Wed, Jul 22, 2009
Top Speed Up To 400 Knots
Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation
(Aurora) says it has successfully completed the first flight of the
Excalibur Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The VTOL turbine hybrid
electric unmanned air vehicle is the first of a new class of
tactical unmanned combat air vehicles. The first flight took place
at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland on June 24.
"It was a flawless first flight with a crisp takeoff and perfect
landing. In flight, the hover stability and heading control
performance were excellent," affirmed Aurora President, John
Langford.
Excalibur's unique configuration enables both VTOL and
high-speed flight modes at speeds up to 400 knots; thereby
providing the Warfighter with a survivable capability for quick
response weapons delivery or logistics resupply from remote,
austere forward operating bases or from air cable ships operating
in the littorals.
The Excalibur proof-of-concept vehicle combines jet-borne
vertical lift with three electric lift fans to provide attitude
control and a significant fraction of hover thrust. The fully
autonomous vehicle management and flight control systems simplify
the operator task allowing operators to focus on mission
objectives. Aurora anticipates a series of flying qualities and
performance testing to verify low speed operations, transition
modes, and high speed flight regimes in the near future.
Mission planning and operator command and control was achieved
using Aurora's portable Ground Control Station (GCS) architecture
that features STANAG 4586 compliance and ensures down stream
interoperability with the Army's One System compatible GCS. The
Excalibur UAS was developed by Aurora for the US Army Aviation
Applied Technology Directorate and the Office of Naval
Research.
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