According to the Ettelaat newspaper published on Nov. 8, 2012, the “first vertical takeoff drone in the world” with the name of Koker 1 (Koker is the name of a beautiful bird) was successfully flight-tested and about to be officially unveiled next month at island of Kish.
The tilt-wing unmanned aircraft is equipped with four noise-reduced engines and reportedly features some ultra-advanced technology as multidirectional radars, long-range optics, satellite communication devices, radar evasive devices.
It will be capable of travelling in day and night with 3 hours of continuous flight time up to 170 Km radius up to 12,000 ft, and will also be solar powered.
The drone is developed by the research team of Saman communication group from the state of Mazandaran which previously developed the “Likoo” drone.
Koker 1 will be displayed in the air show scheduled for Dec. 11-14 at Kish Island.
Obviously, it is not the first VTOL drone in the world. Nor is it the only tilt-wing robot being tested or operated: NASA and other less famous companies have been developing unmanned aircraft with tilting wings since some years.
On Oct. 14 Iran announced new combat drone capable of carrying missiles for air defense missions whereas in September, Tehran unveiled the new “Shahed 129″ a new UCAV (unmanned combat aerial vehicle) largely based on the Israeli Hermes 450 model.
H/T to Mehran for the heads up and help in translating the article
Image credit: Ettelaat
