Cranfield Aerospace has launched a project to certificate a small unmanned air vehicle by working with the UK Civil Aviation Authority to extend its manned aircraft design organisation approval to unmanned aircraft.
“We are trying to be the first in the UK to get our approvals extended to UAV systems,” says business development director Prof Ian Poll, who believes there will be no civil market until UAVs are certificated to file and fly like manned aircraft.
Cranfield’s Pathfinder project exploits the fact that European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) rules permit approval of aircraft under 150kg (330lb) at national discretion. The company has applied to the CAA for certification of a UAV weighing less than 150kg. “There is a legal framework, the CAA acknowledges this. We have paid our money and they have to do it,” says Poll, adding that the UK regulator has a “positive attitude” towards the project.
The first step is to extend Cranfield’s existing manned aircraft design organisation approval to unmanned aircraft systems, including the ground control station. “We will put the simplest system through to test every element of the certification process while making it as risk-free as possible,” says Poll.
The plan is to put a small, low-cost and low-risk vehicle through certification using a spiral development approach. This would begin with the UAV flying at Cranfield under local air traffic control. “We would then fly off and back, and then take off from Cranfield and land at Cambridge in broad daylight. This will open up airspace to autonomous vehicles,” says Poll.
Source and more information: Flight International
Operator error caused the 25 April crash of the US Customs and Border Patrol’s first General Atomics Predator B unmanned air vehicle, according to preliminary information from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
A failure to follow procedure when transferring control between operator stations caused the UAV’s engine to shut down, and the Predator crashed near Nogales, Arizona.
The mistake occurred when the pilot’s operator console “locked up”, and he switched control to the payload operator’s console. The checklist requires the pilot to match the control positions on the new console to those on the station that had been controlling the UAV. The pilot failed to do this, says the NTSB.
Source and more information: Flight International
Suspended from a yellow frame, the manta-like shape shakes almost imperceptibly as the second X-48B demonstrator undergoes final testing before being shipped to Edwards AFB in California. The ground vibration testing is being conducted by Cranfield Aerospace, which has built the blended wing-body (BWB) unmanned research vehicle for Boeing’s Phantom Works in an unusual example of transatlantic cooperation.
“We are providing Boeing with a research tool in which to test their flight control system software,” says D J Dyer, Cranfield Aerospace’s general manager UAV systems. The X-48B will allow the BWB’s low-speed characteristics and complex control system to be explored in flight. “We are giving them the complete thing – two 8.5%-scale aircraft, a ground control station, support equipment and spares,” says Prof Ian Poll, business development director.
Boeing, which has worked on BWB design for several years, planned to build a larger 14%-scale demonstrator, the X-48A, but NASA budget cuts killed the project. “Boeing decided we still needed to demonstrate the flight controls, so we looked for people to work with,” says Phantom Works’ X-48B chief engineer Norm Princen. “We did not want to build the vehicle in-house, so we chose Cranfield.”
Source and more information: Flight International
Representatives with Oregon Iron Works, Inc. told ANN Tuesday the defense systems provider recently completed a successful flight test of the Sea Scout unmanned seaplane in southeast Texas. The flight test included two completely autonomous water landings.
“Our research indicates this is the first time a seaplane has ever been auto-landed in the United States,” said Josh Pruzek, program manager for the Sea Scout. An onboard LADAR provided altitude and water surface data to the autopilot during the landing approach and touchdown. “Both landings were picture perfect — as good as they get,” said Pruzek.
Under development for nearly two years, the Sea Scout air vehicle is the result of a Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) sponsored Phase III Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract. The aircraft was flown at a gross weight of 300 lbs, and carried 25 pounds of ballast in order to simulate a payload. A 38-hp Wankel rotary engine powers the UAV.
