Improvements planned for KillerBee
August 01, 2009
Raytheon says it is working on a number of technologies that would improve performance of its KillerBee UAV and potentially lead to the development of a family of UAVs around the blended-wing aircraft.
The company reports it has completed testing of a heavy-fuel engine that would make the KillerBee more efficient and reliable, also extending its range.
The engine was supplied by XRDi, and the KillerBee was tested at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.
The company also said it is testing KillerBee at the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems/Tier II program.
Raytheon has also tested a system that would allow a single ground station to control multiple KillerBees.
“We have taken a ground system that’s a variant of the U.S. Navy’s Tactical Control System and adapted it to a Linux operating system to make it hardware independent and fully scalable,” said Mark Bigham, Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems business development director.
Speaking at the Paris Air Show in June, Bigham said Raytheon has demonstrated it was able to control a KillerBee while simultaneously providing anti-tank guided weapon target information from a manned aircraft.
Bigham said there was a huge international market for UAVs in the 100-pound class, such as the KillerBee. The company is examining that market to see how best to develop a UAV KillerBee-class family.
“We will mature that aircraft and maybe go smaller, or maybe go larger, depending on what the customer requires,” he said.