About Silvertone UAV

Silvertone® UAV is developing autonomous long endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems with market leading payload flexibility and operational reliability, at a competitive price point for the rapidly emerging global commercial data collection industry. 

Who are we? 

Silvertone UAV operates as a division of Australian UAV Technologies P/L. (AUT). ABN 65 165 321 862 

AUT is a Wagga Wagga based, locally-owned business invested in the design, development and manufacture and sales of bespoke Unmanned or Remotely Piloted Fixed Wing Aircraft Systems, conducting its business in the commercial sector, globally. It prides itself on being agile, process-driven and resourceful and that its Flamingo®Mk3 platform is reliable, flexible and repeatable and great value for money. 

The 6-year-old company consists of five full-time employees. Current owner(s), who are employed full time in the business, and staff include electronics and communications expertise, aeronautical and avionics engineers, software development and commercial business acumen. 

Silvertone maintains links to the original owner of the business, thus tapping into jointly over 50 years of remote-control and aeronautical design and development experience. This with our over 4 years of R&D has resulted in the current Flamingo®Mk3 design, our own successful payload integrations, and with sound client-based business opportunities, which has us at the “ready for production, sale and commercialisation” stage of evolution. 

Background 

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), industry is a global market that is developing rapidly. The industry has experienced considerable growth in the very small vehicle sector (quad-copters/drones) with technology enabling autonomous operation with little or no training. In line with advances in technology, global aviation safety regulators have enabled commercial operation of these very small vehicles through legislation and rules governing commercial operators and their safe conduct; predominantly for vehicles weighing less than 7kg and operating within line of sight of the remote pilot. 

The emergence of this technology, coupled with the acceptance of commercial UAVs by aviation regulators and the community, has resulted in early adopters seeking to expand on their current operations into the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operating environment. With a thirst to operate for longer periods, over greater distances and to conduct multiple missions at once, operators are seeking a platform to disrupt the status quo of current information gathering techniques.

Globally, Emergency Services/Military/Police/Border Control are early adopters of this technology and are achieving great results with small image capturing UAVs with low endurance and carrying capacity. The natural progression of this operational capability is into the BVLOS endurance environment where fuel powered fixed-wing RPA’s are designed to operate, but where legislation has been restrictive for most operators. 

The commercial market is crying out for this to be enabled with a wide range of sensor suites. 

Realisation of the BVLOS operating environment for UAV operators relies on three factors: 

1. Access to a suitable platform that provides flexibility to meet the broad needs requirements of the emerging market, at a price point within the appetite of early adopters, that offers a level of reliability and airworthiness (possibly including type-certification) to satisfy regulators. 

2. Integrators capable of enabling such UAV’s to operate better than existing solutions with new state of the art sensors, autonomously, BVLOS, and with powerful data analytics. 

3. Aviation regulators legislating for the regular and safe operations of UAVs in airspace of manned aircraft without compromising the high level of aviation safety. 

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) of Australia is urging industry to work with them in generating a service history of successful BVLOS operations, and the trials being done by Energias with the Flamingo®Mk3 for ANAC in Brazil will add to CASA’s service history. 

Silvertone UAV has a suitable platform, the Flamingo®Mk3, has success at appropriate sensor integration and is able to conduct regular BVLOS operations in conjunction with CASA and early adopters to create this service history and open BVLOS flights to approved operators.

Our Solution 

Our Flamingo®Mk3 is special because it will conduct complex, variable payload, long endurance missions, autonomously, cost-competitively, compared with existing or known solutions. The Flamingo®Mk3 has a pedigree in manned aviation standards with the design aligning with existing aviation standards to support the needs of the aviation regulator. Designing, building and testing an unmanned aviation platform to create currently non-existent standards sets us apart from our competitors. 

This has been recognised by our partners in Brazil who have acceptance from ANAC, the National Aviation Authority (NAA) of Brazil, for certification of the Flamingo® Mk3, the first iteration of which has been granted in May 2019. An Experimental Certificate for operations out to 48km has been issued for the Flamingo Mk3 for complying with UAV design standards issued by ANAC in 2018, the first in the world to achieve this. 

The design of the Flamingo®Mk3 Airframe is captured in a design data pack with production drawings facilitating quality-controlled repeatable manufacture. The production drawings have been produced to aviation standards suitable for conformance control and Production Certificate application. The airframe is scalable. Complete build process to a fully autonomous vehicle is documented to facilitate fleet-based production.

The Flamingo®Mk3 is an Australian designed and developed, unmanned, flexible payload, fixed wing aerial vehicle (UAV). It is capable of carrying up to 12kg of fuel and payloads and being flown autonomously on long endurance (up to 12hrs), missions (See Flamingo Mk3 specifications). 

The Flamingo®Mk3 operates fully autonomously from take-off to landing. A complete suite of documentation provides training, operational and maintenance procedures and ongoing support to ensure longevity, reliability and safety to the end user. 

