UAVs and UCAVs

[cobra commando]

Maiden flight of Cassidian's ATLANTE unmanned air vehicle in Spain


The ATLANTE programme is the most important technological and industrial initiative in the Spanish unmanned air vehicle sector.
First flight took place today at Rozas airfield in Lugo.

Cassidian today successfully performed the maiden flight of the ATLANTE Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). The flight took place at Rozas airfield, in the Castro de Rey municipality of Lugo

After having determined the Spanish industry's interest in UAS, the ATLANTE programme was launched by the Spanish Centre for Industrial Technological Development (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial – CDTI), which acted as an aviation industry programme manager, with the aim of fostering the development of this kind of technology through a project carried out entirely in Spain. The ATLANTE is now the most important industrial and technological initiative in Spain in the UAS sector. Cassidian is participating in the programme as the driving force behind the industrial model, with three high-tech venture capital partners (Indra, GMV and Aries). More than 140 Spanish subcontractors and suppliers are also cooperating in the programme, generating more than 500 skilled jobs.

The ATLANTE UAS is equipped with the latest-generation technology (automation, sensors, protection systems, etc.) developed by the Spanish industry, and has been designed according to the standards used for manned aircraft. This gives it unique features in terms of airworthiness and certification that will allow it to operate in civil airspace, unlike current systems that are limited to operations in conflict scenarios (e.g. Afghanistan). This ability, coupled with its operating flexibility – in accordance with the Spanish customer's requirements – make the ATLANTE the first tactical UAS capable of carrying out both civil and military missions, such as urban and rural surveillance, search and rescue, natural disasters, forest fires, monitoring of sporting events, etc., and of operating from prepared runways or being launched from catapults.

Pilar Albiac Murillo, COO of Cassidian and CEO of Cassidian Spain, said: "Today is a very special day for Cassidian and the Spanish industry. ATLANTE's first flight is a milestone that demonstrates our technological and human capabilities in programme development. We have the best team needed to ensure that ATLANTE is a success in the export market in the coming years."

Maiden flight of ATLANTE unmanned air vehicle - Cassidian.com

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Better workstations for drone operators may reduce mishaps

Better workstations for drone operators may reduce mishaps

The U.S. Department of Defense reports that drone accidents in which personnel or aircraft are damaged or destroyed occur 50 times more often than mishaps involving human-operated aircraft. The U.S. Marines and Army reported 43 mishaps that involved human factors issues associated with drone ground control workstations and technology during 2006-2007.

Human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) researchers Qaisar Waraich, Thomas Mazzuchi, Shahram Sarkani, and David F. Rico suggest that multimillion-dollar drone losses might be prevented if long-established and broadly applied HF/E workstation design standards had been used in designing workstations used by ground controllers.

In their Ergonomics in Design article, "Minimizing Human Factors Mishaps in Unmanned Aircraft Systems," the authors propose applying long-established commercial computer workstation standards, particularly ANSI/HFES 100-2007 Human Factors Engineering of Computer Workstations, in the absence of more specific guidelines for drone ground control workstations or a federal agency that is responsible for setting workstation standards.

Waraich et al. interviewed 20 drone operators about their ground control workstations, finding up to 98% similarity between input/output devices used in ground control workstations and those used for general purposes.

Therefore, results, the authors posit that standards that have been used to improve general-purpose workstations could have the same result for drone operators' workstations. The researchers included UAS designers with the U.S. Navy, systems engineering researchers from George Washington University, and engineers from top airframe manufacturers.

Application of design guidelines from ANSI/HFES 2007-100 might have prevented the awkward placement of a landing gear button and the subsequent loss of a $1.5-million drone in 2006. Similarly, had design guidelines been applied for reducing glare from a computer screen, a drone operator might not have mistakenly shut off engines midair, resulting in the loss of a $4.34 million drone.

"The application of this standard could help to ensure that operator workstation equipment and layouts have been designed with human compatibility considerations," says Waraich. "Commercial computer workstation standards provide quantitative parameters based on empirical data and well-established HF/E engineering practices."

