, challenges that were overcome with a lot of hard work," says Palhas Junior.
During the ceremony, Pedro Paludo, technical manager of ANAC's Certification Programs, congratulated XMobots on the unprecedented certification: "Today we are welcoming XMobots for winning the first design authorization for the Nauru 500C, the first fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft/drone with the longest flight range ever approved by ANAC, with a range of 60km. It was a long project, developed by the company over the last 3 years. Congratulations on this milestone," said Paludo.
For Giovani Amianti, the project approval for the Nauru 500C goes down in XMobots' history as an important step for the company's future. "XMobots is consolidating its position as the largest drone certifier in Brazil. It has always worked and continues to work on expanding the operational envelope of drones, and is the only Brazilian company that produces drones certified to perform BVLOS flights above 10km and or above 400 feet. The work continues, with the certainty that we will bring great contributions to Brazilian society," concludes the CEO of XMobots.
About the Nauru 500C:
With a hybrid propulsion system (gasoline and battery), the Nauru 500C is a fixed-wing drone capable of autonomous flights of up to 4 hours. Its eVTOL technology allows it to take off and land in confined spaces or places with reduced infrastructure, which makes it a strategic piece of equipment for public security agencies, law enforcement agencies and others. Its payload can be configured with either mapping sensors or sensors for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) operations, which consist of video cameras embedded in a stabilized gimbal, transmitting images in real time in both the RGB (visible spectrum) and thermal (infrared) bands.
About XMobots:
XMobots was founded in 2007 and with the mission of developing the mobile robot market with cutting-edge technology and the dream of making mobile robotics a reality in everyday life, XMobots specialized in the development and manufacture of remotely piloted aircraft, becoming the largest in Latin America.
Today the XMobots team has more than 250 employees, including 80 engineers in the Research and Development team.
Producing and offering fixed-wing, multi-rotor and hybrid drones and serving a wide range of markets, including agriculture, XMobots continues to consolidate several milestones in the history of remotely piloted aircraft in Brazil. And over the course of its history, its body of shareholders has been gaining important companies, such as the most recent, Embraer.
X-ray of the Nauru 500C:
- Weight: 25 Kg (ANAC Class 3)
- Range: 60 KM
- Autonomy: 4 hours
- Flight ceiling: 3,000 M
- Wind resistance: 60Km/h
- Propulsion: Hybrid (aviation gasoline and battery)
- Infrastructure composition: Carbon and fiberglass
- Take-off and Landing: eVTOL
- Need for a runway: No