Look Ma, No Hands...
Northrop Grumman says it has
successfully led the first demonstration of a system that
autonomously controls low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to
deliver real-time surveillance data to US military forces in urban
battle zones.
The flight exercise showed that individual warfighters could
receive video surveillance information about enemy positions on
handheld computers, making their efforts safer and more
effective.
Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector is leading the US
Department of Defense's "HURT" program under an $11.6 million
contract awarded in January 2005. The effort is funded and managed
by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) with the
Air Force Research Lab serving as technical and contracting agent.
HURT stands for heterogeneous urban RSTA (reconnaissance,
surveillance and target acquisition) team.
The demonstration was conducted Sept. 22, 2005, at the former
site of George Air Force Base in Victorville, Calif., where a grid
of abandoned streets and buildings is used to train military forces
for urban warfare.
The exercise began with four small UAVs -- two Ravens and a
Pointer (both fixed-wing aircraft) and a RMAX helicopter --
deployed at low altitudes under HURT system control. Participants
on the ground with handheld computers played the role of military
forces in the field. The warfighters viewed surveillance images of
the entire area but could also request specific information about a
suspected enemy position by moving a cursor over the subject on the
handheld monitor. The HURT system autonomously prioritized each
request and directed the most suitable UAV to the location for a
closer look while maintaining continuous broad-area surveillance by
the other UAVs.
Currently, military forces in urban warfare situations have no
direct access to surveillance data, nor can they control the
high-altitude aircraft and satellites that collect it.In addition,
high-altitude platforms are more limited in providing information
with the detail and timeliness required in a rapidly changing urban
combat zone.
Because the HURT system doesn't require modifications to the UAV
systems it controls, different types of unmanned aircraft can
easily be assembled to meet various mission requirements. The Sept.
22 demonstration utilized small UAV systems, but the technology
could eventually be used with larger systems such as Northrop
Grumman's RQ 4 Global Hawk, X 47B Joint Unmanned Combat System,
Fire Scout vertical takeoff and landing UAV, and RQ 5A Hunter. HURT
technology could be easily adapted for other military applications
and missions.
In addition to Northrop Grumman, key members of the HURT
development team include Honeywell Laboratories, SRI International,
Teknowledge Corporation, AeroVironment and Planet 9 Studios, as
well as researchers from NASA, the Georgia Institute of Technology
and the University of Pennsylvania.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.16.24)
See All