Robinson Helicopter Company acquires Ascent AeroSystems

Robinson Helicopter Company (RHC) has acquired Ascent AeroSystems, now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Robinson Helicopter Company. According to RHC, through the acquisition, Ascent can now grow and scale by building its UASs at Robinson’s vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Torrance in the US state of California.

David Smith, President, and CEO of RHC, commented: “This strategic acquisition is in line with our vision to broaden our offerings and meet increasing global demand for enhanced mission capabilities in law enforcement, public safety, firefighting, utility, and defense.”

Ascent AeroSystems’ unique cylindrical, coaxial airframes offer increased flight performance, payload capacity, and reliability compared to conventional multirotor configurations. Included on the US Defense Innovation Unit’s Blue UAS Cleared List, the company’s flagship system, Spirit, is a compact, modular, rugged, all-weather platform engineered to operate reliably in the most challenging environments, including high wind, heavy rain, sleet, snow, and blowing sand. The larger NX30, meanwhile, offers more than twice the payload capacity in a heavy-lift variant, or it can be configured with additional batteries for flights exceeding an hour.

The Swiss and US-based company Fotokite recently secured US$11 million in Series B funding to enhance emergency response drone technology.