Lockheed tries to whet U.K. appetite for new IR sensor
October 08, 2009
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Lockheed Martin has equipped one of its 8-pound Desert Hawk unmanned aircraft with an infrared detector capable of swiveling 360 degrees, and the company is demonstrating the aircraft to British officials at Camp Roberts, Calif.
Lockheed says the swiveling capability will help ground forces keep track of targets at night, when NATO allies prefer to conduct operations in Afghanistan.
Lockheed, which trains British unmanned aircraft trainers at Camp Roberts, will use training sessions over the next week to demonstrate the new IR sensor, said Bill Daly, Lockheed's business development manager for tactical systems.
British forces have been flying versions of the hand-launched Desert Hawk in Iraq and Afghanistan for years. Lockheed hopes they will add the new IR capability, Daly said.
The Desert Hawk's existing IR sensor provides a 90 degree field of view. Devising a turret and IR sensor that could swivel for 360 degrees was a major size and weight challenge for Lockheed engineers in Eagan, Minn., Daly said
“They were able to integrate a small IR imager into a re-engineered turret, and keep it in the size and weight limit of this module,” he said.
That limit is 1.9 pounds, Daly said.
Lockheed tested the turret in a series of flights Sept. 23 and 24 at the Minnesota National Guard's Camp Ripley unmanned aircraft proving ground, the company said in a statement.
Lockheed moved the craft's propeller and battery power to the nose on the latest version of the craft, called Desert Hawk 3.