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.
A UAV test bed aircraft known as ‘The Flying Test Bed’ is to perform a series of flight trials this month in preparation for the first maiden flight of a surrogate UAV in UK shared airspace later this year. The flight is part of the UK industry-led programme focused on developing the technologies, systems, facilities, procedures and regulations that will allow UAVs to operate safely and routinely in civil airspace over the UK.
The test bed aircraft is a Jetstream aircraft which is able to fly as a UAV surrogate. According to BAE Systems, the aircraft will fly using Instrument Flight Rules under air traffic control. In preparation, trials taking place this month include the world’s first use of autonomous, vision-based weather-avoidance routing and the first UK surrogate flight of a fully functional visual sense-and-avoid system which includes collision avoidance tests using a second aircraft. This trial will begin to demonstrate to regulators such as the Civil Air Authority and air traffic control service providers, the progress made towards achieving the safe use of UAVs in UK airspace. The new technology is part of a suite of innovations being brought together by UK industry for the first time for the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment (ASTRAEA) programme.
Lambert Dopping-Hepenstal, the engineering director at BAE Systems responsible for the ASTRAEA programme said: ‘The use of a surrogate Uninhabited Air Vehicle allows prototype autonomous systems developed by the ASTRAEA team to be evaluated safely in the air. The BAE Systems Jetstream Flying Test Bed has been configured as a ‘surrogate UAV’ where the on-board pilots can take their hands off the controls and hand over control to the on-board system developed by the ASTRAEA team. Racks of computers and control systems in the rear of the aircraft mean it can fly as if it were a UAV without any input from the pilots.
‘The ASTRAEA system is capable of preventing mid-air collisions with other aircraft using a ‘sense and avoid’ system, detecting and avoiding bad weather conditions and relaying air traffic control instructions to the remote pilot via satellite to the ground control station. The weather avoidance system will use sophisticated image processing techniques to detect and avoid clouds and is just one of the new capabilities being tested onboard the Jetstream,’ he added.
BAE Systems said that the ASTRAEA system on-board the Jetstream will be put through its paces over the winter, in a series of at least 20 flight tests over the Irish Sea and through UK airspace.
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.