LH Aviation
LH Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturing company, founded in 2004 and located in Melun-Villaroche. It is the developer of the LH-10 Ellipse.
Introduction
Created in 2004 by Sebastien Lefebvre.
Its flagship product, the LH-10, a two-seater plane full of carbon adaptable to multiple missions. It comes in different versions ranging from training aircraft, tactical UAV (24h autonomy), through the Advanced Surveillance monitoring or the intervention aircraft equipped with missiles and laser guided bombs guided for instance. Since this year, LH Aviation also features an operational range of UAVs from the contra rotating helicopter to the LH-D tactical UAV.
Finance and Strategy
At the 2009 Paris Le Bourget Air show, LH-Aviation was looking for financial support. Christophe Rémy who was financial and administrative manager of GECI-International came into contact with LH-Aviation. He offered a deal of €5M in order to manage their financial strategy. For that purpose "Magellan Industries" was created with Stéphane Schiller and Miss Châo Hoang Naudin (formerly manager of Reims-Aviation, bought by GECI-International before bankruptcy in 2010). Many financial instruments called Pégase 1, 2, 3 etc. were created and controlled by the Magellan society. Christophe Rémy, manager of Magellan Industries and major stock holder since 2010, became CEO of LH-Aviation in 2016.1 The LH 10 did not succeed the certification procedure due to miss-conception problems.[1] That is why an UAV model was built. In 2014 LH Aviation contacted Mohsine Bennani-Karim, a Moroccan business man, in order to build the LH 10 M in Morocco.In 2018 the company is placed in recovery and in September 2019 in judicial liquidation 1.
Key dates
- May 2004: LH Aviation created
- September 2007: First flight of the prototype SN Presentation at the Avia International Airsh
- Mars 2008: LH Aviation joined the Aerospace Cluster Activity at Melun-Villaroche
- June 2010: Financial and operational backing from Aeronautic Investment Fund Magellan Ind.
- June 2009: 2011, 2013: Participation to the 49th, 50th and 51st Paris Air Show and Flying demonstration
- October 2011: First formation: Saget Promotion Official delivery of the first two surveillance airplanes
- August 2012: First flight of the LH-10 Ellipse Surveillance Advanced version
- May 2013: First rocket launch performed from the LH-10 Ellipse
- April 2014: Set up of the Moroccan subsidiary
- December 2014: Use of the LH-10 by the French border police
- January 2015: Creation of the Explorair 45
- February 2015: Creation of the outsourcing department
- 21 October 2018: judicial liquidation [2]
Products
LH-10 Ellipse
The LH-10 Ellipse is for training and pilot training; It has a tandem configuration and a glass cockpit adjustable front and rear.
LH-10 Guardian
The LH-10 Guardian is for various surveillance missions. During these missions, pilots can quickly intervene in land and sea areas, and transmit real-time information collected to command centers by secure links. The LH-10 Guardian has characteristics adapted (6h autonomy, autopilot 2-axis ...) and the "Plug & Play" equipment (gyro-stabilized ball, hyper-spectral camera, GSM encrypted ...) adapted to different types of surveillance.
LH-10 Elfe
The LH-10 is the military ACAS aircraft LH Aviation, it is nicknamed "Elfe" in reference to the legendary creatures of small size. The LH-10 Elf is thus the intervention of LH Aviation platform. With its unique system of KC20 / Mission shelter equipped, it can be projected quickly on any theater of operations.
LH-D
This is the tactical UAV with OPV option. 100% carbon design. It also has a quick release system, which gives it the ability to be packaged in a standard KC20 kind specially designed container. Moreover, it can be implemented in degraded conditions and operated by a team of only three people. Its fields of application are multiple (surveillance zone, maritime surveillance, special forces task ...), its characteristics are adapted (autonomy 24h, low heat signature ...) and has communications (satellite link, Data link compatible with SAIM) and the "plug & play" equipment.