Performance Drone Works

This five-day, hands-on course is designed to give elite military operators with no prior manual UAV experience functional competency in the safe operation and effective piloting of PDW high-performance manual UAVs. Participants will learn skills to adeptly operate FPV drones from a team including professional PDW pilots and staff, the most advanced manual drone pilots in the world. Course includes classroom instruction, drone building workshops, simulator flight time, and practical drone flying experience. Participants will leave understanding all things required for the safe and effective usage of FPV quadcopter drones for in-field use. PDW's technological experts will teach participants about UAV technology, including transmitters, radio frequency technology, batteries, and input controls.

This three-day course aims to build proficiency in pilot ability with limited focus on building, troubleshooting, and repairing. Participants will establish pilot skill as quickly as possible. Participants will learn skills to adeptly operate FPV drones from a team including professional PDW pilots and staff, the most advanced manual drone pilots in the world.

The PDW Radio is a proprietary high-penetration, anti-jam system that allows friendly UAS to operate freely in a GPS- denied and hostile radio frequency (RF) environments. PDW utilizes multi-band frequency pseudorandom hopping radios for video and command and control. We scramble video and encrypt command signals on a packet-by-packet basis. Generating its own random hopping sequence to determine the most effective and secure transmission path, PDW Radio ensures a persistent, secure command and control (C2) link between the UAS and its ground control station (GCS).

FEATURES:

• Secure communications
• Small form factor
• Anti Jam
• AES 256 encrypted
• Proprietary Analog obfuscation for video
• 4-mile range in rural setting
• .5 mile range in urban dense city
• High bandwidth, low latency

DIMENSIONS: 82mm L x 42mm W x 12mm H MATERIAL: IP 54 water-resistant

Black Dart Radio is an analog command control radio that has been developed to secure the control signals such as video and sensory data, from the drone to the ground control station. The Black Dart radio secures the analog RF signal employing one or more of video ±scrambling®, RF signal inversion, hopping, encryption, usage of a wide frequency range and other techniques so that the signals are more difficult to intercept or jam. Dynamic Parameters include a hopping Sequence, hopping frequency table, output power, and scramble code.

FEATURES:

• Digital datalink, encrypted
• Frequency hopping, UHF, VHF, ISM
• Rapid flexible deployment
• Low latency video: Inverted RF
• High-resolution digital image packets
• Video Scrambling

DIMENSIONS: 100mm L x 40mm W x 16mm H

The SPARO 20 is a highly capable, ruggedized, small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS). Designed specifically for military operations, SPARO 20 boasts an extremely small form factor and fits within a medium MOLLE pouch. It includes a Pic Rail to support universal attachments and is operable in low light, GPS denied environments.

SPARO 20 employs a modular powertrain configuration that enables swappable arms, has collision avoidance capabilities, and is incredibly operator friendly.

Leveraging PDWÍs indoor zero-light position hold technology, SPARO 20 holds position and altitude, even when there is no operator actively controlling the air vehicle.

FEATURES:

• Small form factor: 2 lbs, 1500CC carriage space
• Ruggedized: IP 56
• Rapidly deployable: < 30 seconds
• 20 to 60-minute flight time, depending on the configuration
• Quick swap battery
• Operates in GPS denied environment and includes collision avoidance technology
• Full EO and IR imagery with FPV capabilities
• Fully integrated and controllable within ATAK
• Designed and built in the U.S.

The SPARO 50 is a highly capable, ruggedized, small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS). Designed specifically for military operations, SPARO 50 boasts industry-leading endurance at >90 minutes while providing high-resolution imagery, day or night.

SPARO 50 employs a modular powertrain configuration that enables swappable arms, has collision avoidance capabilities, and is incredibly operator friendly.

Leveraging PDWÍs advanced autonomy solutions found on SPARO 20, SPARO 50 significantly reduces operator cognitive burden.

FEATURES:

• Small form factor: 5 lbs, fits in a rucksack
• Rapidly deployable: < 30 seconds
• Quick swap battery
• High-resolution EO and IR imagery
• > 90-minute flight time depending on configuration, range of 18-20KM
• Ruggedized (IP 56)
• Integrated with ATAK
• Designed and built in the U.S.

With its minimal size and weight, SPAROGCS brings advanced UAS command and control to the warfighterÍs pocket. Fully integrated with ATAK, SPAROGCS allows the warfighter to operate and monitor their air vehicle from within the same familiar tool and maps that they are already using for battlefield situational awareness.

Multiple radio and hardwired options mean the device can use the operatorÍs personal radio and network to conserve space and weight, or connect via an integrated, wireless radio for maximum portability. The interface is user friendly in adverse conditions, in darkness and with gloves on, while the screen cover provides protection without losing screen sensitivity.

FEATURES:

• Wearable form factor with MOLLE attachment
• Rugged and lightweight
• Supports multiple radio types
• Easily operable with gloves and in a period of reduced dexterity
• Integrated with Samsung devices
• Specifically designed for use with ATAK devices

PDW courses of instruction (COI) provide an unmanned aerial system (UAS) operators with advanced training in manual first-person view (FPV) piloting and/or assembly. Manual flight provides a variety of benefits over automated or semi-automated UAS technologies, including speed, cost, maneuverability, lack of reliance on easily disrupted technologies and modification ability.

PDW's flagship offering, Military Operators Manual Drone Proficiency, Level 1, is a combination of our Piloting Level 1 and Assembly Level 1 courses of instruction. The Military Operators Manual Drone Proficiency, Level 1 is a five-day course designed to give elite military operators with no prior manual UAV experience functional competency in the safe operation and effective piloting of high-performance manual UAVs. The curriculum informs participants on all things required for the safe and effective usage of FPV quadcopter drones for in-field use, including their assembly, maintenance and modification.

The Military Operators Manual Drone Proficiency, Level 1 course is a hands-on curriculum that includes classroom instruction, drone building workshops, simulator flight time and practical drone flying experience.