Emirati defense firm EDGE has taken its new JERNAS-M long-endurance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drone airborne for the first time, showcasing a design based on a civilian kit plane.
The medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is based on the Velocity, a canard-winged kit aircraft, and retains its distinctive forward-canard configuration.
The similarities extend across the airframe, including the small forward wing surfaces, rear-mounted propeller, fuselage profile, cockpit canopy, and landing gear arrangement.
According to The Defence Blog, adapting the civilian airframe for autonomous operations could reduce development costs and help make the drone more competitive.
“Built for constant vigilance. JERNAS-M provides dependable surveillance and target tracking in an efficient, cost-effective solution built for modern air defense. Delivering the capability that matters, where it matters most,” the company stated.
Inside the JERNAS-M
The JERNAS-M has an empty weight of 590 kilograms (1,301 pounds), a maximum takeoff weight of 1,200 kilograms (2,646 pounds), and a wingspan of 10 meters (32.8 feet).
The drone can cruise at up to 240 kilometers (149 miles) per hour and remain airborne for up to 20 hours on ISR missions or 12 hours when carrying its maximum payload.
It has a line-of-sight range of up to 3,600 kilometers (2,237 miles), along with a 350-liter (92.5-gallon) fuel capacity and a fuel consumption rate of 17 liters (4.5 gallons) per hour.
JERNAS-M is powered by a four-stroke, four-cylinder horizontally opposed engine that produces 185 horsepower at 5,800 rpm for takeoff.
