Aerospace composite manufacturer Quickstep has signed a contract with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developer TB2 to provide engineering and structural integration services for the incorporation of the TB2 Pod Interface system into customer aircraft.
The system is designed to serve as an autonomous means of connecting a range of podded solutions to drones. It allows operators to deliver rapid-change, multi-mission capabilities with less human intervention and can work on any unmanned aircraft system capable of accepting the TB2 system.
Under the contract, Quickstep will deliver an initial $500,000 worth of services, assisting TB2 with the design, integration, supplier management, and servicing of podded solutions.
Work will be performed at Quickstep’s facilities in Geelong, Victoria, and at the Wichita, Kansas facility once the site becomes operational.
Quickstep will also take over a minority equity position in TB2 as part of the agreement, backed by a merchandise credit note. The equity position is expected to further expand Quickstep’s reach across the UAS manufacturing and services sector.
“We have taken a logistics-at-scale approach to all aspects of our systems’ development, so when we started to look for a partner with the ability to design, mass produce and scale our system in various sizes for various industries it was a simple choice. Quicksteps’ ability to integrate our hardware, our vendors avionics and our partners UAV’s is crucial to streamlining our future plans,” said Hank Scott, founder of TB2.
“We have taken a logistics-at-scale approach to all aspects of our systems’ development, so when we started to look for a partner with the ability to design, mass produce and scale our system in various sizes for various industries it was a simple choice. Quicksteps’ ability to integrate our hardware, our vendors avionics and our partners UAV’s is crucial to streamlining our future plans,” said Steve Osborn, vice president of Quickstep USA.
