The US Air Force Battlelab and the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency are planning to demonstrate potential use of an expendable UAV in providing off-board sensing and targeting support for USAF Lockheed Martin AC-130 Spectre gunships and armed MQ-1 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems International (GAASI) Predator A aircraft.
The planned demonstrations, to occur between March and November next year, will use the US Navy Research Laboratory (NRL)-developed Flight Inserted Detector Expendable for Reconnaissance (FINDER) UAV.
The demonstration will also support continued exploration of air launched UAV operations by the USAF and the US Special Operations Command.
NRL developed FINDER in the early 2000s in cooperation with the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency to support demonstrations of a disposable daughter UAV equipped with a chemical detector payload and launched from the Predator aircraft. Eighteen trial deployments were carried out between 2002 and third quarter 2003, with the remaining eight FINDER’s handed over to the USAF in early 2004.
At least two and possibly three aircraft will be modified to support the demonstrations, which are also being supported by NRL. The UAV Battlelab is currently evaluating industry proposals for the development of a sensor suite for the trials, solicitations for which closed 19 September.
The proposed sensor suite is intended to comprise a day/night full motion video camera, dual field of view infra-red camera, and a laser pointer. The entire payload is required to weigh less than one pound.
The cameras would be capable of positively identifying moving and fixed objects as small as 0.5m from altitudes of 1500ft-3000ft, while the laser pointer would be capable of generating a 2m diameter circle on the ground from the same height.
The UAV Battlelab plans to carry out the demonstrations in two phases, the first in Washington, DC and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, areas, while the second may occur at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Additional contractor support for the demonstration will be provided by Science Applications International Corporation and ITT Corporation.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