What are we about? 

Silvertone UAV’s priority ambition in 2019/20 is to develop marketing partners (providers of sensors and systems that can be enabled on the Flamingo®Mk3 for commercial gain by customers) and distributors/agents for the Flamingo® group of products and services. 

Silvertone UAV is a CASA-certified commercial operator that will supply a range of Flamingo®Mk3 based products and systems’ integration services, to a global market that is seeking expertise in fixed-wing, long endurance, variable payload UAV systems. 

We envisage our market to be seeking the capability to fly fully autonomously, BVLOS, in manned air space, and often covertly, in accordance and compliance with all appropriate air worthiness, air safety protocols. It is our intention to submit the Flamingo®Mk3 for type-certification status (or equivalent), by air safety authorities globally to increase its attractiveness and credibility as a reliable and safe unmanned platform. 

We see ourselves firstly as a supplier and integrator of the Flamingo®Mk3 RPAS, but if the market offers opportunity, then we will also become an operator to expand the basis for the acceptance of the Flamingo®Mk3 as a viable solution, whilst also increasing our profile as a supplier. 

Only financial resources will impact on the depth and breadth of the markets we will focus upon. PwC’s “Drone Powered Solutions” recognises our potential and has partnered with us to assist with Monetization and Commercialisation opportunity developments. 

With an initial priority being in Australia and USA, we will attempt to JV with identified partners in a broad market attack including a focus on the asset management operators in the utilities industry. As a result of our partnering with both Energias in Brazil and a local supplier in Australia, who seek a UAV solution to conduct monitoring of Transmission and Distribution of Electricity (T&D) we recognise a global opportunity in this sector. We have in late January conducted successful trial flights of the Riegl Vux1 UAV Lidar on the Flamingo®Mk3. 

We will be focusing on the commercial benefits of our involvements and success at Autonomous Warrior 2018 (AW18, a FVEYS Military Exercise) in addressing the Military and Emergency Services markets for the “Flamingo®Mk3, Forward Eyes” IS&R solutions developed by us and our partners. 

We will also be focusing on the price advantage of our product solution as a purchase against competitors as well as our 2 other key advantages of agnostic payload flexibility and system reliability. 

The Flamingo®Mk3 Solution shall be presented to appropriate potential customers as a significant cost saving solution, compared with manned aircraft, as well as a “life-risk” adverse solution offering simplicity in logistical operation.

Our marketing push will preferably be done with partner organisations that have credibility and history in their fields who need a platform and integration partner. 

Silvertone UAV Marketing Strategy 

Market Areas 

Target markets (and surrounding countries) in order are: 

USA Australia Asia/Africa Europe China & India Middle East 

The UAV market globally is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade and could be valued at up to $127b (refer Pw “Clarity from Above” Report ) 

In these target market areas, there are a number of industries to be targeted. All of these industries (see below) are already trialling or using RPAs. 

These industries currently use manned aircraft for many of their applications. The Flamingo® Mk3 will, in some cases, disrupt the use of manned aviation but in many cases, it will complement the use of manned aviation by providing flexibility and cost benefit to the operator. 

We have identified uses for the Flamingo® in these following industries: 

Silvertone has prepared itself for the next phase of business by: 

1. Creating a product that faces minimal competitive equivalent technology and capability in an expected high growth market that is only just emerging. 

2. Conducting its business professionally, with full financial and operational results available for scrutiny. 

3. Constantly validating the Flamingo® Mk3 as a viable product category with global potential payload product integrators and prospective customers. 

4. Becoming integrated with CASA (Air Safety) regulations or directives as is possible. 

5. Researching the global market for proven componentry for unmanned aviation safety and operational reliability. 

6. Partnering with a variety of Payload System Integrators to deliver not just an airframe but state of the art RPA systems. 

7. Planning conservatively for the maximum impact from the future investments required for successful implementation of the proposed program of commercialization. 

8. Building strong relationships with State and Federal Government Industry Support Programmes and with Military access support agencies (DIN, AIDN, CDIC, DMRA, DST, Austrade) to help fund our future developments. 

9. Seeking globally potential partners to support our commercialization. 

10. Developing bespoke product prototypes with partners for prospective customers, and a range of Defence Applications. 

11. Identifying targeted employees and 3rd party suppliers to enable a successful commercialization project to be completed. 

We are a confident business of infinite capability within our industry sector and wish to have the resources to exploit that capability. If you or an associate are interested in Investing in Silvertone please seek further information. 

Please contact our CEO Gerry Gerlach if you have interest. 

Gerry Gerlach ✈
Australian UAV Technologies Pty. Ltd.
ABN: 65 165 321 862 T/A Silvertone® UAV
1/21 Nagle St., Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650 Australia
Ph. +61 2 6931 8252
Mob. +61 428 002204
Skype: gerrygerlach