Source and more information: aero-news
Canadian soldiers have found a way to turn noisy UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) into a unique psychological warfare weapon. Afghanistan has been a popular place to use UAVs. Afghanistan is a big place, a lot of it not covered by forest or heavy brush. UAVs give the users a major advantage, the ability to see what’s going on over a wide area. But until the Canadians came along with their Sperwer UAVs, the American ones were largely silent. U.S. troops used either small, battery powered, low flying micro-UAVs, or larger, high flying ones like Predator. The $2.6 million Sperwer LE (Long Endurance) weighs 772 pounds, carries a 110 pound payload, is 12 feet long and has an endurance of 12 hours. Sperwer can operate up to 200 kilometers from its ground control unit. But the Sperwer uses a noisy engine (think lawnmower) and flies low enough to be heard. At first, the Canadian troops thought this was a disadvantage, as it let the Taliban below know they were being watched. But then the Canadians found out that Afghans had learned, when fighting the Russians during the 1980s, to fall flat on the ground when they heard aircraft overhead. From the air, the dirt colored Afghan clothes blended in with the ground, making the prone Afghans invisible. That doesn’t work with UAVs, who have a much better view of the ground than passing aircraft or helicopters. UAVs also carry heat sensors. But it gets worse for the prone Taliban. Not only are the bad guys now immobile, but they tend to stay that way for a while, as the Sperwer circles overhead, and the pursuing Canadian troops get closer.
Source and more info: strategypage
The first fleet of indigenously-built Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) `Nishant’, specifically designed for any-time launch and recovery, would be delivered to the Army by mid-2007, Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Director G Elangovan said on Tuesday.
ADE conducted its 106th flight trial early this morning and the multi-mission UAV’s successful launch and recovery here was watched by officials of the Coast Guard, he said.
“The uniqueness of Nishant is that it has no wheel at the bottom and is ready for launch and recovery from any point,” he told reporters.
Noting that it did not require a runway, he said the Indian Army had placed orders for the UAV with the Bangalore-based ADE and the first fleet would be delivered by middle of next year.
“Nishant” would be the state-of-the-art UAV to be acquired by the Army after “Lakshaya”, which is now used as an aerial target system for shooting, Programme Director Natarajan said.
Besides, the UAV would also be used for civilian applications, he said.
Source and more info: ibnlive
Launched from a 14,000 feet mountaintop, Skylark autonomously climbed to an altitude exceeding 15,000 feet and landed at a designated Point of Recovery on the mountain
Over the past few months, Skylark demonstrated record-breaking performance inextreme temperatures ranging from –17 to +50 degrees and in harsh weather conditions
(Haifa, Israel, May 24, 2006) — Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) announced the successful test flight of the Skylark Mini UAV at 15,000 feet altitude. The high altitude flight demonstration was part of a larger evaluation conducted by a potential customer.
The Skylark was launched from a mountaintop at an altitude of 13,785 feet (4.5 Kilometers) and operating in autonomous flight mode climbed to a cruising altitude exceeding 15,000 feet. At the end of the test flight the Skylark performed a perfect automatic landing at the designated point of recovery on the rocky mountain. The flawless take-off, cruise and landing in an altitude where the air density is less than 60% of the sea level atmosphere and the wind gusts are known to be dangerous for any airborne platform were testament to Skylark’s ruggedness and reliability.
The high altitude test was part of a successful series of evaluation flights which included performance in day and night operational scenarios. Previously, in other system evaluations, Skylark demonstrated flawless performance in extreme temperatures ranging from –17 to +50 degrees and under cloudy and rainy conditions.
The Skylark, advanced mini-UAV, is a unique man-pack configuration designed for day and night observation and data collection “beyond the hill” up to distances of 10 km. The mini-UAV system is equipped with an exceptionally quiet electric motor, totally autonomous flight and outstanding observation capabilities allowing for easy operation and orientation. The system can be launched by soldiers after a brief training period. The Skylark system enhances ground forces’ tactical performance in various mission scenarios.
