The Inhibitor drone is an unmanned aerial system with the purpose of supporting ground troops on the front line. The UAS can carry multiple payload types and is capable of flight in complex indoor environments usually only accessible by soldiers.

The Inhibitor is certainly the most complex project I have contributed to. To sustain indoors flight a large number of sensors were installed across the body. These sensors required a sturdy and rugged packaging to survive contact with the environment and the strain of military operations. In combination with these challenges, the weight limit of each part was extremely strict to ensure sufficient flight time for the mission.

We had to pull all the stops to successfully deliver and showcase prototypes to customers. All elements of the UAS are contained within a monocoque composite body providing the best robustness to weight ratio. Locally reinforcing the body in high-impact zones allowed us to spend the weight budget elsewhere, such as a modular battery design capable of separating each cell for air transport. My personal favourite of the project was the design of the sensor packs located throughout the UAS. They offered a great combination of structural, thermal, optical, mass and servicing challenges with a huge sense of reward at the end!