Belgian Army

ULTIMA target drones

Philip Avonds designed the ULTIMA target drone and the associated production set-up for the Belgian Army. It is a 2 metre wingspan all composite multi purpose vehicle with a primary mission as a target drone for the yearly Mistral firing campaign held at the NATO Missile Firing Installations on the isle of Crete, Greece. During this campaign, some 30 Mistral missiles are fired at the same number of ULTIMA drones, resulting in a direct hit almost every time. The drones are equipped with smoke flares for visualisation and infrared flares to act as a heat source for the heat seeking missiles. A 35 cc glow engine propels the drone to a speed of almost 200 km/h.

Philip Avonds controls the ULTIMA drone to a smooth landing on the rocky soil of the launch area. Sometimes, the  missile cannot be fired because of a ship crossing the safety area...

Philip Avonds Scale Jets