Drones have been, and will continue to be, used in a broad range of applications, including police surveillance and natural disaster research, and ground control workstation designers can benefit from incorporating HF/E principles and standards.

 

[cobra commando]

Falco UAV flies with new radar fit

Selex ES has performed a series of flight trials with a Falco unmanned air vehicle modified to carry its Gabbiano T-20 radar.

Performed in Bulgaria, the test activity demonstrated the lightweight payload's ground and sea surveillance modes, including through the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and inverse SAR imaging. The latter capability would be of use during maritime patrol and search and rescue missions, the company says.

"At up to 160nm [296km] over sea and ground, the Gabbiano was able to provide air-to-surface surveillance modes and high-resolution imaging information," Selex ES says. "The successful combination of our Falco and Gabbiano product families will allow Selex ES to provide a more versatile tactical UAV solution for typical MALE [medium-altitude, long-endurance] multisensor missions."

Integrating the new sensor required only an adaptation to the aircraft's nose bay, according to the manufacturer.

Separately, Selex ES has also unveiled a new directed infrared countermeasures system called Miysis, which it says will be suitable for carriage by UAVs, small helicopters and light aircraft. The self-protection equipment will have a system weight of less than 50kg (110lb), it says.

Falco UAV flies with new radar fit

 

[cobra commando]

US Navy Orders Additional MQ-8C Long Endurance FireScouts

The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a contract valued at more than $71 million to produce six additional next-generation Fire Scout unmanned helicopters. The Navy plans to purchase a total of 30 aircraft under a rapid development effort. Northrop Grumman is currently under contract to produce 14 Fire Scouts that are scheduled to begin deploying in 2014. The Fire Scout endurance upgrade, designated the MQ-8C and based on Bell Helicopter's 407, will provide ship commanders with increased range, endurance and payload capacity over the current MQ-8B variant. Manufacturing and assembly operations of the new Fire Scout variant are well under way across the USA, with airframe modifications being made at Bell's facility in Ozark, Ala., and final assembly being completed at Northrop Grumman's Unmanned Systems Center in Moss Point, Miss.

Meanwhile the current variant, MQ-8B continues operations, maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. Last week the fleet exceeded the 8,000-flight-hour mark operating under the U.S. African Command area of responsibility, in the Red Sea, Eastern Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Fire Scouts routinely flying 17-hour days while providing 12 hours on station ISR coverage.

After exceeding the 8,000-flight-hour mark Friday, an MQ-8B Fire Scout assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 Detachment 5 prepares to land aboard USS Robert G. Bradley for a "hot pump" and re-launch while conducting maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in the Mediterranean Sea March 11. Fire Scouts aboard Bradley are routinely flying 17-hour days while providing 12 hours on station ISR coverage in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo)

http://defense-update.com/20130312_us-navy-orders-additional-mq-8c-long-endurance-firescouts.html

 

[cobra commando]

New U.S. drone to see everything, everywhere

U.S. agency DARPA has launched a new program called Node. The purpose of the program is to develop small-sized aircraft capable of carrying up to 600 pounds of payload. The projected range of the aircraft is from 600 to 900 nautical miles from the point of takeoff. The size of the new UAV will fit the size of smallest vessels.

Our civilization is becoming more and more perfect, but it does not bring peace and calmness to mankind. In the 21st century, people continue to wage wars, trying to catch the enemy off guard and attack the enemy in a most unexpected way. One must admit, though, that many military developments are used for peaceful purposes.

Unfortunately, even most advanced technologies can not help people all the time and when it is needed. Helicopters are limited in their range and flight time because they require a lot of power to fly. Aircraft, both manned and unmanned, can fly farther and longer, but they need either aircraft carriers or airfields with hard runways that would be long enough for them to land. The creation or deployment of both requires significant financial costs, not to mention an array of diplomatic issues.

