Unmanned aircraft One 150: Interview with Primoco founder Ladislav Semetkovský

Our five questions this time go to Ladislav Semetkovský, the founder of the Czech company Primoco UAV SE, which has been producing civilian and military unmanned aircraft of the One 150 type for autonomous flights since 2015. Read here what the Austrian connection is.

Mr Semetkovský, could you briefly introduce Primoco UAV?
The Czech company Primoco UAV SE has been developing and producing civilian and military unmanned aircraft of the One 150 type since 2015 for autonomous flights along programmed flight plans. The main features of the aircraft are its dimensions, the maximum take-off weight of 150 kilograms, an endurance of up to 15 hours (depending on equipment), a cruising speed of 120 km/h, a payload of up to 30 kilograms and fully automatic take-off and landing. The Primoco One 150 holds the civil operating approval EASA LUC SAIL III and military certification under the NATO standard STANAG 4703. The company focuses on civil and military aviation applications, particularly in the fields of reconnaissance, the energy sector, border and coastal security, and the remit of the intelligence services. More than 200 Primoco aircraft produced to date are currently in service in 15 countries on four continents – from Germany to Malaysia. Primoco UAV is a company listed on the Prague Stock Exchange in the Prime Market segment.

With your product, the One 150, you have just succeeded in obtaining both NATO and EASA certification. Congratulations! What is behind this success?
Thank you. A team of almost 40 engineers, designers, test engineers and pilots worked for five years to demonstrate that our aircraft meets the highest requirements for shared airspace with manned military aircraft and other certified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of higher categories. The certification required 200 reviews, more than 170 test flights and around 50 ground tests of the unmanned aircraft. The volume of documentation – 28,000 pages, 500 hours of video recordings and a total of 123 GB of data – illustrates the high requirements for this certificate and the competitive advantage we have gained as a result.

Generally speaking: what is special about the Primoco system?
The Primoco One 150 is exceptional in terms of certification: as mentioned, it is the first system in the world to have received military NATO STANAG 4703 certification after five years of work – and at the same time the first in the world with civil EASA LUC 2.5 SAIL III certification. This operating permit from the civil aviation authority allows operations over populated areas with a population density of up to 5,000 people per square kilometre, provided that defined risk-mitigation measures are observed. For comparison: Prague has an average population density of 2,800 people per square kilometre. We have already had operations in Iraq and Ukraine. It is also important that the One 150 contains no American or Israeli components – it is manufactured entirely by Primoco UAV. For the sensors we work predominantly with European suppliers, including from Germany and Austria.

Where do you see potential for further developments?
I can reveal that, as part of our development, we are working intensively with Airbus Defence in the field of artificial intelligence.

Are you also looking at Austria – and at drone contracts here?
Yes. As mentioned, the Primoco One 150 now flies in 15 countries on four continents, with EU countries being a priority for us. I can reveal that we fly regularly on the European continent – in Ukraine, as I said, but also in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovakia.