Applications Include MALE UAS Missions
An
alliance has been formed between AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems
(UAS) and Aurora Flight Sciences to integrate AAI's Universal
Ground Control Station (UGCS) and other ground control technologies
with Aurora's Orion UAS and Centaur Optionally Piloted Aircraft
(OPA). This pairing supports medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE)
missions of up to five days with the Orion UAS, as well as defense,
first responder and scientific missions with the Centaur OPA.
The UGCS is a NATO standardization agreement 4586-compliant
command-and-control platform based on AAI UAS' proven One System
architecture. It incorporates a digital Tactical Common Data Link
for robust bandwidth and data security, and is designed to command
and control multiple joint services UAS simultaneously.
"Our Universal Ground Control Station lives up to its name with
features for scalability, interoperability and commonality," says
Steven Reid, senior vice president and general manager of AAI UAS.
"We currently provide command and control for numerous UAS
including the General Atomics Gray Eagle and the Northrop Grumman
Hunter. Bringing this same proven capability to the Orion UAS
enables this game-changing platform to integrate into the U.S.
Army's layered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance [ISR]
strategy, and continues our efforts to align with the Office of the
Secretary of Defense's interoperable communications
architectures."
The Orion UAS will demonstrate five-day endurance sorties with
1,000 pounds of payload operating at 20,000 feet in support of the
United States Central Command, or CENTCOM, urgent operational need
for persistent, multi-intelligence ISR. With an open-architecture
payload and ground station interface, the Orion UAS will provide
the U.S. Air Force with flexibility to accommodate the myriad
payloads suited to the Orion's design.
The Centaur OPA is ideally suited to allow users to operate as a
manned ISR platform, then be reconfigured as an unmanned system in
the field. This flexibility allows users transiting national
airspace or in research and development environments to provide ISR
to a much broader customer base than available today.
Centaur OPV
"Integrating the UGCS with Orion and Centaur will ensure they
are rapidly available to the warfighter and other customers," said
Dr. John Langford, chief executive officer of Aurora Flight
Sciences. "In the current fiscal situation, it is our
responsibility to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with
affordable and innovative ISR capabilities."
Under the agreement, the companies also will consider
integration of other AAI UAS technologies with the Orion UAS and
Centaur OPA. Among these is the Forward Airborne Secure
Transmission and Communication, or FASTCOM(TM), mobile
telecommunications solution. FASTCOM pods can be utilized aboard
airborne assets to create an agile mobile network for voice and
data smartphone communications up to Top Secret level.
Additionally, the Tactical Sensor Intelligence Sharing, or Tac-SIS,
System enables manned/unmanned teaming by making UAS data and
imagery directly available to pilots via cockpit displays.
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