Orbital UAV
About
About Orbital UAV
Orbital UAV’s 50, 75, 150 and 350 HFE engines are designed around jet-fuel operation, high power-to-weight ratios and the endurance requirements of tactical uncrewed aircraft. FlexDI air-assisted direct injection atomises fuel within the combustion chamber, supporting cold starting, combustion stability and operation across changing altitude and temperature.
Each propulsion system can include the engine, fuel-delivery equipment, cooling, starter-generator, control electronics and diagnostic software required for airframe integration. Orbital performs development, endurance testing, production and through-life repair from Australia and the United States. Its engines have accumulated more than 1.2 million operating hours across customer programmes.
Products
Supply
Team
- Stephen Pearce - Chief Executive Officer - Connects Orbital UAV’s engine-supplier strategy with long-range UAV manufacturing and defense aerospace markets.
- Mark Wege - Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary - Supports Orbital UAV’s listed-company operations as it scales UAV propulsion products and customer programs.
Timeline
Events
- 2026-07-29 - Commercial Order - Orbital UAV receives three-system MightyFly propulsion order
Two Orbital HFE propulsion systems are allocated to flight testing and one to ground development and validation. Delivery of all three systems is scheduled for September 2026. The systems support a heavy-fuel configuration for MightyFly's autonomous cargo-aircraft test programme.
Source - 2016-12-23 - Contract Award - Orbital UAV signed long-term propulsion agreement with Insitu
The ASX announcement identified Insitu as the customer and described it as a Boeing subsidiary. The agreement covered UAV propulsion systems with a stated potential value over the initial term. The relationship links Orbital UAV’s propulsion layer to Boeing’s Insitu UAS business.
Source - 1988-01-01 - Company Formation - Orbital UAV was founded in Western Australia
Orbital UAV was founded in Western Australia in 1988. The company current UAV relevance centers on integrated heavy-fuel engine systems for tactical uncrewed aircraft. The long-running propulsion business now serves UAV engine markets rather than general aviation alone.
Source
Context
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Context tags
- UAV engine supplier - Peer Group - Orbital UAV supplies integrated engines for tactical unmanned aircraft.
- UAV propulsion component supplier - Stack Layer - Propulsion-system supplier for tactical UAS programs.
- Aerospace defence component supplier - Stack Layer - Defense aerospace component supplier.
Commercial
- Orbital UAV receives three-system MightyFly propulsion order
2026-07-29 · Order / contract · Orbital Corporation received an order for three high-capacity heavy-fuel propulsion systems supporting ground and flight testing of MightyFly autonomous cargo aircraft.
Source - Orbital UAV signed long-term propulsion agreement with Insitu
2016-12-23 · Order / contract · Orbital UAV announced a long-term agreement to supply UAV propulsion systems to Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary.
Source