Persistent Systems recently entered into a five-year partnership with MartinUAV, LLC, which will incorporate Persistent’s Wave Relay Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) technology into the V-BAT, a small vertical takeoff-and-land (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

“Persistent is proud to have been selected out of the many commercially available datalink solutions,” said Louis Sutherland, VP Business Development for Persistent Systems, in a press release. “This agreement cements Persistent’s line of Wave Relay MANET products as the exclusive communications solution for MartinUAV’s unmanned products.”

As part of the Wave Relay Ecosystem, MartinUAV’s systems seamlessly connect to any Wave Relay-enabled UAVs, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), sensors, and cameras. Users of Persistent’s MPU5 handheld MANET radio will be able to interface with the V-BAT as well as other unmanned systems on the network.

“The military requires a smaller footprint for takeoff and landing, while also needing larger payloads and longer range,” said Phil Jones, Chief Operating Officer of MartinUAV. “Using the V-BAT VTOL with the MPU5 and the Wave Relay MANET will enable us to meet all of these requirements.”

For related earlier news, see “Aeryon Labs partners with Persistent Systems.”

Persistent’s Embedded Module is integrated onto the MartinUAV V-BAT VTOL system, allowing operators to rapidly switch between different RF modules – L-Band, S-Band, C-Band, and BAS-Band – to meet multi-band RF mission requirements, according to the companies.

“Persistent’s vision is to deliver the network to the tactical operators. As MartinUAV incorporates Wave Relay MANET technology into the V-BAT, dismounted users gain an airborne network relay, while simultaneously increasing the V-BAT’s overall range and network performance,” said Sutherland.