Honeywell’s Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) is being deployed in Iraq to help US troops hunt for improvised explosive devices (IED). This is the first time a ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been used in combat missions.
Developed for the US Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) programme, MAV is designed to be man-pack portable. It operates like a small remote-controlled helicopter and can take off and land
vertically without runways or helipads. Information from its electro-optical and infra-red (IR) video cameras relay information back to hand-held terminals on the ground.
Deployment takes less than five minutes, and lifting power for the 13in (325mm) device comes courtesy of an RCV-supplied engine-driven ducted fan. The MAV has a 50kt (90km/h) top speed and an operating ceiling of 10,500ft.
Mike Cuff, vice president, surface systems, Honeywell defence and space, says: “IED attacks are among the most dangerous challenges faced by our troops in Iraq. Honeywell has more experience than any other company in developing ducted-fan vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicles. MAV can operate at very high altitudes or near to the ground, providing unprecedented hover and stare capabilities for IED detection in war zones.”
Ed Wheeler, Honeywell’s president of defence and space, says: “We have also completed some demonstration work on the interoperability between fixed-wing UAVs that can do a higher level first-pass look for IEDs with the MAV then taking a closer look. MAV will have civilian applications too. The forward- and downward-looking video/IR makes it very flexible.”
Honeywell was recently awarded two contracts from the US Navy totalling $7.5 million for the manufacture of more than a dozen MAV systems as well as training and deployment support in Iraq. The system has also been field-tested by the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii.
Source: Flight Daily News