To overcome these difficulties and expand opportunities for observing land from air, U.S. agency DARPA launched the program called Node. The goal of the program is to develop small-sized aerial vehicle (UAV) for long-term flights.Interestingly, the program provides for the use of light commercial vessels as a base for the new aircraft. Such vessels are plentiful, which will, of course, significantly lower operation costs.

The project of the future aircraft was named after the sea bird known for its endurance in the sky. Many of its species are able to migrate for thousands of miles every year. It will be possible to place the new UAV on board most small-sized vessels, including fishing seiners and even private yachts. Its operating range will then be completely comparable to that of carrier-based aircraft.

It will be possible not only to launch the aircraft, but also to take it back to the mother ship to be used again. "It's like having a falcon return to the arm of any person equipped to receive it, instead of to the same static perch every time," said Daniel Patt, DARPA program manager said.

This detail is very important, because about 98 percent of the globe lies within 900 nautical miles from the shoreline of the ocean. Enabling small vessels capable of launching such aircraft on demand will greatly enhance our knowledge of the situation wherever that may be. It will certainly increase the ability to quickly and efficiently learn about everything that happens in hotspots.To inform potential customers of the project, DARPA plans to hold a news conference on Tuesday, March 20, 2013 at the Conference Centre of the agency. For the time being, we can only say that the new unmanned aircraft will carry 600 pounds of payload. The range will make up from 600 to 900 nautical miles from the ship.

As for technical requirements, they include the following conditions:

- The development of a reliable launch and recovery of the system to allow a very large number of small ships to have this UAV on board. Moreover, it will be possible to launch the aircraft even during a storm;

- The vehicle should have the range, reliability and payload comparable to those of new ground-based drones. At the same time, it should meet the requirements for use in the marine environment (high corrosion resistance is required);

- Requirements for operation and maintenance should be as simple as possible. The works to redesign the construction of vessels should be minimal;

- The transport (and the launch) container for the aircraft should be compact, so that it can easily fit into the limited space on board the ship;

DARPA plans to complete the development of the new UAV in three stages during about 40 months. Some may think that DARPA experts unnecessarily complicate everything. There is space reconnaissance, there are AWACS aircraft that can easily detect even small groups of armed men from a distance of hundreds of kilometers.

However, a flight of an AWACS plane costs a lot of money, and it is impossible to see everything through a satellite. As for the new program, a small seiner or a container carrier will be able to launch its drone when needed to study the required object and obtain all necessary information about it in real time. Most importantly, it will be possible to deliver the information immediately to someone who needs it.

Vyacheslav Shpakovsky

New U.S. drone to see everything, everywhere - English pravda.ru

 

[H.A.]

Reinvention of flight: Unmanned plane becomes first jet in the world to fly without 'flaps'

A British unmanned plane that uses jets of air to fly instead of conventional 'flaps' has made aviation history.
The experimental unmanned air vehicle (UAV), called DEMON, uses blown jets of air to control the plane's movement in flight rather than conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons.
Experts say this will make it much easier to maintain as there are far fewer moving parts and gives the aircraft a more stealthy profile.

DEMON made its historic flight at Walney Island in Cumbria on Friday 17th September and was developed by Cranfield University with BAE Systems and nine other UK universities.

DEMON's trial flights were the first 'flapless flights' ever to be authorised by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
All aeroplane wings have moveable sections called flaps. During takeoff and landing, the flaps are extended backwards and downwards from the trailing edge of the wings.

This alters the shape of the wing, forcing the air to take a longer journey over the top of the wing and pushing the wing up, creating lift.
The jets on the DEMON aircraft work in a different way. The plane works by manipulating the air that flows immediately next to its skin, rather than changing its shape.

Jets of air close to the trailing edge of the wing change whether the air moves away from or towards the wing. Sensors along the wing constantly monitor the airflow and can adjust the direction of the jets of air.

