All Military UAVs articles – Page 323
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Tactical control tested with Outrider
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The Tactical Control System (TCS) being developed to operate the US Department of Defense's family of tactical unmanned air vehicles (TUAV) was successfully tested recently with the Alliant Techsystems Outrider. Two separate Outrider flights were conducted in early February at the company's flight operations centre ...
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Aerojet wins Atlas V SRMs
Tim Furniss/LONDON GenCorp Aerojet has won a $500 million contract to build solid rocket motors (SRMs) for the Lockheed Martin Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). The US launcher builder has also changed the name of the EELV to the Atlas V. The addition of the SRMs has been ...
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General Atomics on prowl for UAV requirement
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of the USA has offered its Prowler II and I-GNAT unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for the Australian Army's competition for the short-term lease of a tactical UAV system. The requirement is also being contested by AAI with the Shadow 600, Kentron with the Seeker, and ...
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New power source explored for Freewing Scorpion
Freewing Aerial Robotics and DCH Technology of the USA have launched an exploratory development programme to integrate DCH Technology's hydrogen fuel cells into the Freewing Scorpion Tilt-Body Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV). The multiphase project will begin with substitution of existing lead-acid batteries needed to operate sensor payloads. The research ...
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US Coast Guard charts Deepwater course
RamonLopez/WASHINGTON DC The impending retirement of Sikorsky Jayhawks and other aircraft has sparked the competition The US Coast Guard (USCG) is looking for new hardware to maintain its core humanitarian, law enforcement and military missions into the 21st century, both in coastal/inland waterways, and for missions out ...
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F-16 and C-17 are big winners in Pentagon's FY2000 budget plan
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense (DoD) fiscal year 2000 budget plan contains several unexpected procurement decisions for the US forces. They include additional Lockheed MartinF-16C/Ds, Boeing C-17 transports and one Northrop Grumman Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft that were not planned for ...
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Global Hawk looks to a wider role as DarkStar burns out
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical's Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system has demonstrated the ability to collect and transmit synthetic aperture radar (SAR), electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) imagery in near real time, in a flight which marked the first use of all three sensors on the same mission. ...
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Dutch plan air force cuts
The Netherlands armed forces face significant cuts, including the retirement of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft and Fokker F-27 transports, but will gain new helicopters and a theatre missile defence capability. The changes stem from a memorandum published on 25 January by the Dutch Ministry of ...
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UK carrier concept awaits fighter decision
Howard Gethin/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence has opened a contest for the contract worth up to £1.48 billion ($2.44 billion) to build two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. Invitations to tender have been issued to six potential prime contractors: British Aerospace Defence Systems, Marconi Electronic Systems, Boeing, Lockheed ...
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Darkstar trials
The second Tier III Minus Dark Star unmanned air vehicle (UAV) has completed its first high altitude flight, to 25,000ft (7,600m). The 2h 37m flight, from Edwards AFB, California, included an automated take-off and landing using global positioning navigational data. The mission demonstrated the UAV's ability to update preplanned mission ...
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F-A-18E/F: Starting block
When it comes to the US Navy's plans for the Boeing F/A-18, the E/F upgrade is only the start. Having tackled the original airframe's deficiencies, the navy is now keen to get to grips with the limitations of the current avionics. "We used around 90% of the C/D's avionics ...
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Bidders must offer new design
Bidders in the US Department of Defense's vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) competition will be required to submit new drone designs, since no existing models can meet the required operational requirements. Meanwhile, the US Navy UAV Programme Office is reviewing the concepts of operation for ...
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UK eyes new Phoenix partners
Tim Ripley/LONDON The British Army is reassessing its operational requirements for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), including enhancements to the Marconi Phoenix and a possible purchase of new unmanned systems, after its first Phoenix exercises in Canada. The army is carrying out an operational requirements study for two additional UAV ...
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Israel clears Silver Arrow unmanned air vehicle for export
Israel has released for export the Silver Arrow-developed Hermes series of long-endurance unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The systems have previously been classified. Silver Arrow UAVs are operated by the Israeli Defence Forces in long-range intelligence missions complementing data gathered by the Offeq-3 spy satellite. The firm is considered to be ...
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USAF moves towards 'electric' aircraft
The US Air Force is planning to flight test a power-by-wire controlled aircraft following the successful test of advanced electrically powered actuators on NASA Dryden's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA) Boeing F-18. The tests were part of the electrically powered actuation design (EPAD) programme, a jointly funded development effort conducted ...
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Predator UAV prowls through comms testing
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC General Atomics has demonstrated the ability of the Predator unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to communicate directly to air traffic control centres over a voice-radio relay link through a digital line of sight datalink. The trial is part of an effort to enable UAVs to fly in ...
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Hostilities resume with Iraqi SAM attacks
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Sporadic hostilities continued after US and UK forces ended four nights of attacks on targets in Iraq under Operation Desert Fox. On 28 December, the US Air Force attacked an SA-3 surface-to-air missile (SAM) site near Mosul which it says fired on aircraft enforcing the ...
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X directory
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC X is for experimental, and the USA's famous X-planes have played a key role in advancing aerospace technology over the more than 50 years since the Bell X-1 first flew. The nature of the X-series is changing, however. There is greater emphasis on ...
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Next-X ?
From the highs of the X-15's flights at over six times the speed of sound to the lows of the early-1990s' cancellation of the over-ambitious X-30 single-stage-to-orbit aerospace plane, the USA's "X-" series of experimental vehicles has exemplified the country's drive for dominance in the aeronautical and space technology arenas. ...
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Turning peanuts into gold
Ramon Lopez/MONTREAL Bombardier Services hopes that participation in the second phase of the US Navy's (USN) vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) demonstration will highlight the CL-327 Guardian's capabilities in satisfying the US military's VTOL Tactical UAV (VTUAV)requirement. The Canadian aerospace firm also seeks a ...