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Comparative Analysis of Fixed-Wing, Rotary-Wing and Hybrid Mini Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) from the Applications Perspective

P. S. RAMESH*,1
, J. V. MURUGA LAL JEYAN1
*Corresponding author
1
Department of Aerospace, School of Mechanical Engineering,
Lovely Professional University,
Jallandhar 144411 India,
[email protected]*, [email protected]
DOI: 10.13111/2066-8201.2022.14.1.12
Received: 17 December 2021/ Accepted: 07 February 2022/ Published: March 2022
Copyright © 2022. Published by INCAS. This is an “open access” article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Mini Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) present distinct design challenges due to their manportable, field-deployable profile. The implications of various unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design
configurations for Mini UAS applications are discussed in this study. Fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and
hybrid Mini UAS design configurations are analysed and compared based on performance parameters
specified by various manufacturers to assess appropriateness for military and civil applications. Mini
UAS designed for military applications can meet most requirements in the civil domain. However, the
reverse is seldom feasible because of several restrictions imposed by combat conditions. Fixed-wing
Mini UAS have significant limitations for military applications, primarily because of launch and
recovery considerations. For civil applications, the fixed-wing configuration provides multiple
advantages. The benefit of the rotary-wing configuration's compact size to overcome various
battlespace restrictions for military applications does not translate to other performance parameters,
and this is a serious limitation for its applications. The hybrid profile has significant design advantages
that can be leveraged for both military and civil applications. The interrelation between design, enduse requirements and terrain restrictions presented in the paper provides an insight into the
implications of the design configurations of Mini UAS for various applications.
Key Words: Mini UAV, UAS Design, UAV Applications, Classification UAV