US Navy foresees an uncrewed future for its surface and underwater fleet
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
The Spanish company Indra and the Swedish company CybAero AB have signed a Teaming Agreement and shall work together for the development of an Automatic Vertical Take-Off and Landing (AVTOL) rotary wing Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) adapted for using on board of different kind of vessels.
By means of the signature of this collaboration agreement, the Pelicano system will be based on CybAero’s own development APID60, medium size unmanned helicopter for which state of the art technologies will be incorporated in order to convert it in a unique and competitive system, able to cover different nations requirements.
Pelicano Project is a R&D programme, jointly financed by Indra and the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Tourism, capable to consolidate an operational system for the year 2012, according to the requirements of the Spanish Navy.
Pelicano system applications have a dual character, including:
- Maritime and Ground Military Applications for troop protection, maritime reconnaissance and patrol, humanitarian missions and acts against piracy.
- Homeland Security Applications for border control and narcotics, surveillance, intelligence, traffic control, emergency management, fires, volcanic eruptions, search and rescue, etc.
- Civil Applications as cartography, infrastructure inspection and surveillance (energy lines, pipelines, factories, civil work, etc.).
The service has been conducting various procurement and development efforts to integrate unmanned surface and underwater vehicles into its inventory.
Tekever has manufactured the AR3, AR4 and AR5 UAS with all systems sharing common electronics and software architecture, which has enabled the reuse of ground segment elements within the new ARX UAS.
As the dynamics of aerial combat rapidly evolve, Chinese scientists have engineered a sophisticated air separation drone model that can fragment into up to six drones, each capable of executing distinct battlefield roles and challenging the efficacy of current anti-drone defences such as the UK’s Dragonfire laser system.
Advancements in air defence technologies have begun to reshape aerial combat dynamics in the Middle East, as illustrated by recent events involving the Israeli Air Force and Hezbollah.
Both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war have been using UAS for effective low-cost attacks, as well as impactful web and social media footage. Thousands more have now been committed to Ukrainian forces.
The US Army has intentions to develop light, medium and heavy variants of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) as part of the branche’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle family.