Elbit Systems’ Skylark is the sole mini-UAV system selected by the IDF and IMOD for its ground forces after successfully passing a series of stringent tests demonstrating its technical and operational capabilities. and is currently deployed by several countries as part of the coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The mini-UAV has already chalked up 1500 operational flights.
Source and more info: shephard
The Kemijärvi airfield is to be opened for use as a test flight centre for international companies, reports Ruotuväki, the Finnish Defence Forces newspaper, in its Friday issue
The new Robonic Arctic UAV Test Flight Centre (RAUTFC), located just inside the artic circle, is to be used for testing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their equipment before sale to armed forces in various countries.
Lieutenant Commander Jyri Saanio from the defence ministry told Ruotuväki that the test flights did not qualify as military activity, just business between private companies.
Test flights are probably to begin during the summer, Juha Moisio, managing director of Finnish engineering company Robonic, said in his interview by Ruotuväki. Robonic, which primarily manufactures UAV launching systems, is in charge of organising the test flight project.
Source and more info: finland
The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA] and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), functioning as the Lead Systems Integrator for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program, today awarded a contract, valued at approximately $61 million, to Honeywell Defense & Space Electronic Systems to develop the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System (UAVS). The Class I UAVS, a platoon-level asset and the smallest of four FCS unmanned aerial vehicle classes, will provide dismounted soldiers with unprecedented reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capabilities on the battlefield.
“We have evaluated Honeywell’s engineering design approach and success in the area of micro air vehicle technology, and we are confident that their design solution for the FCS Class I UAVS is a superior fit that will meet both current and future warfighter requirements,” said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing vice president, general manager and FCS program manager. “We are excited to have Honeywell as a key partner on the FCS best-of-industry team and look forward to maintaining our critical path forward on FCS UAV development.”
The FCS program will leverage Honeywell’s work on the Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), a prototype vehicle developed under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration. Recently used by the Army’s 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii for soldier testing and experimentation, the MAV has successfully demonstrated ducted fan technology, a key to meeting FCS Class I UAV requirements for a small, back-packable UAV that provides “hover and stare” capability.
Source and more info: webwire
The world of robotics is developing remarkably quickly, mainly due to the keen interest of the United States Government in wishing to ensure its military personnel are shielded from harm’s way. Robots can’t get killed. Any damage sustained can be repaired. The seeming necessity to fight a war on terror has accelerated development to dizzying urgency and has precipitated the twice run DARPA Grand Challenge and an Urban Grand Challenge planned for next year. The knowledge gained in conducting these machine olympiads has been fast-tracked into prototypes, the first of which we have just seen, the awesomely powerful Crusher UGV. Other species of UGV have developed ranging from SWORDS, the the world’s first robotic combat soldier, through the six-wheeled R-GATOR to the quadruped robotic mule. Funding is flowing for the development of dozens of military-application UAV systems from man-packable size to massive intelligent jet-powered uber-birds that can identify a human target and take it out in one quite literal fell swoop. We’re also seeing unmanned underwater vehicles developed for exploration, mine-clearance, underwater patrol, inspection, maintenance ad infinitum. And as imagination runs rife in the area, new categories of UAV are emerging such as the omnipotent Cormorant MPUAV and the carbon fibre and Kevlar Snark, the meanest and leanest VTOL UAV on the planet. One area that has been notably lean in unmanned vehicle development is surface craft, so a new vehicle, jointly developed by BAE Systems, RAFAEL and Lockheed Martin is worthy of some attention. The Protector is an unmanned integrated naval combat system with a stabilized gun and the ability to conduct a wide spectrum of critical missions while eliminating unnecessary risk to personnel and capital assets. It’s stealthy, fast and highly manoeuvrable, identifies its targets through an electro-optical system and has day and night strike capabilities. Highly autonomous and remotely controlled, the Protector can successfully operate with general guidance from a commander and operator.
Source and more info: gizmag
