Collaborative Autonomy, Advancing In Next Generation Military Drone Systems
Drones have revolutionized warfare, The field of (UCAVs) is rapidly diversifying as light, mid-sized, and heavy
(KARGO autonomous air vehicle)
UCAVs begin to be equipped with increasingly sophisticated technologies enabling new capabilities
Textron's (Aerosonde HQ) - Displayed at aerospace & defense exhibition.
- Antenna Design -
One way UCAVs are improving is via modern antenna designs. Recent advances in materials and fabrication technologies are now enabling improved antenna designs with reduced size, weight, aerodynamic drag, and cost.
Next-generation antenna designs by companies like Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based TE Connectivity include composite materials and novel selective metallization processes. These innovations on military drones combine to allow cost-effective realization of 3-D antennas that are mechanically robust and can withstand the harsh conditions found in military operations.
Modern antenna designs can increase unmanned vehicle fuel efficiency through reduced antenna size, increased antenna conformality, and reduced antenna weight.
There are definitely advancements in a lot of different fields that are contributing to a re-shaping of military drone operations,” says Dan Gettinger, director of publications and communications for the Vertical Flight Society (VFS) and author of the book Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles
“This includes automatic landing and take-off capabilities for military drones and increasing automation for them. The personnel required to launch and recover military drones has dramatically reduced. This means you can have lighter footprint operations
Drones are being equipped with satellite communications, which previously was only in the realm of larger drones. Where once military drones were largely used for missile strikes over land, now they’re being used in a greater variety of missions over different domains.
Maritime domains are increasingly being a more important domain not only in the United States, but in other countries as well.”
Northrop Grumman's unmanned systems integration center.
Munitions & Swarm a breakthrough technology
Raytheon Technologies’ small, tube-launched (Coyote UAS)
- Raytheon Technologies -
Raytheon Technologies’ small, tube-launched Coyote UAS has its own special software that enables several of them to fly as a swarm, and the company recently gave a demonstration.
“I would say they performed flawlessly,” Pete Mangelsdorf, a director for Tucson, Arizona-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of Raytheon Technologies, told Avionics in an emailed interview. Using speech and gestures, operators will be able to direct swarming tactics among multiple and different drones from a tablet or other device.
“It's a breakthrough technology that uses information sharing between drones, which enables autonomous, collaborative behavior.”
“There is an expansion of munitions being equipped on military drones and different munitions are being tested on drones,” Gettinger says. “For a long time, we had the archetypal Predator drone, but the field of armed drones has diversified to include smaller and larger aircraft.
We see more variety in the types of munitions on them; we’ll see further automation demonstrated in the loitering munitions.”
Also, new technology is allowing UCAVs to flock together as they fly in swarm-like formations, tracking their positions and maintaining their relative positions in the air.
Software is now enabling UCAV platforms to work to overwhelm adversaries and fly into areas that are too dangerous for men and women in uniform.
(Coyote UAS & KRFS radar acquire / engage enemy drones)