Saab (booth 821) has integrated its medium-range Skeldar unmanned air vehicle (UAV) with the company’s multi-sensor intelligence cell (MSIC), a ground-based system that collects and analyses intelligence data, says Saab.
MSIC has been used by the Swedish armed forces during missions conducted by UAVs in Afghanistan and operations performed using Saab Gripen combat aircraft over Libya in 2011.
“The MSIC has always been able to handle data from multiple ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] sources by acting as a stand-alone intelligence center,” says Saab. “Now we also have a system that enables us to scale-up the functionality of MSIC into a more integrated part of the ground control station of a UAS system like Skeldar.”
The integration with Skeldar, a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, will help “close the ISR loop” by delivering sensor data direct to mission commanders, including precise targeting coordinates, Saab says. Tests of the integrated system were successfully conducted at a Saab facility in February 2014.
Saab
Saab has recently completed a series of tests using Skeldar, which is powered by a heavy-fuel 625cc, 55hp engine.
The aircraft was first operationally deployed last year by the Spanish navy in the Bay of Aden.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
