UV - Unmanned Vehicles
AeroVironment to expand Blackwing UAS programme
AeroVironment has received a contract from the US Navy for continuation and expansion of its Blackwing small UAV programme, the company announced on 9 October.
The contract worth $2.5m includes orders for multiple Blackwing vehicles, sensor payloads and refurbishment kits. The initial set of vehicles are expected to be delivered by May 2018, while the final deliveries are to be made by November 2018.
Blackwing is a small, tube-launched unmanned aircraft that employs an advanced, miniature electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) payload, integrated inertial/GPS autopilot system and secure digital data link, all packaged into a vehicle that launches from under the surface of the sea, from manned submarines and UUVs.
Blackwing builds on the company’s UAS and its Switchblade Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) to provide the navy with a submarine-launched UAS optimised for denied environments.
AeroVironment developed the Blackwing system as part of a 2013 US Navy and US Pacific Command (PACOM) sponsored Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) called advanced weapons enhanced by submarine UAS against mobile targets.
This JCTD was completed in September 2015 with recommendation to transition the capability into the fleet.
Kirk Flittie, VP and general manager of UAS division, AeroVironment, said: ‘Since first being deployed just a few months ago, Blackwing has delivered valuable new capabilities to US Naval Undersea Warfare units.
‘This contract is consistent with the navy’s plans to resupply existing vessels and equip additional submarines with the Blackwing capability.’
More from Unmanned Vehicles
-
Chinese UAS attempt to rule the roost
Chinese security services are using birdlike UAS in a small-scale way around the country to monitor citizens and suspicious activities.The ornithological UAS in question, christened ...
-
BST to develop UAS for Venus observation
Black Swift Technologies (BST) has received a contract from NASA to develop a UAS to perform upper atmospheric observations of Venus, the company announced on ...
-
GA-ASI’s Guardian demonstrated in Japan
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI) Guardian RPA has concluded large-scale demonstration flights in Japan, the company announced on 21 June. The flights, which took place ...
-
British Army announces Autonomous Warrior
The British Army will carry out a four-week Autonomous Warrior (Land) exercise in November, the UK Ministry of Defence announced on 20 June. The exercise ...
-
Insitu to support fire suppression ops
Insitu has received a contract from the US Department of Interior (DOI) to provide fire suppression services across the continental US and Alaska using its ...
-
Lightning strikes for MQ-9B
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has carried out successful lightning tests on its second full-scale MQ-9B in Poway, California, the company announced on 19 June. ...