Bandung, IndonesiaSentinel.com — The Palapa S-1 aircraft, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) created by lecturers from the Faculty of Engineering (FT) UGM, was officially launched on September 3, 2024. This unmanned aircraft is designed to be used for disaster mapping and military purposes.
“Today we are launching the Palapa S1, an unmanned aircraft used for surveillance and mapping. This aircraft can also be used for other purposes such as patrols, recognition, and so on,” said the head researcher, Prof. Gesang Nugroho, at the Engineering Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) building FT UGM, Sleman, September 3, 2024.
During its development process, Prabowo Subianto, the Minister of Defense, had the opportunity to review. He also expressed his interest, as he was amazed by the Palapa S-1 drone technology and missiles developed by UGM.
“This aircraft was witnessed by Mr. Prabowo during its early development, but at that time it had not been tested,” he said. “Back then, Mr. Prabowo said that it would be used immediately if it’s done with the testing. As this aircraft has been tested for its reliability, Universitas Gadjah Mada is expecting to hold further discussions with the minister,” continued Gesang.
This Palapa S-1 aircraft is equipped with 3-meter wings with a fuselage length of 2 meters and is said to be able to fly for up to 6 hours with a range of up to 500 kilometers. It has been through multiple tests including aerodynamics test, stability test, telemetric test, endurance test and also field test. Although it has only been used for mapping areas so far, this aircraft can also be developed for many purposes. This aircraft can also developed for sea patrol, field monitoring, mine surveillance, and also military needs.
Equipped with military recognition system, this aircraft can spy on enemy coming from far away and aid that this aircraft will also be able to carry bombs in the future. “In principle, this aircraft can be designed and used for many purposes. As in military needs, it could be used for carrying bombs or any others similar in function,” Gesang said.
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Furthermore, Gesang said that this aircraft has been ordered ahead by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) for mapping of hotspots in peatlands. As the fire on the hotspot location can be difficult to define based only on satellite information, this drone can validate it on site.
“This aircraft will be used for early detection of forest fires. The aircraft could validate the hotspot location information obtained through satellite, so then the firefighters would head to the hotspot location after it validated as real fire,” said Gesang.
This aircraft has not been mass-produced and is still being developed according to the incoming orders. “So far, our production capacity is around 3 aircraft within a month, and we can make 7-10 units for 3 months,” he said.
Previously in 2022, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was amazed by the innovation of UGM when students presented the Pasoepati Missile and the Palapa S-1 Drone.
“I think this is an innovation we can be proud of. We hope that there will be more innovation coming from the university, a technology that we really need,” Prabowo said. “I have promised that when the prototype trials are successful, we will order,” Prabowo added.
(Raidi/Agung)
