 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Aurora Excalibur UAS Makes First Flight
Manassas VA (SPX) Jul 23, 2009 Aurora Flight Sciences has announced that it has successfully completed the first flight of the Excalibur Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The vertical takeoff and landing (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, 2009. "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. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Aurora Flight Sciences UAV News - Suppliers and Technology
Pakistani minister slams US drone strikesParis (AFP) July 21, 2009 Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, on Tuesday attacked the United States' ongoing bombing campaign against suspected militant leaders in his country. US military and intelligence agencies fly pilotless aircraft over areas along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, firing missiles at targets suspected of links to the Taliban or to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Pakistan, which ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook