10 February 2025
There are drones to be aware of, then there are drones to give very wide berth. Don’t even think about getting in the rearview mirror (or rear-facing camera) of the Pipistrel Nuuva 300.
Pipistrel, well known for its innovative light sport aircraft and the Panthera tourer, has successful flown in a hover its large capacity hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing cargo drone, the Nuuva 300.
This thing is big. Overall length is 11.3 metres (33ft 1in). Wingspan is 13.m (43ft 4in). Max takeoff weight is 1700kg (3750 lb).
The Pipistrel Nuuva 300 – the 300 refers to the 300kg payload – is also fast with a max cruise speed of 119ktas and a range of 160nm.
The Nuuva loads cargo through the nose of the fuselage and is designed to hold up to three cargo pallets or loose cargo up to 106 cubic feet.
“We are thrilled to witness the Nuuva V300’s first flight, a demonstration of our leadership in emerging technology and advanced air mobility, as well as our commitment to multi-purpose aviation solutions,” said Kriya Shortt, President & CEO of Textron eAviation. Textron acquired Pipistrel in 2022.
“The Nuuva V300’s unique capabilities and robust design will not only transform logistics but also play a crucial role in commercial and defense missions such as search and rescue, humanitarian aid, disaster relief and ship-to-shore deliveries.”
The Nuuva V300 is remotely monitored by an operator at the ground control station, developed in cooperation with Textron Systems, enabling fully automatic point-and-click operations. Textron Systems has “millions of operational UAS flight hours in support of several US Army Programs”.
Pipistrel explained that the aircraft is equipped with automatic Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight capabilities. It will transition from vertical to forward flight on its wings and follow the most recent flight plan until landing. The first air vehicle is powered by a fly-by-wire, triple-redundant flight control system supplied by Honeywell.
