General Dynamics test-fired drone-borne drone was named “Kitty Hawk” | U.S. Army | Drones | Atomic Energy

Original title: General Dynamics test-fires a drone-borne drone

(Observer Network News) According to a report on the US “Defense News” website on February 1, local time, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems) has made the first test flight of a drone from the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Unmanned aerial systems dropped on board. The system is a product of the “Air-launched effect” (Air-launched effect, abbreviated as ALE) project, and General Atomics has named it “Eaglet”.

General Atomics said in a Jan. 31 statement that the Kitty Hawk drone was launched in December by a U.S. Army drone under a joint program funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Aviation and Missile Center. The MQ-1C “Grey Eagle” (Grey Eagle, the type of RQ-1 “Predator” UAV equipped by the U.S. Army) UAV was mounted and launched for test flight. As a subsidiary of General Atomics, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is one of the major UAV manufacturers in the United States. The RQ-1 Predator series and the MQ-9 Reaper series, including the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, have no Human-machines are all products of this enterprise.

(Data map) U.S. Army MQ-1C “Grey Eagle” drone image source: U.S. Army official website

David Alexander, president of General Atomics, said in a statement that Air Launch Effectiveness is a “low-cost and survivable drone” that, in addition to launching from a “Grey Eagle” drone, may also Launched from a rotor/helicopter or ground vehicle, the aircraft “can extend sensor coverage for increased lethality” while “providing survivability for manned aircraft.”

Currently, the U.S. Army is seeking options for large and small “air-launched effectiveness” aircraft, with the purpose of building various battlefield capabilities, such as targeting, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as communications, data links, etc. For this reason, General Atomics stated, ” The Kitty Hawk UAV is a series of equipment that can carry a variety of sensors and payloads. As a launch platform, the MQ-1C “Grey Eagle” can carry the “Kitty Hawk” UAV and “fly several times before launch.” thousand kilometers”.

According to reports, the “Kitty Hawk” UAV will mainly play a role in command and control capabilities, and can work with the payloads carried by the “Grey Eagle” UAV and other US Army aircraft to achieve “depth transmission” in operations. feel”. The Army’s Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors has shown particular interest in Air Launch Effectiveness as a means of jamming, decoy or reconnaissance and spying, as well as being able to operate from longer ranges. At present, the next step of the “Kitty Hawk” UAV is to participate in relevant exercises to further determine its potential. An initial capability refinement document.

“Air-launched effectiveness” is also part of the U.S. Army’s future vertical take-off and landing “ecosystem,” which envisions including the manned “Future Long Range Assault Aircraft” (FLRAA, “Next Generation Manned Assault Helicopter”), manned The “Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft” (FARA, the “next generation reconnaissance helicopter”), the future tactical UAV and the UAV in the “Air Launched Effectiveness” project.

　　The V-280 that won the FLRAA bid (above) and the Bell-360 that bid for FARA (below), ALE is in the same “ecosystem” program as FLRAA and FARA Image source: U.S. Army website

In its fiscal year 2023 budget, the U.S. Army stated that “air-launched effectiveness” will be advanced in a step-by-step manner, allowing rapid prototyping and fielding of usable capabilities, while continuing to mature the technology to fully realize the required capabilities. Parallel or sequential timelines for experiments, simulations and demonstrations, as well as simultaneous development of multiple vehicle, payload and mission system architecture prototypes. The U.S. Army’s goal is to develop multiple “air-launched effectiveness” prototypes for faster delivery of relevant equipment to combat forces, while gradually upgrading mission systems, payload equipment, and related interfaces in the future to expand the scope of missions for “supporting long-range “Precision Firepower”, which will help achieve the aiming of long-range artillery weapons such as ERCA “Extended Range Cannon” (that is, XM1299-editor’s note) for beyond-visual-range weapon systems. The Army is also evaluating multiple mission payloads for large “air-launched effectiveness” in various tests, including synthetic aperture radar, electronic warfare equipment and communications systems.

ALE will also conduct joint operations with artillery

In 2020, the U.S. Army awarded 10 small contracts worth $29.75 million to companies including Raytheon, Alliant Technologies, and Leonardo Electronics America, including the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and payloads. In addition to the “Kitty Hawk” of General Atomic Energy, the U.S. Army has previously used the “Grey Eagle” drone to test-fire “air-launched performance” drones developed by other manufacturers, such as the model developed by L3 Harris. This model can fly at a speed of more than 200 knots and has a range of more than 300 kilometers.

Similar projects other than the ALE “air-launched effectiveness” carried by drones also existed before. In August 2018, the UH-60 “Black Hawk” helicopter test-fired the air-launched tube-type unmanned aerial vehicle system ALTIUS. 2021 In 2009, ALTIUS was installed on a C-12 transport aircraft and launched from a launch tube on a moving all-terrain vehicle. Currently, according to budget-related documents, the U.S. Army will continue to develop requirements and strategy for the “air-launched effectiveness” family of unmanned aerial vehicles, with the goal of issuing a request for proposal for related capabilities in the last quarter of fiscal year 2024, and in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. Quarterly into engineering and manufacturing development.