Photo Courtesy AeroVironment, Inc
AeroVironment, Inc. has introduced its lightweight and man-portable Shrike VTOL unmanned aircraft system.
In August 2008 AeroVironment received $4.6M a contract from DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to develop a portable, stealthy, persistent perch and stare (SP2S) unmanned aircraft system. Shrike VTOL represents the conclusion of this development effort.
“With more than four years of customer funding behind it, our new Shrike VTOL unmanned aircraft system is designed to address the need for a small, light-weight hovering aircraft that delivers unique surveillance and intelligence capability not provided by current solutions. Not only does Shrike VTOL hover for more than 40 minutes with a high resolution video camera, but its innovative design also allows for the transmission of several hours of live video as a remotely emplaced perch and stare sensor,” said Tom Herring, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment. “This new solution adds an important set of new capabilities to our existing and battle-proven family of small unmanned aircraft systems that are saving lives in theater today.”
Herring said the Shrike VTOL system delivers the superior imagery, endurance and encrypted video found in all AeroVironment small unmanned aircraft systems. Operating quietly enough to go virtually undetected, Shrike weighs approximately five pounds and is small enough to fit in a backpack.
Key features:
- Adds VTOL, hover, perch and stare capability to battle-proven family of small unmanned aircraft systems (Raven, Wasp, Puma AE)
- Enables frontline military and non-military missions requiring vertical launches and landings without additional infrastructure
- Operated by AeroVironment’s common Ground Control System to ensure ease of use and acceptance
- Result of more than four years of DARPA-funded research and development to create a portable, stealthy, persistent perch and stare capability
Sources: Press Release, Avionics Magazine