In early June 2024, the TrellisWare Technologies team visited Menet Aero headquarters and together with Menet Aero representatives integrated the TW-135 TSM Shadow® High Power Radio (HPR) with the Intrepid tethered unmanned aircraft system (TeUAS).
The tether used to power the Intrepid air vehicle and enable it to stay aloft continuously provided enough power to keep the radio operating continuously at altitude, eliminating the need for a battery change and avoiding associated mission interruptions. The elevated visibility and 20 watts of transmit power greatly improved radio network quality and made a prime relay node application.
The TW-135 TSM Shadow® joins a long list of communications payloads that have been integrated with Menet Aero TeUAS, including:
- Trellisware Ghost 875
- Trellisware Shadow 950/900 Radio
- Trellisware Shadow 135 High Power Radio
- PRC-152
- PRC-148
- PRC-158
- Persistent System MPU5
- Silvus SC4200
- Silvus SC4400
- Ultra Electronics X510
- GoTenna Mesh
- Nokia Micro Cell FEMTO LTE
- Samsung Micro Cell FEMTO LTE
By elevating these devices on a TeUAS and powering them through the tether, they provide long range nodes for MIMO networks. Menet Aero systems are sensor agnostic and can be customized to support a variety of communications, force protection, signal intelligence and electronic warfare payloads, including using RF over Fiber.