UNMANNED SYSTEMS UPDATE
02 Feb 09. Honeywell received an order via Foreign Military Sales, for six T-Hawk MAV (Micro Air Vehicle) systems from the U.S. Navy, which is the contracting agency for the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the T-Hawk MAV system procurement. The circular vehicle, weighing 17 pounds and 14 inches in diameter, can fly down to inspect hazardous areas for threats without exposing warfighters to enemy fire. The T-Hawk MAV has the ability to take off and land vertically and can fly more than 40 minutes. In addition, the T-Hawk MAV can move at more than 40 knots of airspeed and operates at altitudes of more than 10,000 feet. In addition to the six T-Hawk MAV units, the MOD will receive training, field support, maintenance and spare parts. The order is an addition to the Navy’s existing T-Hawk contract with Honeywell announced in November 2008 for 90 systems. The systems will be delivered to the Ministry of Defence in 2009. In November the Navy awarded Honeywell its first production contract for the T-Hawk MAV. The T-Hawk MAV will be used by joint force EOD (Explosive Ordinance Device) units in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other locations.
30 Jan 09. Raytheon Company achieved another industry first from NATO for the U.S. Navy Tactical Control System. The so-called STANAG (Standardization Agreement) 4586 certification confirms that the TCS is the only unmanned ground control system conforming to the NATO standard.
“This is a great accomplishment for the Navy, Raytheon and the TCS program,”
said Capt. Tim Dunigan, U.S. Navy. “Having the NATO STANAG 4586 stamp of
approval provides the United States and the Navy the first open architecture
unmanned aircraft conforming ground system.”
The Tactical Control System gives the Navy an advanced ground system that
provides an open user interface enabling unmanned aircraft system operators
to train on one system and control multiple unmanned aircraft system payloads
with minimal training.
“Now we have the first NATO stamp of approval on the TCS unmanned ground
control system,” said Ravindra Nirgudkar, program manager for Raytheon’s
Tactical Control System. “The TCS is the first ‘open’ unmanned ground control
system in the world.”
The Navy’s MQ-8B Fire Scout by Northrop Grumman will be the first air vehicle
to use this STANAG 4586-certified software. The control system consists of
mission planning, command and control, data processing and dissemination
capabilities for operation of the full range of tactical unmanned aircraft
systems.
02 Feb 09. Northrop Grumman Corporation has received U.S. Air Force approval to begin a portion of Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) Radar System Level Performance Verification (RSLPV) flight testing. The approval comes following a successful test readiness review for the MP-RTIP sensor’s Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging mode. This radar is slated for the RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial system (UAS) currently in production. The RSLPV flight test program will take place over the next several weeks with an Air Force report on its success due by the end of For RSLPV, the sensor is being flown on Northrop Grumman’s Proteus aircraft as a surrogate for the first Block 40 Global Hawk. By verifying sensor performance on Proteus, the sensor testing has progressed without impact to production, significantly lowering the risk with regard to the Global Hawk’s operational capability. The first Block 40 Global Hawk, AF-18, has been built at Palmdale, CA, and is undergoing testing in preparation for its first flight later this year. Sensor development continues on schedule, with flight test scheduled to start this summer.
26 Jan 09. ONR to explore cargo UAS options for US Marine Corps logistics.The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has asked industry to advise on available technologies, candidate concepts and technology development efforts that could m