Skeldar Ramps Up Hiring as Drone Production Heats Up

One of Switzerland’s largest rotor drone firms is looking for the best UAV professionals as it launches expanded design/production facilities.

UMS Skeldar announced the new growth strategy in a press release last week. Plans include ramping up testing in both its Swiss and Swedish testing grounds.

A joint venture between Saab and UMS AERO, the company currently offers both rotor UAVs – the flagship V200 and R350 – as well as fixed-wing aircraft – the F720 and F330.

“To support the development of its best in class Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) solutions and systems, UMS is hiring in a range of positions including systems developers for the platforms and Ground Control Station (GCS), helicopter technicians and sensor operators across its locations, with more roles to be announced,” a company spokesperson said.

Drone models offer a wide range of payload and sensor options — Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR), a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), moving target Indicators, signals payload, 3D mapping, AIS transponder and cargo hook.

“The strategic focus … including search and rescue [and] research, specialist survey and infrastructure services is paying off with increased interest from across the globe,” Skeldar CEO Axel Cavalli-Bjorkman said.

Cavalli-Bjorkman added the company would seek a larger share of a market he expects to reach $14.9 billion by 2020.

In September, Skeldar announced a partnership with JetLease, an American multi-national group listed as one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies. Unveiled at the European defense/security expo DSEI 2017 in London, the agreement leverages JetLease’s market presence to lease Skeldar’s VTOL inventory. The agreement offers “wet and dry leasing” for expeditions over land or sea and will include options for sensor payloads such as Sentient Vision Systems’ ViDAR which boasts 5-10 cameras and an optimal 360-degree maritime domain awareness package.

In January 2017, Skeldar signed a deal with Sentient Vision Systems announced an agreement to provide the ViDAR (Visual Identification Detection and Ranging) system for USM Skeldar’s unmanned systems during the Paris Airshow.