Sandstorm Maiden Flight in Oklahoma

Representatives from the Lawton Chamber of Commerce and Industry joined government officials to venture far west of Lawton to see the first public demonstration of the Sandstorm unmanned aircraft. Built by Unmanned Systems Inc. of Las Vegas, it is being marketed by Northrop Grumman as an inexpensive alternative to more expensive systems, one it says could save taxpayers money and improve the skills of pilots.

The demonstration took place at the Oklahoma Training Center for Unmanned Systems west of Lawton and adjacent to Fort Sill. The 80-acre site, with two paved landing strips and one unimproved strip, is a venture of the Oklahoma State University Multispectral Laboratory, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to bringing together industry, defence agencies and academia to promote promising technologies.

“We were very proud of being selected by Northrop Grumman to facilitate a one-of-a-kind demonstration,” said retired Maj. Gen. Toney Stricklin, president of Heartland Defense Industries, which operates the Comanche County site for the lab.

Unmanned aircraft began flying at the site 21 months ago, Stricklin said, and several different types have flown there for projects for the government and for contractors testing equipment for the government.

Northrop Grumman hopes to station a number of Sandstorm aircraft at the site. Karl Purdy, manager of new unmanned aircraft systems for the corporation, said the company would have at least three people on site, plus one pilot for each additional aircraft.

No one has to convince Purdy that the Comanche County airport is the place to be. “I’m telling you, you couldn’t ask for a better location,” he told Fourth District U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, who was among the group watching Friday’s flights.

Purdy also is convinced that the Sandstorm is just what the market is looking for. One advantage is that it’s inexpensive, at least for what it does. Purdy said the Department of Defense could buy 100 Sandstorms for what one Predator drone costs, yet the Sandstorm can successfully emulate a Predator for training.

Source: The Lawton Constitution

One comment

  1. To Whom it May Concern,
    The vision behind Sandstorm was to: 1. provide the US Govt and other agencies a low cost alternative to UAS Fundamental Flight Training; 2. provide a low risk system that can improve UAS pilot (manual) takeoff and landing flight skills and proficiencies beyond that of a so-called high-definition UAS simulator–which technically doesn’t exist in a pure form; and 3. provide a surrogate land and ground forces platform so that the larger operational aircraft can stay in the field. There are other unique features to this system that set it apart from other unmanned aircraft including its ability to be flown remotely via the internet. For instance, the pilot for the Lawton demonstration was flying the aircraft while sitting in Oklahoma State University’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department’s conference room while the aircraft took off, flew a couple of low approaches, and landed at UML’s facility 180 miles away…without using a SATCOM system. This patent pending capability would allow USAF Predator or Reaper pilots, for instance, to sit at their desks anywhere with broadband internet to practice takeoffs and landings with the Sandstorm aircraft and keep their skills sharp. 15-20 minutes per day a few times per week would help reduce the millions of dollars spent each year on takeoff and landing incidents and mishaps due to lack of skill and proficiency. The cost and operation of the Sandstorm system is very difficult to ignore. It’s less expensive to own and operate than most (if not all) of the UAS simulators that are in use today. Of course, the simulators serve a valuable purpose and have mission training capabilities that are important. But the expense of simulators and their operational costs preclude enough availability to keep our LRE pilots proficient for takeoff and landing.

    If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 520-508-2587.

    v/r

    Karl Purdy
    New UAS Programs
    Northrop Grumman Technical Services

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