A long-range autonomous aerial platform for battalion-level intelligence, surveillance, and strike. Two-soldier launch. Recoverable or expendable. First sub-assemblies on the bench in Betws-y-Coed.
The DF-5 closes the gap between hand-launched tactical drones and strategic UAS. Two soldiers deploy it from a pneumatic cradle. One operator flies it 500 miles. Flight test campaign opens Q3 2027.
Pneumatic cradle deploys in under four minutes. No runway. No crew chief. One mission-commander, one assistant.
Dual-mode airframe: persistent ISR on the loiter profile, terminal strike via the kinetic payload rail.
Returns to launch point on mission complete or fail-safe. Net capture for contested recoveries.
The full mission profile from pneumatic launch through autonomous recovery. The DF-5 flies this envelope on the shared Orion flight stack; operators task it, it flies itself.
The pilot tasks the mission; Orion flies it. The operator's job is authority — rules of engagement, payload release, abort — not stick-and-rudder.
Design targets as of the current preliminary design review. Expect adjustments of ±5–10% through flight test; headline numbers are flat.