Sensor view
SCANDetection at ground station

Bhanexus flagship aircraft Demonstrator in development

ISR VTOL

A fixed-wing VTOL for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It takes off from a 10 m square, flies 30 km out on its wing, and keeps navigating when GNSS is jammed or spoofed.

Illustrative real-time simulation, time-compressed
2.43mWingspan
11.5kgMaximum take-off weight
1.5kgMaximum payload
30kmOperational radius from the ground station
>150kmLongest flight range with a 600 g payload
4,000mPractical ceiling
Drag to rotate

Lift and cruise. Nothing tilts.

Four lift motors carry the aircraft vertically. Once it is moving, a single front motor pulls it along on the wing and the lift motors stop. Separate lift and cruise systems keep the mechanics simple and the failure cases clear.

  • Four lift motorsOn two carbon booms under the wing, for vertical take-off, landing and hover. Stopped in cruise.
  • Front cruise motorTractor propeller in the nose for efficient wing-borne flight.
  • Efficient wing2.43 m span, 72.5 dm² area, sized for long transit and loiter.
  • EO/IR gimbalStabilised daylight and thermal cameras under the nose.
  • Inverted-T tailLow tailplane and swept fin, with wing, tail and fuselage positions optimised for low drag.
  • Tool-free assemblyWing and tail quick-release without tools. IPX3 water resistance.

Technical specifications

Airframe and performance figures for the ISR VTOL. Mission-system figures are the requirements the demonstrator is being built and verified against.

Airframe

Wingspan
2,430 mm
Fuselage length
1,450 mm
Fuselage height
180 mm
Wing area
72.5 dm²
Layout
Inverted-T tail, four lift motors, front cruise motor
Payload bay
280 × 160 × 110 mm
Assembly
Tool-free quick release, wing and tail
Water resistance
IPX3

Performance

Maximum take-off weight
11.5 kg
Maximum payload
1.5 kg
Cruise speed
17–20 m/s
Stall speed
10 m/s
Longest flight range
>150 km with a 600 g payload
Practical ceiling
4,000 m
Wind resistance
Level 5
Take-off and landing
Vertical, 10 × 10 m clear area

Mission systems

Operational radius
30 km from the ground station
Sensors
EO 1080p and LWIR thermal, stabilised gimbal
Live video
720p or better within 10–15 km
Navigation
Dual-band GNSS, terrain map-matching, dead reckoning
Links
Authenticated control, encrypted video, encrypted storage
Crew
Two people, airborne in about 30 minutes (target)

The reference mission

Take off vertically, transit 30 km, loiter over the area of interest, return and land, with at least 20% usable battery energy left at the end of the 30 km profile.

Take-off Transition Transit out, 30 km Loiter on station Return, 30 km Transition Landing Height Battery energy ≥20% energy reserve at the end of the 30 km profile

Illustrative, not to scale. Endurance is a design target, confirmed by analysis and flight test.

What it does

Each capability is written as a traceable requirement and verified by test, analysis, inspection or demonstration.

See by day and night

Electro-optical and thermal imagery of the area of interest, live to the operator.

  • EO imagery at 1080p or better
  • LWIR thermal at 256×192 or better
  • Live video at 720p or better within 10–15 km
  • Onboard recording for post-flight analysis

Navigate without GNSS

Keeps navigating when satellite positioning is denied, degraded or spoofed.

  • Absolute fixes from terrain map-matching
  • Dead-reckoning drift no more than 10% of distance flown
  • Dual-band GNSS for spoofing resistance
  • No uncommanded return-to-launch on GNSS loss

Detect and mark

Objects of interest are detected automatically and marked for the operator.

  • Automated object detection on the received video
  • Real-time position, attitude, mode, battery and link status
  • Operable by a two-person crew in the field

Secure links and data

Command, control and imagery protected in the air and on the ground.

  • Cryptographically authenticated control link
  • End-to-end encrypted video downlink
  • Mission data encrypted at rest on board
  • Low-signature mode: record on board, downlink on demand

Stay contained

Defined, tested behaviour when things go wrong.

  • Configurable geofence and containment action
  • Link-loss contingency: loiter, then return or land
  • Controlled response to a lift-motor failure in hover
  • Launch inhibited if pre-flight checks fail

Fly again tomorrow

Recoverable and reusable, with records for every sortie.

  • Vertical recovery, no runway or launcher
  • Tool-free assembly and IPX3 water resistance
  • Target of 50+ take-off and landing cycles without refurbishment
  • Telemetry and events logged every flight

Built to move to the next airframe

The avionics and software are airframe-agnostic. A flight-critical autopilot core runs the aircraft, and a companion computer carries our navigation, recording and security software. Only the motor and servo mapping belongs to this airframe.

That gives a direct growth path to an allied, supply-chain-compliant product: re-map the outputs and re-tune, without redesigning the software or avionics.

Autopilot and flight softwareSame on every airframe
GNSS-denied navigationSame on every airframe
Secure links and dataSame on every airframe
Payload and ground stationSame on every airframe
Motor and servo mapping, tuningChanges per airframe
Power buses and supply chainChanges per airframe

Flying legally in the UK

Demonstration flights are planned to the current UK CAA framework, checked again before each operation.

CAP 722

UK civil airspace rules for uncrewed aircraft, applied to all demonstration flights.

Specific category

Operations within the limits of a CAA Operational Authorisation, including maximum height and the operational volume.

SORA

Risk assessment that sets the containment, link-performance and contingency behaviour the aircraft must meet.

Crew competency

Flown by a remote crew holding CAA-recognised competency (GVC or equivalent).

Remote ID and records

Remote identification where the CAA requires it, and operational and maintenance records for every flight.

Battery transport

Lithium batteries transported to UN 38.3 and applicable dangerous-goods rules.

Where we are

Integration is bench-first: every subsystem is integrated and its interfaces verified on the bench before it goes on the aircraft. A failed interface stops integration until it is fixed.

  1. Requirements

    Product, system and integration requirements and the integration architecture baselined.

    Complete

  2. Bench integration

    Autopilot, companion computer, navigation, payload and secure links integrated and interface-verified on the bench.

    Next

  3. Ground and tethered

    Propulsion, power and control checks on the ground and in tethered hover.

  4. Flight test

    Hover, transition and wing-borne flight, building up to the 30 km reference mission.

Shape the platform while it is being built

We are looking for investors, aerospace and defence partners, and operators with real ISR missions. Early partners influence the requirements and see the evidence as it is produced.

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