Northrop Grumman has demonstrated a communications relay payload for a government customer during multiple flights of its Bat unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
Ideally suited to an irregular warfare environment, Bat offers real-time ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), communications and strike capabilities in a system that is affordable, organic and persistent. Bat is runway independent, fully autonomous, and can be launched and recovered from land, air and sea.
The flight demonstrations occurred June 23-26, 2009 at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif. Northrop Grumman also demonstrated the Bat system's reliability with five flights over the four-day period.
"We are extremely pleased with the results of these flights, which were conducted in a realistic, desert theater setting," said Corey Moore, vice president of Advanced Concepts – Air and Land Systems for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.
Northrop Grumman is integrating several new payloads, a common ground control architecture and air vehicle upgrades that include a new engine, a new launcher capability and several air vehicle capability enhancements.
The communications relay payload was demonstrated on an air vehicle with a wingspan of 10 feet. The Bat product line features wingspans ranging from 6.5 to 33.2 feet.
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