The DEMON has an eight-foot wingspan and weighs just 200lbs. DEMON can fly parts of its mission by itself but is not fully autonomous as it is still just an experimental vehicle.

The aircraft's shape is known as a 'blended wing-body' configuration.

In Cumbria last Friday, DEMON successfully demonstrated flapless flight when, for a planned portion of a test-flight, the conventional flap control system was turned off and the aircraft flew and manoeuvred using the new technology.

The aircraft's success builds on previous UAV work by BAE as part of the FLAVIIR programme.

Richard Williams, BAE Systems programme director for Future Capability, said: 'What the FLAVIIR Team have achieved in such a short time is nothing short of remarkable. I was in Cumbria to watch DEMON fly and I feel sure I have witnessed a significant moment in aviation history.'

He added: 'What makes it even more poignant is that this is the result of British brains collaborating to produce world-leading technology. It, and other initiatives like it, will help ensure we maintain both a level of sovereign capability and a competitive edge.'

The flapless system, developed around a concept called fluidic flight control was tested in wind tunnels and on models before the full-scale trials on DEMON took place.

Professor John Fielding, chief engineer and lead for the DEMON demonstrator team from Cranfield University, said: 'To make an aircraft fly and manoeuvre safely without the use of conventional control surfaces is an achievement in itself; to do that while at the same time bringing together new construction techniques and new control mechanisms could be said to be over-ambitious – but we have done it.

'The DEMON UAV has been developed within a research programme but it is a representative, complex, high technology aircraft. Gaining approval from the CAA and flying it successfully has required great skill, dedication and patience by the team and they should be very proud of their achievement."
While D|EMON itself is not expected to become a production aircraft, a number of the technologies it contains are expected to end up in future aircraft designs.


Unmanned jet becomes first aircraft in the world to fly without 'flaps' | Mail Online

 

[W.G.Ewald]

A British unmanned plane that uses jets of air to fly instead of conventional 'flaps' has made aviation history.
The experimental unmanned air vehicle (UAV), called DEMON, uses blown jets of air to control the plane's movement in flight rather than conventional mechanical elevators and ailerons.

Writer is ignorant. Ailerons and elevators are not flaps.

Flaps are hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed at which an aircraft can be safely flown and to increase the angle of descent for landing. They shorten takeoff and landing distances. Flaps do this by lowering the stall speed and increasing the drag.

Flap (aircraft) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Flight control surfaces - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[cobra commando]

NAVAIR: X-47B Completes First Shore-Based Arrested Landing


NAVAIR: X-47B Completes First Shore-Based Arrested Landing - YouTube

 

[cobra commando]

X-47B Completes First Carrier-based Launch


CVN77 UCAS Launch - YouTube
X-47B Completes First Carrier-based Launch (Short) 1 - YouTube
X-47B Completes First Carrier-based Launch (Short) 2 - YouTube

 

[cobra commando]

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D) completed its first ever carrier- based catapult launch from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) off the coast of Virginia


X-47B Completes First Carrier-based Launch (Long) 3 - YouTube

 

[cobra commando]

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator lands at Naval Air Staion Patuxent River, Md., after completing the first launch of an unmanned aerial vehicle from an aircraft carrier, May 14, 2013.


X-47B Lands at Naval Air Staion Patuxent River - YouTube

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Rise Of the Machines..

 

[cobra commando]

'AURA' where are juu!

 

[arnabmit]

They should give it the nickname "Broadhead"

Rise Of the Machines..

 

[lcatejas]

This is called technology.............:thumb:

 

[SilentKiller]

Rise Of the Machines..

But thanks god they have manual button too...

 

[asianobserve]

BREAKING: Navy X-47B Drone Makes 1st 'Touch & Go' On Aircraft Carrier « Breaking Defense

 

[cobra commando]

UCAS Touch and Go Landing 2 - YouTube


And in 3,2,1 :xwings:

 

[SajeevJino]

Israel said to be world leader in UAV exports​

Israel's high-tech defense industry leads the world in exporting unmanned aerial vehicles, a new study says, while UAV designers are reported to be moving toward developing drones so advanced they could replace manned aircraft.

