AeroVironment will upgrade the 0.5kg (1lb) Wasp unmanned aircraft system to perform "hover/perch and stare" missions under a $4.6 million contract newly awarded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The agency's stealthy, persistent, perch and stare (SP2S) programme seeks to introduce "an entirely new generation of perch-and-stare micro air vehicles capable of flying to difficult targets, landing on and securing to a perch position", according to a DARPA fact sheet.
Key challenges in the SP2S contract include integrating multifunctional materials that blend airframe structure with the power supply and antennas, and developing new technologies such as a perch-and-grip system and "microminiature" pan/tilt/zoom electro-optical cameras.
"We believe the Wasp-based SP2S is on track to develop into a portable, practical and affordable perch-and-stare micro air vehicle," says John Grabowsky, AeroVironment's UAS executive vice-president and general manager.
AeroVironment declines to provide details on the timeline for the SP2S technology. The Wasp is already operated by the US Air Force and US Marine Corps.
Source: Flight International
