MOBILITY ENGINEERING Produced by SAE Media Group
MOBILITY ENGINEERING

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

AeroVironment, Inc.
Monrovia, CA
626-357-9983
www.avinc.com

AeroVironment, Inc. a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both military and commercial applications, received a contract award from the United States Navy for continuation and expansion of its Blackwing™ small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) program. The contract includes orders for multiple Blackwing vehicles, sensor payloads and refurbishment kits for a total value of $2,578,822.

Blackwing is a small, tube-launched unmanned aircraft that employs an advanced, miniature electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) payload, integrated inertial/ GPS autopilot system, and secure Digital Data Link (DDL), all packaged into a vehicle that launches from under the surface of the sea, from manned submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

Blackwing builds on AeroVironment’s extensive operational experience with small UAS and its Switchblade® Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS) to provide the Navy with a low-cost, submarine-launched UAS optimized for denied environments. AeroVironment developed the Blackwing system as part of a 2013 Navy and United States Pacific Command (PACOM) sponsored Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) called Advanced Weapons Enhanced by Submarine UAS against Mobile targets (AWESUM). This JCTD was completed in September 2015 with a strong recommendation to transition the capability into the fleet.

AeroVironment’s Blackwing can also be integrated with and deployed from a wide variety of surface vessels and mobile ground vehicles to provide the kind of rapid response reconnaissance capabilities needed to help warfighters proceed with certainty, even in the most challenging settings. The miniature flying ISR package can be operated manually or autonomously. Blackwing’s built-in, jointly interoperable datalink enables cross-domain command and control (C2) relay operations between land, surface and undersea manned and unmanned vessels. Blackwing provides the operator with real-time video for information gathering and feature/object recognition, and the vehicle’s small size and quiet motor make it difficult to detect, recognize and track even at close ranges. Its modular payload bay is designed to enable a variety of specific mission capabilities.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) awarded this contract to AeroVironment, the only manufacturer of the Blackwing UAS, on a sole source basis in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) guidelines.

For Free Info Click Here 

Topics:
Aircraft Automatic pilots Avionics Defense Disaster and emergency management Flight control systems Global positioning systems (GPS) Logistics Marine vehicles and equipment Missiles Navigation and guidance systems Regulations Suppliers Unmanned Air Vehicles/Systems (UAV/UAS) Unmanned Underwater and Surface Vehicles (UUW/USV) Unmanned aerial vehicles Vehicles

More From SAE Media Group

Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
Loitering Precision Strike Missile
Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
Unmanned Aerial System
Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
Insitu ScanEagle SUAS Boosts Coast Guard Mission Effectiveness
Aerospace & Defense Tech Briefs
Counter-UAS Technology
    Magazine cover
    Aerospace & Defense Technology Magazine

    This article first appeared in the February, 2018 issue of Aerospace & Defense Technology Magazine.

    Read more articles from this issue here.

    Read more articles from the archives here.

    Top Stories

    INSIDERAerospace

    Feature Image University of Rochester Lab Creates New 'Reddmatter' Superconductivity Material...

    INSIDERData Acquisition

    Feature Image Air Force Completes First Magnetic Navigation Flight on C-17 - Mobility...

    INSIDERWeapons Systems

    Feature Image Air Force Performs First Test of Microwave Counter Drone Weapon THOR - Mobility...

    INSIDERSoftware

    Feature Image MIT Report Finds US Lead in Advanced Computing is Almost Gone - Mobility...

    INSIDERDesign

    Feature Image Navy Selects Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to Develop Hypersonic Missile -...

    INSIDERAerospace

    Feature Image Boeing to Develop Two New E-7 Variants for US Air Force - Mobility Engineering...

    Webcasts

    Trending Stories

    INSIDERResearch Lab

    Feature Image Air Force Performs First Test of Microwave Counter Drone Weapon THOR

    ArticlesAerospace

    Feature Image Single Event Effects in High Altitude Aerospace Sensor Applications

    NewsEnergy

    Feature Image Fuels to Transition the Global Legacy Fleet