While people may not recognize the name Mayman Aerospace, they might know the man the company is named for. David Mayman is best known for his adventures around the world – while wearing a jetpack. Mayman’s interest in vertical takeoff and landing technology started a new pursuit with national defense in mind. That technology is also at the heart of the latest weapon of the week.
The Razor P100 is an autonomous high speed vertical takeoff and landing air utility vehicle. It uses Mayman’s Skyfield, an AI-controlled navigation system.
“What sets us apart from all the other drones in industry right now is the fact that we use jet propulsion,” Mladen Zdero, Mayman Aerospace’s government relations manager, said. “And what that allows us to do is fly speeds up to Mach point seven, five or about 550 miles and hours, which we’re estimating right now. It allows us to carry a significant amount of weight.”
Right now, the Razor P100 can carry 100 pounds. Mayman plans to build new variants capable of carry up to 1,000 pounds, which could make it a good candidate for logistical missions.
Mayman also plans to build additional variants for the intelligence community and the military. The company plans to create drones with surveillance capabilities and the ability to carry munitions to remote teams for resupply. The U.S. Department of Defense agreed to a $3.25 million contract with Mayman to develop those easy-to-implement variants.
“And that’s exactly what why the government is so interested in this with the ability to have such a highly capable platform at a very low cost,” Zdero said. “The way we’re creating it’s going to be simple to rebuild and resupply these units with this aircraft at a very reasonable price for the government.”
Another of the Razor’s main selling points is the ability to take off and land vertically, making it runway independent. In fact, Zdero said teams discussed the Razor taking off from the bed of a moving truck, being dropped from another aircraft or even launching from a platform at sea.
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