The General Atomics Reaper may eventually go from hunting terrorists to hunting hostile ballistic missiles. It may get a new mission as a frontline cueing system for the burgeoning U.S. missile defence architecture. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) officials say the Reaper and its Raytheon MTS-B sensor are showing promise.
Category Archives: Applications & Testing & Experience
DARPA, US Army and Rockwell Collins Video of Damage Tolerance Control Testing on Shadow
Rockwell Collins has just made this video available of the October 2010 test flight of an AAI RQ-7B Shadow equipped with its damage-tolerant flight control system. Under the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Damage Tolerance programme, 20 inches of the Shadow’s wing was blown off in flight. The autonomous control system automatically recovered the aircraft to controlled flight, adjusted the autopilot gains to compensate for the loss of an aileron, and landed the aircraft safely.
Northrop Grumman Enters Bat for IED-Hunting Sand Dragon B Programme
Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems sector in San Diego is using the company’s Bat unmanned aircraft in the U.S. Air Force Sand Dragon B programme to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other roadside bombs.
Boeing Pauses Phantom Ray Tests After Two Flights
Boeing has ended the scheduled flight test programme for the self-funded Phantom Ray unmanned combat air systems (UCAS) demonstrator after two sorties, although it had originally planned 10.
Black Dart and Blue Knight
The U.S. military is heavily reliant on unmanned aircraft systems to serve as its eyes and weapons on the battlefield. But other nations have also been active in acquiring their own platforms, which raises the possibility that future warfighters may have to face a UAS-equipped opponent.
Fire Scout to Be Armed
America’s only combat casualty in Libya had no way of defending itself, when it was taken out by a heavy anti-aircraft weapon. But that’s about to change. The U.S. Navy’s Fire Scout unmanned helicopter is poised to start test-firing rockets. By the end of next year, it should be fully weaponized.
Aerovel Flexrotor VTOL Small Unmanned Aircraft
Second Northrop Grumman X-47B UCAS Engine-On Tests Scheduled
The second Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS) is scheduled to hold its first engine-on tests on August 21, followed shortly by taxi tests and a first flight.