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.
Raytheon is providing its enhanced Coyote UAS to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for hurricane research missions, the company announced on 20 January.
The UAS will be used for hurricane tracking and modelling, giving researches the ability to collect data from inside storms that build in the Atlantic Ocean.
The expendable Coyote can be tube-launched from a host vehicle in the air or on ground.
NOAA plans to expand on work it conducted in 2014 when it successfully deployed a Coyote from a hurricane hunter into the eye of Hurricane Edouard.
Thomas Bussing, vice president, advanced missile systems product line, Raytheon Missile Systems, said: ‘We've made significant improvements to Coyote. It can now fly for up to one hour and 50 miles away from the launch aircraft. Raytheon technology is playing a key role in enhancing safety for hurricane researchers, and helping to deliver vital information about potentially deadly storms to the American people. Ultimately, that will save lives.’
Joe Cione, a hurricane researcher at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and chief scientist of the Coyote program, said: ‘This successful flight gives us additional confidence that we will be able to use this unique platform to collect critical continuous observations at altitudes in the storm environment that would otherwise be impossible.’
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.