Aircraft and Vehicle IntegrAted Team (AVIATE)
Abstract
The Aircraft and Vehicle IntegrAted Team (AVIATE) program will design, develop and demonstrate an advanced capability Unmanned Air System (UAS) that is an organic extension of tactical ground vehicles. Current fielded UAS systems require significant infrastructure and manpower to launch and recover, exposing friendly troops to threats while stationary. As a result, small units suffer degraded situational awareness with no overhead capability or delays in air support. A UAS that is an integrated subsystem of a ground vehicle with features to autonomously land, attach, stow, detach, and take-off from its parent ground vehicle while it is on the move would enable on-demand capabilities and drastically improved protection. Ground vehicles could perform traditional UAS missions such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and fires support, as well as unique missions such as electronic attack, sensor emplacement, infrastructure attack, and active protection without having to rely on brigade and theater level assets. This effort will explore design interfaces between the air and ground vehicle, attributes to allow for launch and recovery on the move, and design considerations to enable operations in contested environments. The Army, Navy and Marines are all seeking UAS designs to meet their expeditionary needs and provide runway independence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Source ID
- 3d9bfed0aa85307d18f0cd3bcd232aec