SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., April 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AME Unmanned Air Systems (AME UAS) announces the successful first flight of the Fury® 1500 Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (STUAS) powered by a heavy-fuel engine. The successful flight occurred April 5 at the Fort Hunter Liggett range on California's central coast. This latest upgrade to the Fury®, developed at AME UAS's facility in San Luis Obispo, CA, significantly increases the capability of the system, decreasing the logistical footprint of the system while increasing its endurance substantially.

The Fury® 1500 is a long-endurance, survivable, and runway-independent Multi-INT UAS, providing the large (multi-payload) capacity needed to satisfy critical requirements for the Warfighter. The Fury® UAS, which was designed for multiple special missions, had its initial flight in 2008.

"We are extremely pleased with the success of this flight, the new heavy-fuel high-endurance version of the Fury® 1500 will allow for long-duration ISR and EW special missions. Everything from launch through engine performance, flight and recovery went extremely well. This serves as a testament to the hard work and talent of our team and our partners. With this high-endurance version of the Fury® 1500 we will ensure significantly more 'on-target' dwell time for special mission operations," said John Purvis, President and CEO of AME UAS.

Also tested during this flight was the Robonic premium UAV Launcher System supplied by Robonic Ltd. "The enhance capability of the Robonic launcher is a key addition to the Fury® Unmanned Air System," remarked Chris Arnold, Fury® Senior Program Manager. "It has been a great opportunity to work with AME UAS and to be chosen as the launcher provider for the Fury®. I see this selection by AME UAS of one of our premium UAV launchers as a major opening for our company," says Juha Moisio, CEO of Robonic Ltd.

The Fury® 1500 is tailored to address multiple warfighter requirements. Designed for a broad range of missions and long endurance, Fury® 1500's large payload volume and power capacity can support several payloads simultaneously and provide for a flexible, multi-mission capability not currently available with other UAS platforms.

"The Fury® is a very capable system in its original configuration and now, with the 1500, we can provide new and industry-leading capabilities in a relatively low-cost package. Fury® 1500 leverages both our aircraft production capabilities and our advanced ISR mission management software SharkFin®," added Dr. Robert Miller, AME UAS and ChandlerMay's CTO and development lead on the Fury® 1500.

For more on Fury®, SharkFin®, and AME UAS, please visit http://www.ameuas.com

Fury® 1500 with Heavy-Fuel Engine on Robonic Launcher

http://www.ereleases.com/pic/Fury-on-Launcher.jpg

About ChandlerMay

ChandlerMay is a System Integration and Tactical Product Development company that has delivered hundreds of Command and Control (C2) shelters and rugged computing systems to the Defense and Aerospace Markets. These military systems designed and built by ChandlerMay include the development and production of tactical ground control shelters, custom C2 systems on air defense control platforms, portable ground control stations, tactical equipment test stations, UAV flight and payload computers, and field-rugged system simulators and trainers. http://www.chandlermay.com

About AME Unmanned Air Systems

AME Unmanned Air Systems is a ChandlerMay company headquartered in San Luis Obispo, CA, specializing in the design, test, production, and support of unmanned aircraft systems. After designing and producing the US Air Force's first small UAV system, the company has since delivered over 1500 aircraft to U.S. and Allied forces. AME UAS focuses on innovative turnkey solutions that support the Warfighter and meet unique "special" mission requirements. http://www.ameuas.com

Media Contact:
Steve May
Chandler/May, Inc.
(256) 319-7230 office
steve.may@chandlermay.com

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SOURCE Chandler/May, Inc.