- 27 May 2008 -
KaZaK makes UAV wings

LOW-COST, lightweight carbon-epoxy wings for unmanned aerial vehicles (UVAs) have been developed by KaZaK Composites Inc. of Long Beach, California, USA. They could be used by the US Navy and the Air Force, which are defining new missions for air-deployable disposable UAVs.

The wings have a high fibre volume resulting in good strength-to-weight ratios with weight savings over aluminium wings of the same strength. Low production costs are achieved by using inexpensive materials combined with pultrusion processing. According to a paper published by KaZaK, making equivalent products by manual lay-up is 275% more expensive per part, and takes much longer than pultrusion.

“In the past, handmade wings were often the first choice for UAVs,” says John Schickling, EVP, COO/CFO of KaZaK Composites. “Unfortunately, some of the newer platforms being developed for UAVs cannot be burdened with the higher cost of handmade wings if the unit is deemed expendable. KaZaK has designed a wing that is both cost efficient and suitable for use on UAVs.”

KaZaK produces high performance composites for the aerospace, manufacturing and commercial markets.

KaZaK; www.kazakcomposites.com

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