General Atomics comes to the show having just announced the first flight of its Sky Warrior unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Late last week it was revealed that the Block 0 aircraft had flown from the company’s El Mirage flight operations facility in Adelanto, California.
Sky Warrior is a derivative of the company’s Predator UAV, which has seen extensive combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new design will carry electro-optical/infrared sensors plus a synthetic aperture radar. It has extended wings compared to the Predator, with enlarged forward fuselage for increased internal payload and double the weapons capacity of the earlier model.
A Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) will accept either jet or diesel fuel and will be able to fly above 29,000ft (8,850m). The new model will act in the long-endurance surveillance, communications relay and tactical strike roles.
Logistics
The new powerplant is said to offer reduced maintenance costs, increased service life and simplified logistics by ensuring more readily available fuel sources.
A batch of Block 0 Sky Warriors will deploy to southwest Asia early next year to show its capabilities as part of General Atomics’ efforts in the US Army’s Extended Range/Multi Purpose Unmanned Aircraft System programme. It will also support deployed troops in the region.
Source: Flight Daily News