The international business consultancy Frost and Sullivan reports that over the last eight years Israeli manufacturers have sold UAVs worth more than $4.6 billion.

Just more than half of the deals in 2005-12 were with European states, primarily Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain.

A particularly large number of drones supplied to Britain's Watchkeeper UAV program, which is a joint project between Israel's Elbit Systems and the French defense multinational Thales. Watchkeeper drones are based on Elbit's Hermes 450 aircraft.

One-third of Israeli exports went to the Asia-Pacific region, including India, a major buyer of Israeli defense systems, and Azerbaijan.

Israel, which pioneered UAV technology in the 1970s, has steadily cultivated military and intelligence links with the former Soviet republic, Iran's northern neighbor, and has become a key arms supplier to the oil-rich Caspian state.

In addition to exports, Israeli defense firms set up subsidiaries in consumer countries "to target markets, rather than expand local manufacturing," Israel's Haaretz daily observed in 2009.

One example is the Aerostar and Orbiter 2M aerial drones being manufactured in Azerbaijan by Azad Systems Co., a joint venture between Israel's Aeronautics Defense Systems and the Azeri Defense Ministry.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported a few weeks ago that Israeli companies were behind 41 percent of all UAVs exported from 2001-11. Those Israeli exports went to 24 countries, including the United States.

Frost and Sullivan noted that the overall total of Israeli UAV exports didn't include a $100 million deal by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries with India to upgrade its Heron drones.

Defense News website says India, one of the biggest markets for the Heron, operates 60 of the IAI craft acquired in several deals together worth $1 billion -- and wants more.

The Heron can stay aloft for 40 hours at 30,000 feet, and carries a formidable array of sensors and avionics.

Israel and predominantly Hindu India are both battling Islamist militants, so their defense links are expected to grow. New Delhi's expanding defense ties with Israel underline its commitment to break India's longtime dependence on Russian weapons systems.

Eleven percent of the UAV sales, valued at $508 million, involved Latin American states, which in recent years have become an Israeli target for military deals.

All told, Israel military exports in 2005-2 were worth about $6.1 billion a year, with UAV sales totaling some $578 annually.

Israel is a major operator of UAVs, with three air force squadrons equipped with Heron, Hermes 450 and Searcher craft, as well as the giant Eitan with a wingspan of 83 feet.

Israel, with the most advanced defense industry in the Middle East, is in the forefront of the rapidly expanding drone business that's changing the way wars will be fought for decades to come.

IAI, Elbit and Aeronautics Defense Systems are developing new and more agile unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as ground and seaborne drones.

Israel's export volume is expected to expand as production costs are relatively low. Israeli industry officials boast that it's now significantly cheaper to buy an advanced UAV than it is to train an air force pilot.

Indeed officials say that within a few decades Israeli UAVs will be able to carry out virtually every battlefield function currently conducted by piloted aircraft.

"In recent years, there have been more pilotless sorties than piloted ones in the air force," observed Ophir Shoham, a reserve brigadier general who heads the Defense Ministry's Research and Development division.

"Within a few years there will be a number of operational missions that we'll be able to carry out with a small number of unmanned devices," he told the Haaretz daily in April.

"That's the direction we're taking. Robots are not about to replace combat soldiers -- that's a bit far off -- but yes, we'll operate unmanned vehicles on the ground against highly dangerous targets.

"I refer to targets in enemy territory against which we can send such vehicles remotely, as a kind of forward guard -- vehicles that both observe and shoot," he said. "We'll witness this in the foreseeable future."

Israel said to be world leader in UAV exports

 

[cobra commando]

Northrop Grumman - MQ-4C Triton High Altitude Long Endurance UAS First Flight


Northrop Grumman - MQ-4C Triton High Altitude Long Endurance UAS First Flight [1080p] - YouTube