Tue, Jul 07, 2009
Company Hopes Aircraft Will Be A STUAS/Tier II
Contender
AAI Corporation
announced Monday it has offered the newest in its Aerosonde fleet
of small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), the Mark 4.7, as a
contender for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ joint Small
Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS)/Tier II program. The
expeditionary Mark 4.7 system participated in flight demonstrations
on June 23-24 at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
Developed as a part of AAI’s Aerosonde fleet of SUAS,
including the Mark 4.4 and Mark 5.0, the Mark 4.7 incorporates
aircraft, ground control and system features designed to fit the
Navy’s and Marine Corps’ mission requirements. The
system has a small footprint and integrated launch and recovery
system, AAI says.
The Mark 4.7 aircraft
delivers 10+-hour endurance and a low acoustic signature. AAI says
it designed the system for confined-area land or maritime
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well as
for communications relay. Its modular payload installation allows
the addition of new payloads and capabilities as they become
available, enabling technology upgrades with little to no aircraft
or system modifications. The system also utilizes AAI’s
Expeditionary Ground Control Station (EGCS), which is based on the
company’s One System command and control architecture to
provide interoperability between the Aerosonde Mark 4.7 and other
One System platforms, including the Shadow Tactical Unmanned
Aircraft System (TUAS). Users receive digital and analog data from
the aircraft’s electro-optic and infrared payloads on
laptops.
“For decades, AAI has not only designed and manufactured
unmanned aircraft systems, but fielded them alongside our customers
through skilled, experienced field service and performance based
logistics support,” says Vice President of Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Steven Reid. “We are confident that our Aerosonde
Mark 4.7 system meets the unique Navy and Marine Corps requirements
for a small, tactical solution both today and well into the future.
We also back our Aerosonde systems with the same robust
availability management and life cycle support that has made the
Shadow TUAS the U.S. Army’s and Marine Corps’
battlefield workhorse, logging more than 415,000 operational flight
hours to date.”
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