Electronic Military & Defense Annual Resource

2nd Edition

Electronic Military & Defense magazine was developed for engineers, program managers, project managers, and those involved in the design and development of electronic and electro-optic systems for military, defense, and aerospace applications.

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Feature The Reaper also carries the AN/APY-8 Lynx II radar, an all-weather SAR with GMTI technology. The Ku-band radar has a "search" mode with a range of 47 nm with a resolution of 10 feet, a "stripmap" mode that covers 29 nm with 1-foot resolution, and a "spotlight" mode that produces photograph-like radar images that cover 21 nm with a resolution of 4 inches. MQ-1C Grey Eagle has communication relay payloads and EO/IR video sensors. It also uses an AN/ZPY-1 STARLite small tactical SAR that has GMTI and dismount moving target indicator (DMTI) functionality to provide all-weather, wide-area surveillance and detection of stationary, dismounted, and moving targets. STUAVs This class of UAVs is on the other end of the spectrum from the Global Hawk and Reaper. STUAVs are small enough for a soldier to carry in a backpack along with a handheld control unit. They typically sacrifice endurance, payload capacity, altitude, range, and strike capability in favor of light weight, portability, quick deployment, and real-time ISR and targeting information. These UAVs essentially become an extension of the soldier, hand-launched to provide a bird's eye view of the battlefield and tactical ISR support of combat battalion and below operations. from the Army, Marines, and Air Force for its new RQ-20A Puma AE. The DOD FY2013 budget also has $25.8 million designated for the procurement of 234 AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven systems. The Raven, Wasp AE, and Puma AE are interoperable, using the same ground control system (GCS). Additional details on these STUAVs and their payloads are as follows: • The 4.2-lb. RQ-11 Raven has forward- and side- looking EO/IR cameras for day and night video capture. The Raven is remotely operated or can be programed for autonomous flight. • The Wasp AE weighs only 2.8 lbs. and is capable of encrypted communication beyond line-of-sight and can provide video, voice, data, and text relay. It carries the Mantis i22 AE gimbaled payload, which only weighs 9.7 ounces, delivers front- and side-looking color and IR video. It was designed for land and water landing, so it can operate in harsh environments. X-47B, the demonstration version of the U.S. Navy MQ-47B U.S. Army RQ-11 Raven There are several STUAV manufacturers, but one company in particular — AeroVironment — has been very successful at getting qualified by the various branches of the U.S. armed forces. In fact, the U.S. Marine Corps has adopted four different AeroVironment UAV systems. The company also has received a $2.5 million order from the U.S. Air Force for its Wasp AE, and orders totaling $28.3 million 12 Electronic Military & Defense ■ www.vertmarkets.com/electronics • An RQ -20A Puma AE system consists of three UAVs and two GCS. The vehicles weigh 13 lbs. each and are battery powered with 2-hour endurance. The UAV has a stabilized gimbal, is equipped with an EO/IR video camera and IR illu- minator, and is capable of tilt and pan of plus or minus 180 degrees, giving it 360-degree coverage. It is designed for enhanced survivability for both maritime and land environments and operates in foul weather conditions and over rough terrain. Looking To The Future The U.S. Navy is working diligently to get the MQ-47B into service as soon as possible, its 2,500-km range provides a greater standoff distance between the target and the aircraft carrier from which it was launched,

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