DSEI 2023: QinetiQ launches disposable UAS platform leveraging aerial target experience

QinetiQ has used the first day of DSEI 2023 to announce the launch of Jackdaw, a low-cost, high-performance ‘disposable’ UAS.

The company said the platform was designed for swarming and collaborative autonomous operations, including crewed-uncrewed teaming. Jackdaw can carry out reconnaissance, EW, airborne decoy and threat representation missions.

QinetiQ said that its new UAS will enable armed forces to reduce operational risk and increase combat mass by being able to quickly deploy a large number of UAS in scenarios instead of more expensive aerial platforms.

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This, in turn, will reduce costs and threat to human lives.

‘The Jackdaw concept leverages QinetiQ’s expertise in very low-cost high-performance aerial targets — such as the Banshee family — and is enhanced with autonomous mission management and human-machine teaming capabilities,’ Mick Andrae, global campaign director for robotics and autonomous systems at QinetiQ said.

‘This, combined with the very low-cost aerial target design philosophy, makes Jackdaw highly suitable for use as a disposable UAS in air, maritime and land domain applications.’

Whilst Jackdaw is designed to be reusable, its low-cost disposable characteristics enhance operational flexibility by providing commanders with the option to sacrifice assets when needed, QinetiQ says.

In collaboration with companies like BAE Systems and Inzpire, Jackdaw forms part of a family of UAS which will operate together.

An agreement is in place to explore use of BAE Systems’ autonomous goal-based mission management system on Jackdaw, to enable integration with NATO and allied open architectures, ensuring interoperability with existing and future crewed and uncrewed systems.

Jackdaw will be a modular design to support 30kg of internal payload while capable of being airborne for over three hours, reaching speeds of 400kts and altitudes of 40,000ft.

It has been designed in the UK and will also be manufactured and tested in-country.

‘The Jackdaw design programme is well under way, currently developing autonomous mission management and human-machine teaming capabilities, with platform development phases commencing soon’, QinetiQ noted in a release.

The disposable UAS is set to be available form the mid-2020s and will have an iterative development roadmap with functionality and design updates over time, QinetiQ added.

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