I promised you some information on BAE systems Silver Fox UAV airplane and today I bring it to you! This UAV is capable of autonomous aerial surveillance imaging at a cost effective price. With the ability to carry sensor payloads of four pounds and being able to transmit real time video images directly to a ground station; this unmanned system has a lot going for it! A single ground station can operate up to ten units. The Silver Fox unmanned airplane system was originally developed by Advanced Ceramics Research and was later purchased by BAE in 2009. The airplane is powered by a gas/electric system and weighs about 30lbs. It has the ability to carry infrared and electro-optical systems giving it the capability to provide full-motion imagery for 24 hour surveillance. The UAV carries small payloads performs fully autonomous take-offs and landings. Supporting military operations for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance this UAV can do much more than one task.
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A Silver Fox UAV on a launching platform Photo: baesystems.com |
The Silver Fox is made of a modular structure and is powered by a small model airplane piston engine. The airframe has the ability to be equipped with wings of various sizes. This allows it to trade duration and payload weight for speed or weight carrying capacity. Normally launched by hand this UAV airplane also has the ability to be launched by a compressed-air launcher. GPS navigation is used to make this UAV airplane to fly full-autonomous missions of up to ten hours. The mission is pre-planned using the laptop computer employed in the ground control station. The GCS has a limitation due to its data-link being line-of-sight but ranges up to 20nm are possible. A typical altitude for the Silver Fox to fly its mission at is 500-1200ft above the ground. Ceiling limitation for the unmanned airplane is about 12,000 feet. Currently sensors for video imaging are equipped but with a payload capacity of 4 pounds anything is possible.
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Silver Fox UAV in flight Photo: baesystems.com |
Development of this unmanned airplane is still continuing, mainly in the field of new sensors to be used with the system. Sensors can include biological and chemical agent detectors. Another sensor being tested is an improved camera system with automatic recording capabilities, swiveling, and improved zoom abilities. When data recording is enabled the Silver Fox is expected to be able to fly automatic missions of up to 180 miles. The latest information I've found says that the new flight control system supports a fully autonomous "convoy reconnaissance" mode. In this mode the UAV automatically flies ahead of a control vehicle in the convoy. With future improvements including a diesel engine, the flight time could be increased all the way up to 20 hours.
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