Smiths Aerospace, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, has teamed with BAE Systems to develop an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) technology demonstrator project called Taranis.
Under a contract awarded by the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD), BAE Systems will be the industry lead and prime contractor of a joint program to develop Taranis.
BAE Systems, Smiths Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, and QinetiQ, will work alongside MoD staff and scientists to develop and fly Taranis. Smiths Aerospace will provide the complete electrical power system for Taranis, along with its fuel gauging capability.
Source and more info: pennnet
Popular Science Awards Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Polecat UAV Best of What’s New for 2006
F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter and the P-175 Polecat Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) have received the 2006 Best of What’s New awards from Popular Science, the world’s largest science and technology magazine.
Popular Science Editor Mark Jannot said, “Best of What’s New is the ultimate Popular Science accolade, representing a year’s worth of work evaluating thousands of products. These awards honor innovations that not only influence the way we live today, but that change the way we think about the future.”
The stealthy Lightning II is a supersonic, multi-role, 5TH Generation fighter designed to replace a wide range of existing aircraft, including AV-8B Harriers, A-10s, F-16s, F/A-18 Hornets and United Kingdom Harrier GR.7s and Sea Harriers. Three versions of the F-35 are under development: a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant for conventional runways, a short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant for operating off small ships and near front-line combat zones, and a carrier variant (CV) for catapult launches and arrested recoveries on board the U.S. Navy’s large aircraft carriers.
Source and more info: pcb007
Under a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory industry team, the Boeing Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) program successfully completed flight tests in August that demonstrated for the first time an unmanned air vehicle’s ability to autonomously maintain a steady refueling station behind a tanker aircraft. With autonomous air refueling capabilities, unmanned aircraft will have greater combat radius and loiter time.
In August 2007, the AAR team will demonstrate autonomous maneuvering around the tanker. The Learjet will engage the AAR system at the observation position on the tanker wing and will be directed from a control station to go to the pre-contact and contact positions upon approval from the tanker crew.
“This can enable a quicker response for time-critical targets and will reduce the need for forward-staging refueling areas. Another benefit is increased in-theater military presence with fewer military assets” said David Riley, Boeing Phantom Works AAR program manager.
Source and more info: avionews
Athena Technologies’ GuideStar flight control and navigation system has contributed to the successful first flight of Aurora Flight Sciences’ GoldenEye 80 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The design and embedded capabilities of the GoldenEye 80 enable the UAV to be used for a variety of military missions, from conducting surveillance beyond hills in rural areas to gathering intelligence while flying between buildings in urban warfare operations.
The GoldenEye 80 is being developed under contract to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through its Organic Air Vehicle (OAV-II) program, which has responsibility for the development of UAVs to support small military groups conducting tactical missions.
Standing 65 inches tall and weighing roughly 150 pounds, the ducted fan UAV takes off and lands vertically but can also transition to horizontal flight using wings. The flight marked an industry milestone as GoldenEye 80 became the first ducted fan UAV to fly under the power of a heavy fuel engine. Heavy fuel engines enable an aircraft to conveniently use common military fuel.
Source and more info: pennnet
Boeing Australia has signed a contract to provide Australia its first Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) under Joint Project (JP) 129.
Boeing Australia, with partner Israel Aircraft Industries’ (IAI) MALAT Division, will deliver the I-View 250A TUAV and associated systems to the Australian Army, providing new airborne surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition capabilities.
Boeing Australia is the prime contractor and has responsibility for program management, systems engineering and technical management; and integrated logistics support. IAI will deliver the I-View 250A TUAV system.
Boeing Australia Managing Director David Withers said the company is looking forward to introducing a new capability into the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that will put it at the forefront of global TUAV technology.
Source and more info: e4engineering
Under a contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems will be the industry lead and prime contractor of a joint ?124 million project to develop a world-class UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) Technology Demonstrator Programme called Taranis.
BAE Systems, together with Rolls-Royce, Smiths Aerospace and QinetiQ, will work alongside MoD military staff and scientists to develop and fly Taranis, named after the Celtic God of Thunder. The four-year Taranis project, part of the UK Government?s Strategic Unmanned Air Vehicle (Experimental) Programme [SUAV(E)], will result in a UAV with fully integrated autonomous systems and low observable features.
About the size of a BAE Systems Hawk, Taranis will provide the MoD with experimental evidence on the potential capabilities of this class of UAV and help to inform decisions on the future mix of manned and unmanned fast jet aircraft.
Taranis is jointly funded by the UK MoD and UK industry, and will bring together a number of technologies, capabilities and systems to produce a technology demonstrator based around a fully autonomous intelligent system. Ground testing of Taranis is expected to take place in early 2009 with the first flight trials taking place in 2010.
Source and more info: netcomposites
Aero-News has learned the second of two US Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration (GHMD) unmanned aircraft arrived on December 6 at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, MD following an 11.1 hour flight. The aircraft flew from Edwards Air Force Base, CA where it had been undergoing acceptance tests and supporting recent Navy demonstrations over Hawaii.
The GHMD program is a pathfinder for a variety of Navy objectives for its unmanned air system program. These include: the development of maritime endurance unmanned aerial vehicle sensors; concepts of operations; tactics, techniques, and procedures; and Fleet integration with manned aircraft. Delivery of the second vehicle marks the completion of GHMD’s hardware delivery under the low rate production and development contracts.
Source and more info: aero-news
