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JULY 22, 2002, 11:00EDT
RESTON, Va. and SIERRA VISTA, Ariz., -- For the first time, the U.S. Army's Hunter UAV, developed by TRW Inc. and Israel Aircraft Industries, was flown and landed automatically during a flight test near Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The flight test marks the latest milestone achievement for Hunter and adds a capability that, when fully integrated, will eliminate the need for the Army to train and maintain external pilots to launch and recover the UAV.
TRW conducted the flight test, which consisted of two automatic takeoffs, four touch-and-go landings, and one full-stop landing, using the UAV Common Automatic Recovery System (UCARS). UCARS is a ground-based radar system that tracks the unmanned aerial vehicle and feeds positioning commands to the ground control station to maneuver the aircraft. This recovery system is the precursor to the Tactical Automatic Landing System (TALS) currently being used in the Army's Shadow 200 UAV. Sparks, Nev.-based Sierra Nevada Corporation developed both UCARS and TALS.
"The next step is to migrate Hunter auto takeoff and landing to the TALS System," said Lt. Col. Jeff Fitch, assistant program manager, Extended Range UAV program, U.S. Army, "which will lead to one common ground control system next year."
"We are continuing flight tests to improve touchdown characteristics and potentially add a capability that could recover the UAV with only one engine operating," said Ron Kline, TRW Hunter UAV program manager.
TRW provides advanced technology products and services for the aerospace, information systems, and automotive markets. The company, which celebrated its 100th year of operation during 2001, had year-end 2001 sales of $16.4 billion.
For more information, visit www.trw.com.
Military & Aerospace Electronics
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