BAE SYSTEMS' Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Performs Flawlessly in Fully Autonomous Flight Tests.LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. -- BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. has achieved fully autonomous flight of its second-generation ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. . The vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL VTOL n. A convertiplane that can take off and land vertically. [v(ertical) t(ake)o(ff and) l(anding).] VTOL vertical takeoff and landing ) aircraft took off and landed automatically in two flight tests, each time completing a course of 10 waypoints at Southern California's Hansen Field. The autonomous tests followed more than 100 flights conducted with assisted takeoff and landing over the past several months. BAE Systems has developed a family of ducted-fan UAVs in which mission requirements for payload weight, altitude, and endurance will determine the size of the platform. The ducted-fan design shrouds the fan, making it ideally suited for company- and platoon-level operations in which takeoffs and landings occur in close proximity to troops. The concept features an inherently stable design that yields robust operation in windy conditions and in urban environments, with reduced reliance on complex flight control systems. It can operate in both hover and forward wing-borne flight modes, the latter providing increased operational range and fuel efficiency. The wings can be removed for urban operations that require increased maneuverability and a smaller airborne signature. The vehicle has low visual and acoustic signatures to minimize the probability of detection The Probability of Detection is a term used in Radar sets. The radar system must detect, with greater than or equal to 80% probability at a definied range, a one square meter radar cross section. The received and demodulated echo signal is processed by a threshold logic. at launch and when deployed behind enemy lines. BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. BAE Systems North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. is one of America's foremost national security, aerospace, and information systems companies. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion