BlackBar Engineering Storm

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)

United States | 2023

"The BlackBar Engineering Storm UAS covers the gamut of mission types - versatile enough to serve multiple sectors."

Image from official BlackBar Engineering marketing materials; Used with Permission.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 06/08/2023 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The BBE "Storm" is a man-transportable, multirole Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) designed, developed, and manufactured by BlackBar Engineering of Tuscon, Arizona. This unmanned solution is built with modularity and interoperability in mind, attempting to satisfy a broad customer base in military, civilian, and industry market sectors. As such, the design is a versatile one, capable of undertaking roles falling under the Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR) banner as well as the more dedicated target acquisition, security / border / fisheries enforcement, structural review, convoy support, Search and Rescue (SAR), and humanitarian support sorties.

Beyond its in-built modularity, the Storm is also showcased with the key qualities of ease-of-use and ease-of-transportation - capable of being transported on the back of an individual to then be assembled and made ready to fly in under ten minutes. The UAS has a complete weight of 12lb and, when assembled, sports a wingspan of 6.56 feet with a running length of 4.36 feet (an optional wing extension kit extends the wingspan to 8.85 feet). As no catapult, vehicle, or airfield is necessary in its launch action, the Storm streamlines mission effectiveness while reducing operating costs.

The external arrangement of the UAS is largely conventional, comparable to other ISR UAVs of this class. Over the top of the 3D-printed, slab-sided body (which houses all pertinent operating systems / mission equipment) is the straight mainplane assembly. The wings of the Storm deserve notice for their precision-machined foam construction which allows the unit to survive combat and / or fall damage and can aid in floatation should the air vehicle be forced to ditch into water. A slim tailboom extends rearward of the aircraft's body, terminating with a sole tail fin sitting atop a low-set horizontal plane completing the control scheme. The propeller unit is positioned at the nose in the traditional "puller" aircraft configuration.

With its inherent modularity, the aircraft's payload can be switched out to suit customer requirements and typical installations run the gamut of available Electro-Optical / InfraRed (EO/IR) sets, cameras, and sensors providing real-time data collection delivered directly to the ground-based operator. Moving target tracking is also possible and in-flight autonomy aids the operator in delivering the Storm to the desired target area.

Per BBE marketing materials, the Storm showcases a mission-endurance window of 2.4 hours and can cruise at speeds of 46 miles-per-hour up to an altitude of 3,500 feet. The maximum speed is listed at 113mph. Control is via a handheld set. A hardened case is also featured for air-transporting / air-dropping actions, this either from rotary-wing or fixed-wing elements, when air-drops are needed in support of ground operations (accuracy tested up to 3 meters at the drop point). This allows ground forces to simply collect, assemble, and launch the unit.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the BlackBar Engineering Storm Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).

1 x Battery-powered electric drive with propeller at nose in puller arrangement.
Propulsion

113 mph
182 kph | 98 kts
Max Speed

3,501 ft
1,067 m | 0 miles
Service Ceiling

50 miles
81 km | 44 nm
Operational Range

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the BlackBar Engineering Storm Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).

0
(UNMANNED)
Crew

4.3 ft
1.30 m
O/A Length

6.6 ft
(2.00 m)
O/A Width

11 lb
(5 kg)
Empty Weight

11 lb
(5 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the BlackBar Engineering Storm Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) .

Payload supports various optics and sensor equipment installations.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the BlackBar Engineering Storm family line.

Storm - Base Series Name.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the BlackBar Engineering Storm. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 10 Units
Contractor(s): BlackBar Engineering (BBE) - USA

[ United Kingdom (probable); United States (probable) ]

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Image from official BlackBar Engineering marketing materials; Used with Permission.

Going Further...
The BlackBar Engineering Storm Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) appears in the following collections:

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