South Africa's Denel Dynamics is in the final phase of development of its new Seeker 400 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, which will be unveiled in mock-up form at the African Aerospace and Defence show in Cape Town in September, the company has announced. Developed with an eye towards the needs of the South African National Defence Force, the Seeker 400 is about 30 per cent larger than its predecessor, the Seeker ll, and aims to improve on its speed, endurance and payload among other attributes. The payload of the Seeker 400 has been doubled to 100 kg and its endurance boosted from 12 to 16 hours. The new engine gives 1,000 hours mean time between minor overhauls and 2,000 hours between major overhauls, compared to 75 and 150 hours respectively and has a 100-hour sparkplug life compared to 15 hours for its predecessor. Its 16-hour endurance is achieved at the optimal loiter speed of 65 kt at 5,000 ft, when the engine burn: 8 litres of fuel per hour. The Seeker 400 is also already Civil Aviation Authority qualified.
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