Embention and SkyRunner team up on autonomous MK 3.2

The partners say Veronte converts the crewed MK 3.2 into an expendable, unmanned aircraft that can work without airfields or other support. It brings three functions.

The aircraft can start its mission with nobody aboard, which lets it deploy from rugged ground, front-line locations or hidden sites. Once airborne, operators plan routes through waypoints for intelligence, supply and reconnaissance flights over complicated terrain. At the end of the mission a remote pilot takes over for the last approach, recovery or a change of position, a mode aimed at areas where GPS is unreliable or communications are restricted.

Uses cited for the unmanned aircraft include operating in zones where jamming keeps small drones on the ground, delivering supplies to the final destination with no crew at risk, scouting farther than ground vehicles go, entering terrain with no runway or road, and helping casualties or evacuating them from contested zones. In the companies’ view the MK 3.2 fills a gap between small UAVs, ground robots and crewed aviation. They market it as a cheap, expendable asset for defence and homeland security forces and for the protection of critical infrastructure.

Stewart Hamel, who founded and runs SkyRunner, says the Embention autonomy package multiplies the force of small units, responders and defenders. David Benavente, founder and chief executive of Embention, finds the aircraft’s dual-mode architecture well suited to autonomy, and says Veronte contributes reliability, precision and safety for unmanned flight.

Why it matters

SkyRunner produces FAA-certified, TRL-9 aircraft for the U.S. defence market. Its coming programme adds unmanned variants that fly autonomously, under remote pilot or, optionally, with crew, and Veronte now handles the flight control behind the first two modes.

Embention reports 19 years of activity, a workforce above 180 and a new listing on Euronext Growth. Embention presents itself as the first drone avionics specialist to win EASA APDOA and POA approvals together, relevant for buyers who need certifiable flight control.