Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

This PE focuses USAF efforts on long endurance platforms that provide days or months of endurance and their associated sensors and communications suites. Efforts include, but are not limited to, optionally piloted airships, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), or more standard aircraft platforms flown as manned or unmanned. The Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS) project intended to develop a radar that is fully integrated into a station-keeping, stratospheric airship. ISIS intended to support the nation's need for persistent wide-area surveillance, tracking, and engagement of time-critical air and ground targets. Automated surveillance and tracking included air targets to the radar horizon of 600 km and all ground targets to a range of 300 km. The radar aperture intended to provide track data directly to users in-theater. After program restructure, the effort was reduced to radar and airship material risk reductions. The program efforts complete in FY 2015. The Medium Altitude Global ISR and Communications (MAGIC) project is developing a multiple-day, medium altitude ISR unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to provide long endurance surveillance with a multiple sensor payload. This concept was initiated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as a Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) in the 3rd Quarter FY 2010 with a competition between five defense industry partners. Aurora Flight Sciences' Orion Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) concept was chosen as the JCTD candidate by OSD/Director of Defense, Research and Engineering (DDR&E) per the recommendation of the Combatant Commands (COCOMs). The MAGIC/Orion RPA initiative was subsequently released from the JCTD process and transitioned to the Air Force as the sponsor of this developmental initiative in the 3rd Quarter FY 2011. Aurora completed the first flight test series from 24 August to 16 November 2013 (5 sorties, 10.4 hours) and the second flight test series from 1 June to 7 August 2014 (8 sorties, 35.9 hours). A third flight test series is underway and has accomplished a maximum sortie duration of 80.0 hours. This program is in Budget Activity 7, Operational System Development because this budget activity includes development efforts to upgrade systems that have been fielded or have received approval for full rate production and anticipate production funding in the current or subsequent fiscal year.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2016
Source ID
0305205F_7_3600_PB_2016
Change Summary Explanation
Service Agency Name
Air Force

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Defense Industry
  • Engineering
  • Medium Altitude
  • Remotely Piloted Vehicles
  • Surveillance
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • Unmanned
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Aerospace Engineering.
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects

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