Leonardo completes satellite-controlled European MALE-class UAS flight
Leonardo has completed the first flight campaign to demonstrate satellite control of a European-built Medium Altitude Long Endurance class (MALE) UAS, the company announced on 23 May.
The campaign was carried out at Birgi airport in Trapani, Italy in order to evaluate the efficiency of the satellite technology for various dual-use applications under realistic conditions. A team of Telespazio (Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%) and Piaggio Aerospace carried out the activity by using a remotely-piloted P.1HH HammerHeadaircraft as the test bed, developing and integrating capabilities that will enable UAS to safely fly in unsegregated air space beyond radio line of sight.
The flights were carried out in line with the objectives of the DeSIRE II European research project, led by Telespazio and jointly initiated by the European Space Agency and European Defence Agency. DeSIRE II will support the European standardisation and regulatory activities in the UAS sector.
Telespazio has developed a two-way satellite communication network which was used during the flight campaign. Control data from the ground station was transmitted to remotely operate the P.1HH and its onboard sensors and systems, while data collected by the UAS during flight was returned to the ground station via the same network. The system used Athena-Fidus satellite resources, managed by Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre.
The activities also represented a step towards a futurewhere remotely-piloted aircraft will be used to support public services such as environmental monitoring, surveillance and emergency management.
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