The Alliant Techsystems Outrider Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (TUAV) was flown for the first time on 7 March, five months behind schedule. The prototype has also suffered from significant weight growth which has substantially reduced its endurance.
Successful testing of the Outrider was carried out at the municipal airport at Hondo, Texas, ending a string of disappointments for project managers, who have suffered through schedule delays and seen the vehicle's weight increase dramatically, yielding decreased aircraft performance.
The air vehicle flew for about 9min at altitudes reaching 1,000ft (305m). It made circuits around a figure-eight-shaped course to demonstrate basic flight-performance capabilities, attaining a top speed of 207km/h (112kt). A pilot on the ground put it through climbs, dives and banks up to 40¹.
The Outrider, which is designed to fly out to distances of about 200km and stay airborne for up to 3h, was supposed to be flown six months after contract award, but software problems and the need for captive-carry tests caused the schedule to slip. The vehicle's weight has increased by 24%, caused by redesign, while its endurance has been cut by one-third.
The Outrider's fuselage structure was changed from composite materials to aluminum, and the wing was redesigned to help recover some performance. The vehicle, originally expected to weigh 175kg, now tops 222kg. The company is working to try to cut 32kg from the production air-vehicle. The Outrider's endurance has dropped to 2h, although the goal is restore the original 3h.
The pilot says that the air vehicle "-performed and handled well with good controllability throughout the flight".The vehicle was instrumented, and flight data is now being analysed. Planned improvements will be incorporated in the air vehicle before its next flight in three to four weeks' time.
Alliant Techsystems was awarded an initial $56 million advanced-concept technology-demonstration contract in May 1996. Under the two-year contract, it will deliver six Outrider systems, and spares, which each system consisting of four air vehicles, ground-control equipment and sensors, including electro-optical cameras and infra-red devices.
Full production calls for 73 TUAV systems for the US Army, Marine Corps and Navy. Delivery of the first Outrider system is still set for May. The Pentagon has set a not-to-exceed cost of $350,000 per sensor-equipped air vehicle.
Source: Flight International
