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- A recent report in Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post has indicated that the Israeli defence Force is interested in procuring the AirMule, a compact, initially civilian aircraft that can fly close to the ground and above complicated terrain and developed by a Yavne based company, Urban Aeronautics.
According to Rafi Yoeli, founder and CEO of Urban Aeronautics, (himself a pilot holding civilian helicopter and private pilot licences) the AirMule is particularly suitable for transporting supplies in rough terrain.
'Every combat soldier deployed in a forward post needs 20 kilograms of supplies per day. The AirMule's big advantage is that it reaches the destination quickly. Furthermore, thanks to its substantial payload and the design of the cargo bays, it can evacuate casualties. It can carry more than 500 kilograms for 50 kilometers, and return with enough spare fuel for 20 minutes of flight,” he told the Post.
The AirMule has a number of advantages over conventional aircraft such as helicopters in that it can land anywhere while helicopters cannot land on an incline greater than 5-10 degrees, mainly because the rotor could hit the hillside.
Scientists and researchers have been trying to develop rotorless helicopters since the 1950s but all of the designs encountered aerodynamic problems, such as instability, or could not exceed 30-40 knots. Last year the AirMule began test flights and has so far has performed 40 hovers although it has not yet flown between destinations. It is capable of hovering in a 12-knot wind, and the developers are hoping it will reach 60 knots in tests this year, and eventually fly at 100 knots.
UrbanAero has overcome a number of difficulties such as stability, speed and fuel efficiency.
The speed constraint was overcome by creating openings in the front and the back of the vehicle, to allow air to pass through freely while stability and flying in windy conditions was addressed by installing drive flaps at the air duct's intake and exhaust openings. All told, the AirMule has 200 flaps moving along axes and connected to a central flight system. Through a system of sensors, the Mule corrects external disturbances and maintains stability.
The AirMule can be used for evacuating lightly injured casualties and transporting logistical equipment as well as locating roadside bombs or identifying and monitoring biological warfare materials. Fire-fighting is a possibility as the craft can spray substances from the air and help put out fires. It can carry a similar quantity to a small sprayplane, the main advantage being that it can fly at night and it can get close to the fire sources."
Yoeli, 59, is an aeronautics engineer by training and has a civilian pilot's license for helicopters and planes. He did his military service in the technical branch of the IAF, and from 1976 to 1983 worked at IAI, where he took part in developing Israel's first fighter plane, the Lavi. He also worked for Boeing Aircraft in the United States, mainly on developing drones and executive jets.
