Skyblade
read more for UAV and MAV MINI SPY IN THE SKY : The Skyblade II mini-UAV is a 1.2m by 1.8m aircraft that
can be launched by hand or with a bungee, and recovered by parachute. The SAF tested it in an exercise in Australia in 2003.
Subject: Singapore Defence by STimes 07.11.2005:
Defence plan calls for variety of aircraft types
SINGAPORE'S defence procurement agency is looking to buy unmanned surveillance aircraft that can be carried and launched by infantry soldiers on foot.
These mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will let troops on the ground spy on how the enemy is deployed and track their movements in real time.
The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has called for suppliers to provide information on a lean and lightweight system that can be carried by two men in two bags weighing no more than 18kg each.
The aircraft should be able to take off weighing no more than 5kg, carrying
cameras and an infrared sensor for day and night operations. It should operate within an 8km range while in flight for up to about an hour.
The system should also be able to feed video images to battalion
headquarters and intelligence agencies, and provide coordinates of targets to
shooters on the ground.
The aircraft will be controlled by soldiers using, say, a Windows-based
notebook computer. It will come with a device that can be handheld or worn on the wrist, to receive real-time images of how badly a target has been damaged, for example.
The DSTA expects to hold flight evaluations in January or February next
year.
It has asked for two mini-UAV systems to be delivered by April, with an
option to buy two more by August, three by December and up to 20 by 2008.
Its masterplan for mini-UAVs calls for a variety of aircraft types, from
planes to those with rotor blades, with each aircraft lasting about five to six
years.
A spokesman for Singapore Technologies Aerospace said it will respond to the DSTA request for information on mini-UAVs, but declined to say which of its
products it will offer.
A likely candidate is the Skyblade II mini-UAV, which can be deployed by two
men.
The 1.2m by 1.8m aircraft can be launched by hand or with a bungee, and
recovered by parachute. It operates up to a range of 8km, lasting one to two
hours in flight.
The Singapore Armed Forces tested the aircraft in an exercise in Australia
in November 2003.
The SAF currently uses the larger 5m by 7.6m Searcher UAV, which has an
operating range of 100km and endures up to eight hours.
The executive director of the United States-based Association for Unmanned
Vehicle Systems International, Mr Daryl Davidson, said a mini-UAV will be more
affordable than a larger system and can be used by smaller ground units.
According to him, some US forces use mini-UAVs to survey the perimeters of
their military bases in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
When the bases come under fire from rocket-propelled grenades, soldiers can launch the UAV from inside the compound to seek out enemies holding out in the sand or behind a grove of trees.
He said the move from larger to smaller UAVs mimics the development of
computer technology. 'Potentially, every soldier can have a small UAV in his
backpack to fly around the corner.'END of quote
Fantail
