UNMANNED SYSTEMS UPDATE
01 May 09. Raytheon Company has purchased rights to the technology and name of the KillerBee unmanned aircraft system from Northrop Grumman. Under the agreement, Raytheon will submit the KillerBee for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ Small Tactical UAS and Tier II competition. “We’re competing for STUAS Tier II but that is only the beginning,” said Bob
Francois, Raytheon Missile Systems Advanced Programs vice president.
“Raytheon has rights to produce, improve and sell KillerBee IV and our plan is to continuously mature the system and tailor it to meet the needs of allied warfighters around the globe.” The KillerBee UAS features a blended-wing aircraft body design. It also has common systems for land or sea launch, recovery and ground control. The unique design of KillerBee enables growth for future payloads and additional mission capabilities. KillerBee is ideal for force protection in an expeditionary environment, and represents a major upgrade to today’s embedded airborne surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition capability.
01 May 09. Plextek will be launching its new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) engine at the Paris Air Show. Plextek’s advanced Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) design weighs up to 30% less than current solutions in its class. For more information or to see a demo please visit Plextek’s stand C34 in Hall 6. Traditionally engines for MALE UAVs have required a larger engine to cope with power loss at higher altitude. Plextek’s innovative solution uses a supercharger, traditionally found on manned aircraft, to maintain engine power at higher altitude. The UAV engine was designed by Plextek’s defence group, which is experienced in aeronautical engineering and the design of defence and aerospace electronics. Plextek’s team of consultants combine extensive expertise in software and hardware design, research and development of unmanned air systems, air vehicle propulsion, system integration, simulation and modeling and prototype trials and demonstrations.
27 Apr 09. Northrop Grumman Corporation announced its Bat(tm) line of small unmanned air systems (UAS). The Bat(tm) systems will have wingspans ranging from 6.5 to 33.2 feet. The Bat(tm) UAS product line is the formerly known KillerBee product line recently acquired by Northrop
Grumman from Swift Engineering. Northrop Grumman is engaging Swift Engineering to continue to work on design refinement, product line development, flight test support and manufacturing. Product development will be managed by Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. (Source: Yahoo!)