Harris is developing a suite of new tools to better integrate unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) into the battle space.

A new communication relay payload built by the company will be part of the Navy's small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS) tier II program, and ground forces are now beginning to use a new "wearable" handheld radio that can present video downlink from a UAV either on an attached monocle or on a laptop.

The communication relay payload, selected by Boeing/Insitu Integrator for the STUAS tier II contract, was adapted from a similar system flying in the wingtips of the AAI Shadow UAV to relay VHF and UHF radio signals, thereby boosting signal range.

Harris senior manager for defense electronics business development Charles Westerfield says the first operational assessment of the Integrator with the communications relay will take place by the end of the calendar year, though the Navy may choose to accelerate the schedule, requiring first flights this summer. Westerfield says the Integrator relay is a stepping stone to Internet protocol (IP) data relay systems that in the future will allow UAVs to relay both voice and high speed data.

The company says the US Air Force and Marines are using several hundred of its handheld RF-7800T video receiver radios for viewing live video from several UAV platforms, with the Army now performing a technology review for a potential purchase of 100 units for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Harris used the video receiver for humanitarian purposes recently during earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti, using the equipment to downlink video from a Shadow UAV for damage assessments.

Source: Flight Daily News

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