Creating an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV is not a new concept, but when the UAV is printed and can be assembled without using any tools, that is new indeed. With a wingspan of one and a half meters, this UAV made in the UK can cruise at a speed of 93 kph.

Called the SULSA, the UAV was successfully tested from a Royal Navy Warship, HMS Mersey and landed on Chesil beach in the Wyke Regis Training Facility in Weymouth after flying about 500 meters. It had on board a camera to record its flight and researchers monitored the UAV from a control van using the visual clues from the camera.

The UAV was used As part of Project Triangle to demonstrate that it could be easily launched at sea and used successfully in a maritime environment. The UAV was printed at the University of Southampton after extensive designing and research.

It is the world’s first completely printed aircraft and received a positive reaction when it landed on Dorset Beach after a short flight. Needless to say, that this science project has a lot of potential uses in both the commercial and military industries. It will be interesting to see how it is developed further.