Company acknowledges dropping plan for UCAV to carry air-to-surface missile
Flight tests of the EADS Barracuda unmanned combat air vehicle (UAV) demonstrator were due to resume in southern Spain late last week, with a new campaign of up to three flights intended to expand the platform’s flight envelope.
The 3t testbed underwent high-speed taxi trials in Spain on 19 September ahead of the new campaign, which follows the design’s debut flight last April.
The Barracuda design was publicly unveiled at the Berlin air show. Peter Becher, EADS Military Air Systems’ vice-president for technology management, says a potential Sprial 1 Barracuda development would use terrain navigation and an automatic manoeuvering system derived from the Eurofighter Typhoon’s carefree handling system, and have automatic target recognition capabilities.
The Barracuda’s engine would also use a thrust-vectoring nozzle for improved stealth performance, he says. Other supporting technologies include a broadband datalink with a 100Mb/s transfer rate and a range of over 70nm (130km), he says. Developed by OHB in Bremen, this will start additional flight tests late this year.
Becher reveals that EADS originally planned for the Barracuda to fire an MBDA Brimstone air-to-surface missile from its modular payload bay, but says company efforts have shifted to focus entirely on surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition tasks.
EADS is meanwhile already looking at designs for Germany’s future Agile UAV project, and is seeking co-operation from nations including France and Switzerland, says Becher. The all-new design – drawing on experience gained from the Barracuda – will have a maximum take-off weight of around 5t, he says.
n EADS last week conducted the first series of demonstration firings of its DT45 target drone for launch customer the German navy.
Held in the Baltic Sea from 19-21 September, the three-day certification test involved simulating the threat posed by sea-skimming anti-ship missiles. With a 40min endurance and a maximum speed of 440kt (240km/h), the radar altimeter-equipped DT45 can also be used to meet ground-based air defence training requirements, EADS says.
Source: Flight International
