The BAE STRIX is an innovative and uniquely-configured UCAV capable of vertical take off and landing in a tail-sitting configuration with tandem wing and hybrid electric propulsion centered on 4 propeller engines.

The drone has been developed in Australia in a collaboration with Perth-based Innovaero and was first presented at the 2023 Avalon Airshow in Geelong, Australia.

STRIX has been conceived to perform a range of autonomous missions, both ISR and Strike, independent of a runway, with an important focus on potentially embarking on escort warships (frigates and destroyers). In this it’s in some ways an heir to the Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN), joint program between DARPA and the US Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR), which however did not result in an operational system.

Developed in a spiral model, the STRIX has quickly come together as a full-scale electric prototype to fast-track flight testing and reduce program risk. BAE has revealed the first flight event on December 13, but the trials actually date back to late October. They were conducted “at a remote site” in Australia to demonstrate the Vehicle Management System’s (VMS) ability to control STRIX during launch, manoeuvre, sustained hover, and recovery.

All tests were conducted fully autonomously, with a remote pilot providing safety overwatch. According to BAE Systems, the safety pilot was never required to intervene. The Program’s focus will “now move from airframe testing to the hybrid-electric propulsion system, which has been under development in parallel with the prototype”.

STRIX’s intended performance is quite impressive if it will be fully demonstrated: it is intended to achieve a range of 800 km with a 160 kg payload, reducing to 540 with 200 kg or exceeding 1500 with 50 kg, with an endurance of 3 hours with 160 kg of payload. Max speed is 200 knots, with normal cruise speed set at 140 knots.

Strike weapons can be carried on two pylons under the fuselage, with a range of proposed weapons that goes from APKWS guided 70 mm rockets to HELLFIRE / JAGM / BRIMSTONE-type missiles all the way up to the MBDA SEA VENOM anti-ship missile, which has been displayed next to STRIX in some defence shows since then, reinforcing the “naval” attributes of this peculiar machine.

Unfolded and ready for flight, the STRIX is 5 m long, 6 m wide and 2,6 m tall, but it is inteded to eventually be foldable to fit within a 20 feet container to reinforce its ship credentials and, in general, its runway independence.

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