Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, has released its latest small UAS product, the Skiron Expeditionary sUAS, or SKIRON-X. This Group 2 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) combines the simple operation of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) configuration with the longer range and endurance of a fixed-wing design. SKIRON-X is a flexible solution for effective deployment across a wide variety of environments.

With an EO/IR camera that provides excellent ground resolution, a low noise signature, and a military-grade radio, SKIRON-X is well suited for airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. For operations requiring a variable or custom payload, SKIRON-X has a modular nosecone design enabling quick payload swaps and custom integrations.

SKIRON-X operations are quick to train, and user-friendly mission planning software makes it easy to implement mission changes, even during flight. It takes 15 minutes from setup to launch and 10 minutes to pack out. The air vehicle is FAA PART 107 compliant, providing flexibility to fly in more areas for testing, training, and data collection.

“At Aurora, we are excited to bring to market a product that is both simple to deploy and highly capable,” said Mike Caimona, president and CEO. “We are looking forward to supporting our customers with the customized features and services they need to take SKIRON-X into the field and collect aerial data that is critical to their mission.”

The first customer for SKIRON-X is Bridger Aerospace. Bridger has purchased two systems and will deploy them for the 2023 fire season. The SKIRON-X sUAS will complement their growing aviation fleet to provide data and imagery to help firefighters be more effective and safer.

The SKIRON-X systems were recently delivered to Bridger Aerospace to begin deployment preparations. Aurora will provide customer support while continuing product development and testing activities to optimize the product for Bridger and for additional customer use cases.