Raytheon and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems are looking at ways to integrate unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight control, sensor collection and exploitation capabilities into the Ground Surveillance Airborne Radar System's (GSARS) platforms and ground stations. GSARS is the export version of the UK's Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) system.
Onboard
Raytheon will examine ways of integrating its Tactical Control System (TCS) onboard the GSARS aircraft and ground stations for the control of General Atomics' family of UAVs.
During the study, both companies will address the expanded concepts of operation, flexible communications architectures, and size, weight and power analysis.
The integration of UAV control within the GSARS architecture would significantly enhance the system's intelligence, surveillance, targeting, acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities.
Examples of Raytheon's current advanced remote control technology include the Global Hawk Ground Segment, U-2 Deployable Common Ground Segment, and generic ground control and intelligence processing systems.
General Atomics develops and manufactures a wide variety of UAV platforms, including the Predator, Predator B, IGNAT and Prowler II.
Source: Flight Daily News
