Contractor testing of the Alliant Techsystems Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicle (UAV) has been suspended pending completion of an investigation into the crash of a prototype during a flight evaluation on 15 October at Hondo, Texas.
It was the final test of the UAV with the McCulloch 4318F engine which failed endurance testing, but flight testing of the Outrider, with the UAV Engines 801R rotary powerplant, has now been delayed.
The crash came as Alliant Techsystems was attempting to prove the Outrider's capabilities.
The drone was six months late in being flown and, as the air vehicle's weight grew, endurance dropped.
The Outrider's engine lost power 2.5min into the test flight. The emergency-recovery-system parachute was deployed and the air vehicle landed in a field, sustaining minor damage. The engine had been used in the 11 previous flight tests. Another Outrider prototype powered by the UK-made rotary engine will have its first flight when the accident probe is completed.
The flight suspension is expected to delay a Pentagon review of the engine replacement effort scheduled for late-October.
Design changes increased the vehicle's weight from the intended 175kg and reduced endurance from the planned 3h. The engine switch yielded an 11kg weight saving. The production air vehicle should weigh 190kg, allowing for 2.3h of endurance.
Outrider low-rate initial production has been delayed until fiscal year 1999 - creating a break in work which could increase the Outrider's unit cost. US Army flight-testing of the Outrider at Fort Hood, Texas, is set to get under way in February.
Source: Flight International
