Wed, Aug 25, 2010
Rockwell Collins And DARPA Demonstrate Ability To Counter
Missile Threats
As part of its ongoing damage tolerance research contract with
the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Rockwell
Collins has demonstrated the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to
fly aerobatics with position tracking.
Rockwell Collins YouTube Screen Capture
"This all-attitude control technology supplies UAVs with damage
tolerance and the ability to fight - through evasive maneuvers -
and to counter threats such as missiles," said Dave Vos, senior
director of Rockwell Collins Control Technologies and Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS). "This technology will also enable UAVs to
fly at low altitude, in urban environments and even in confined
places such as inside buildings and caves."
The capability was demonstrated by telling the airplane to track
a circle at a fixed altitude and airspeed while rolling at 90
degrees per second outside the turn. The demonstration is part of
the third phase of a damage tolerance contract awarded to Rockwell
Collins. It was conducted using a scale model F/A-18 Hornet which
was completely autonomous from the time the "takeoff" button was
pushed.
Rockwell Collins YouTube Screen Capture
Vos said the technology is now set to be ported to an
operational UAV. He indicated that while others have flown
aerobatics of autonomous UAVs, the most recent DARPA test was the
first UAV to fly aerobatics with position tracking with a fixed
aerobatic trajectory in space.
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