The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has selected AeroVironment and BAI Aerosystems to competitively build a batch of Dragon Eye man portable unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for US Marine Corps field testing.
Should the small backpack-size UAV prove successful, the USMC will award a single production contract for more than 1,000 Dragon Eyes and 200 ground control stations (GCS) to satisfy its Interim Small Unit Remote Scouting System requirement and to meet the US Navy's over-the-hill reconnaissance initiative.
NRL in collaboration with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) developed Dragon Eye, a 1.8kg (4lb) hand-launched autonomous UAV that breaks down into five pieces. The battery-powered UAV, which carries a .45kg (1lb) daylight, low light or infrared sensor, can fly for 30min and has a top speed of 74km/h (40kt). The "wearable" GCS consists of a touch screen computer and associated gear carried on a vest.
The vehicle and the GCS are likely to cost $3,000 and $10,000, respectively, in full-rate production. A Marine battalion would be issued with four Dragon Eye systems, each with five air vehicles, one GCS and associated sensor payloads.
NRL previously manufactured a handful of vehicles in-house for experimentation by the MCWL, and AeroVironment and BAI Aerosystems were subsequently awarded contracts to build a further small batch.
NRL on 18 July awarded AeroVironment $1.34 million to build 20 additional air vehicles. BAI Aerosystems received $515,000 to produce an equal number of the UAVs. The US firms must deliver all 40 Dragon Drone air vehicles by 1 January 2002. The USMC would begin fielding Dragon Drones in fiscal year 2003.
Source: Flight International
