The US Naval Research Laboratory is planning to fit its Spider electric-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle with modified Cloud Cap Technology Piccolo II avionics in a sole-source deal to be finalised later this year.
NRL says that the proposed deal will comprise four Piccolo II avionics suites with integrated UHF datalink, global positioning system, Piccolo operational environment, autopilot software, Iridium satellite communication system interface and additional payloads interfaces.
Spider was developed by NRL as a covert insertion VTOL UAV with a complete system capable of being folded down into a standard suitcase. The development programme was launched in mid-2004 at the request of a still-unspecified US intelligence community customer. The UAV is intended to be capable of providing imagery sensor data as well as deploying specialist sensors in difficult-to-access areas.
The UAV was first made public at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America exhibition in Baltimore in June 2005, with two of the systems delivered to the customer shortly after.
In February NRL announced plans for a sole-source acquisition of 40 Kokam lithium polymer battery sets from FMA Direct.
Source: Flight International