DENEB SYSTEMS
Deneb Systems / Raven
Raven
Defense logistics,
without the runway constraint.
A largely 3D-printed VTOL cargo platform - flying prototype, custom ground control, and object tracking demonstrated.
- Wingspan
- 2.5 m
- target airframe
- MTOW
- 10 kg
- target
- Flight time
- up to 1.5 h
- development goal
- Mission radius
- 30 km
- early iteration
01 / Airframe
Airframe configuration.
A clean pass across Raven's complete quadplane configuration - four lift arms, forward puller, and V-tail resolved into a single flight form. This is the working prototype, not a concept render.
~90% to fully 3D printed depending on prototype revision.
Deneb Systems / Platform
A VTOL cargo aircraft you can print.
Raven is a fixed-wing VTOL aircraft built to carry configurable payloads. Its working prototype uses four vertical-lift motors to get airborne, then a forward puller motor, ailerons, and a V-tail for efficient cruise.
The airframe is up to fully 3D printed - advanced UAV development without conventional aerospace manufacturing. Everything below was validated as a full system: a Gazebo digital twin and ArduPilot flight stack first, then a printed airframe and a successful first flight.
02 / Propulsion
VTOL propulsion.
Lift-motor and arm geometry shown directly from the current airframe. The quadplane layout separates hover and cruise so Raven can launch and recover vertically, then transition to fixed-wing flight for range.
System architecture
One aircraft, two flight regimes.
A quadplane: vertical lift for launch and recovery, fixed-wing for range. No runway, no catapult, no recovery net.
Lift & propulsion
- VTOL rotors
- 4× vertical
- Cruise motor
- Forward puller
- Configuration
- Quadplane
Control surfaces
- Roll
- Ailerons
- Pitch / yaw
- V-tail
- Flight mode
- Fixed-wing
Airframe
- Manufacturing
- ~90–100% 3D print
- Wingspan
- 2.5 m
- MTOW target
- ~10 kg
Mission role
- Primary
- Payload delivery
- Secondary
- Object detection & tracking
- Payload
- Configurable
Configuration studies
Every angle of the prototype.
Digital twin
Tested as a system before it was built.
Raven has a complete Gazebo model used to reproduce real flight and mission scenarios before any physical testing. Gazebo supplies the physics and sensors, ArduPilot SITL flies the dynamics, and ROS 2 connects the camera and perception layer.
It was validated as a full virtual system - four rotors, one puller, aileron and V-tail joints, and simulated camera, IMU, GPS and airspeed - not just a 3D model that looks right.
- Gazebo
- ArduPilot SITL
- ROS 2
- MAVLink
- MAVProxy
- DroneKit
- Python GCS
- Sim camera / IMU / GPS
03 / Structure
Serviceable wing system.
The physical wing latch is a real prototype assembly detail - engineered for field service and rapid iteration rather than a rendering claim. Wings come off by hand for transport and repair.
Perception & autonomy
Ground control and vision, with autonomous delivery in development.
Raven's working prototype includes a custom ground-control station with object detection and target tracking. These capabilities support the current pilot-supervised flight workflow.
Pilot-free mission execution - flying to a target and releasing cargo without pilot input - is still in development.
- Object detection and tracking
- Custom ground-control station
- Pilot-supervised prototype flight
- Autonomous target approach - in development
- Pilot-free cargo release - in development
04 / Payload
Modular payload bay.
A full underside view of the current mounting interface. The bay is built to accept configurable payloads, giving procurement teams a direct look at how Raven adapts to a mission rather than a fixed role.
Engineering pipeline
Concept to flight, then back again.
A full aircraft-engineering workflow - simulation and physical testing feeding each iteration.
- 01Concept & prototypeInitial aircraft conceptcomplete
- 02CAD & aerodynamicsDesign and airframe developmentcomplete
- 03CFD analysisAirflow-driven design adjustmentscomplete
- 04Gazebo modelAircraft converted to simulationcomplete
- 05ROS 2 + SITLAutonomy and flight-stack integrationcomplete
- 06Vision & autonomyObject detection, target tracking, custom ground controldemonstrated
- 07Printable airframeDetailed manufacturing preparationcomplete
- 08First flightPhysical build and flight testingdemonstrated
- 09Autonomous cargo deliveryPilot-free target approach and cargo releaseongoing
- 10IterationAirframe changes from real resultsongoing
05 / Logistics
Cargo-release system.
Release hardware operating beneath the airframe - the logistics mechanism at the core of the payload-delivery mission. The hardware is actuated on the current prototype; pilot-free target approach and cargo release remain in development.
Technical status
What's proven, and what isn't.
Raven is an early-iteration prototype. Figures below are marked by confidence - we don't publish development targets as production specifications.
| Parameter | Value | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Fixed-wing VTOL quadplane | verified |
| Airframe process | ~90–100% 3D printed | verified |
| First flight | Achieved, iterating | verified |
| Ground-control station | Custom station in use | verified |
| Object detection & tracking | Demonstrated on prototype | verified |
| Pilot-free target approach & cargo release | In development | target |
| Wingspan | 2.5 m | verified |
| MTOW | ~10 kg target | verified |
| Flight time | up to 1.5 h goal | target |
| Mission radius | 30 km early figure | target |
| Cruise / max speed | Not yet verified | unverified |
| Payload capacity | Not yet verified | unverified |
| Propulsion / battery | Not yet verified | unverified |
06 / Analysis
Aerodynamic development.
CFD analysis sits inside the iteration loop: airflow over the airframe informs design changes before the next printed revision. Simulation and physical testing feed each other rather than running in isolation.
Deneb Systems fleet
Raven doesn't fly alone.
Vulture
Autonomous loitering munition
A loitering munition UAV designed to find, identify, and destroy selected targets.
View Vulture →Alien
Compact autonomous interceptor
The smaller, vision-guided interceptor UAV - a separate airframe in the Deneb Systems fleet.
View Alien →Sky Tracker
Visual tracking & perception
CPU-efficient visual tracking that can support onboard or ground-based UAV systems across the fleet.
View Sky Tracker →Vase Mode Wing
3D printing for UAV wings
3D-printing software that turns a solid into a vase-mode wing mesh with internal truss ribs, computed in the browser.
View Vase Mode Wing →
07 / Field evidence
First flight.
Uncropped vertical field footage of the working flight sequence - the milestone where the digital twin became a flying aircraft. Prototype flight test, followed by continued airframe improvement.