UV Online
French military look at UAS-based fog dispersal system trials
French companies Aquaelicium and RFTronic are hoping to secure an award from the French DGA defence procurement agency by October this year to demonstrate an unmanned air system based fog dissipation service for military airfields.
Contract negotiations commenced in early 2009 with current plans focussed on initial demonstrations occurring in November and December.
The proposed Denebulation des Aeroports par Procede Hygroscopique aux Normes Environnementales (or DAPHNE) system will use an RFTronic Coleo 700 ring wing UAS to seed fog banks with hygroscopic salts, causing them to dissipate as rain.
The proposed demonstrations are expected to occur at military bases in France's Bordeaux and Poitou-Charentes regions.
The fog dissipation role would see a single RFTronic Coleo 700 UAS flying up to 3km above an airfield, following a pre-programmed path which maximises the salts dispersal pattern. The flight path planning process incorporates assessment of local wind patterns and other meteorological variables. A typical airfield might require dispersal of up to 5kg of salts says RFTtronic.
Aquaelicium - named after the Latin word for "calling the waters" - has its research laboratories located at Les Essards in the Poitou-Charentes. RFTroncic is located nearby in the town of Saintes. The two firms intend to market DAPHNE as a service for military and civil customers.
RFTronic commenced development of its Coleo family of UAS in 1996. The name is derived from the "Coléoptèrean" family of experimental turbine and ramjet powered ring wing fighter aircraft studied by Snecma during the 1950s.
The electric powered Coleo 700 takes its designation from the internal diameter of the ring wing. The air vehicle has a maximum takeoff weight of 50kg and an endurance of around 20 minutes.
Variants of the Coleo UAS family range from a 240mm internal ring wing, weighing 10grams and having an endurance of 15min, up to a 2000mm internal ring wing with an all up weight of 85kg and an endurance of 1hr.
The airframe is made of moulded high impact polypropylene plastic with carbon filaments added for increased strength.
RFTronic says the 240mm air vehicle has a unit price of €5000 (US$6989.00) while a 1m duct version has a unit price of €200,000 (US$279,550.00).
By Peter La Franchi - Asia Pacific Editor
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