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RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 3, 2004. Carolina Unmanned Vehicles, Inc. (CUV), Raleigh N.C., has been awarded a follow-on research and development contract by the U.S. Air Force Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
The 21-month contract, awarded under the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, will support the complete design of CUV's Helikite Elevated Platform - Test Relay (HEP-TR). CUV engineers will deliver a prototype to the Air Force.
Portions of the work will be subcontracted to Reliable System Services (RSS Corp.), Melbourne, Fla. and Allsopp Helikites Ltd., Fordingbridge, Hampshire, Great Britain. RSS Corp. has a broad experience base in providing remote control test range instrumentation for telemetry, range safety, communications, and OTH data link solutions. Allsopp Helikites holds the patents for and manufactures the unique Helikite design.
HEP-TR for the Air Force consists of a missile communications relay payload suspended from a new type of small tethered blimp, called a Helikite, and a Carrier that stores the Helikite and the winch, sensors, and helium tanks. It will be flown at several thousand feet altitude for communications relay coverage of large areas such as Eglin's offshore missile test range. Highly mobile and easily redeployed for various test scenarios, HEP-TR can provide relay coverage out to 100 nautical miles for 24 hours a day for a week or more without maintenance or downtime.
Far smaller and more versatile than any comparable unit, the patented Helikite supports more payload for its size than any ordinary blimp and can operate in much higher winds than traditional blimp designs, improving system utility and capability in adverse weather. HEP-TR will provide communications relay for weeks at a time at a fraction of the cost of comparable aircraft or Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). It requires fewer personnel, who do not have to be highly trained pilots or UAV operators. And it meets all FAA regulations and does not require special permission to operate in FAA controlled airspace, as do most UAVs.
Carolina Unmanned Vehicles (CUV) is a small, woman-owned company with a market focus on autonomous and remotely operated sensor platforms, primarily Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). They provide both developmental work and technical support and analysis of UAV systems and related components. Recent work includes company funded development of versions of the Helikite for local area security / anti-terrorism surveillance. They are ideally suited for Homeland Security missions, as well as protection of base camps in Iraq and other combat zones.
"The new contract will enable us to complete the HEP ground equipment and Helikite development," said Glenda Rogers, president of Carolina Unmanned Vehicles. "We have already teamed with several companies on communications payloads, and are looking for partner companies to jointly develop security / surveillance payloads. This will greatly broaden the market for HEP."
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