I bring to you today some information on another reconnaissance and combat UAV airplane. The EADS Barracuda is an European unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and is currently under development by the company EADS. This UAV airplane is intended for reconnaissance as well as combat. Germany and Spain have teamed up to develop this aircraft and add the UAV airplane to their military. The first development of the project was stopped after the first prototype crashed at sea while approaching for a landing during a test flight. The UAV airplane project resumed in 2008 with the second prototype finished in November, 2008. The rebuilt Barracuda went through a series of successful and promising test flights in Goose Bay, Canada during the middle of 2009. Further tests of the UAV airplane continued in 2010 and 2012.
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| Source: defencetalk.com |
The Barracuda unmanned airplane is in competition primarily with the Dassault nEUROn for defense contracts. Both UAV airplanes are designed with stealth in mind and have around the same top airspeed of Mach 0.85. Not too much is known about this UCAV due to the classified nature of the project but speculation says that it will have a ceiling of about 20,000ft and will be able to carry a payload of 300kg.
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| Comparison of UCAV types including the Barracuda, X-45a, X-47a, and the Sky-X Photo: abovetopsecret.com |
With a wingspan of 7.22m and a length of 8.25m and a weight of three tons this UAV airplane is classified as medium size. The engine is made by Pratt and Whitney Canada and produces a huge amount of thrust at 14kN. Room under the fuselage is left for addition sensors that may wish to be carried for different applications of the unmanned combat airplane. The control systems for the UCAV are fly-by-wire, with the landing gear controlled by hydraulics. The Barracuda system was designed as a technology test bed with a modular structure and a interchangeable configuration. This should enable a wide variety of types of missions to be flown.