Israel’s ‘AirMule’ in Flight Testing

In the face of new conflicts in urban settings, the IDF is looking to obtain a budget for the development and procurement of new robotic systems it hopes will provide soldiers with an edge on a future battlefield.While the IDF has used robots for a number of years – mostly with unmanned aerial vehicles in the air force and in the Combat Engineering Corps – it is looking to expand the use of robotic systems with the aim of minimizing risks to soldiers.

One of the systems – the AirMule – is a revolutionary UAV that can fly like a helicopter and evacuate wounded soldiers in its hull from any terrain.Developed by Urban Aeronautics, the AirMule has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The Israeli company that spent a decade developing an autonomous, unmanned vertical takeoff and landing craft utilizing internal lift rotors says its first prototype is now going through flight tests and it’s at work on a second prototype.