2RHPZ
09-06-2004, 10:49 AM
Saab Conducts Autonomous Take-Off and Landing of the SHARC Technical Demonstrator
Saab AB, Sept. 2, 2004
On Wednesday August 25, Saab conducted its first totally autonomous flight with its unmanned aerial vehicle, the SHARC technical demonstrator. SHARC took off, flew and landed completely according to plan, and Saab can now count itself among the few companies to succeed in conducting a totally autonomous flight.
“By conducting flights with autonomous take-off and landing, we have shown the rest of the world that we are a company to be reckoned with in future collaborative international UAV projects. We have strengthened our position as one of the main players in the UAV market,” says Lennart Sindahl, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Saab Aerosystems.
The flight took place during a test campaign at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration test site in Vidsel. After taking off without pilot assistance, the SHARC performed a totally autonomous mission before landing on its own, aided by differential GPS and a radar height finder.
The SHARC technical demonstrator has been developed by Saab. The project began in 2001 and the first flight was conducted in February 2002. The test campaign recently carried out in Vidsel is the third in order. The previous test campaigns, which included autonomous flights both within and beyond the point of visibility, laid the foundation for the successful autonomous take-off and landing.
Successfully completing totally autonomous flights – i.e. flights with no pilot assistance whatsoever – is an important stage in Saab’s development of autonomous UAVs.
There are many advantages of being able to conduct autonomous take-offs and landings, as these are the points where a large proportion of UAV failures occur. Automating these parts of a flight therefore represents a dramatic risk reduction, while also bringing about tactical and operational benefits such as landing at dusk or in darkness.
Saab UAV Program Overview
This time last year Saab Aerospace (Chalet B34-36 at the show) was occupied with two UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and combat UCAV programs. Today the Swedish company has five different projects on its books and is placing itself at the heart of European unmanned technology development. Here Show News reviews the status of each program and examines what Saab hopes to do next.
NEURON
Taking the lead in Saab's priorities is the pan-European NEURON program. The name emphasizes its neural network technology credentials, while placing its "euro" nature at its core. NEURON was launched as a French program under Dassault leadership in June 2003. Saab began negotiating its partner status in September that year and in September this year the NEURON team hopes to submit its formal development proposal to the DGA (the French contracting authority). With between 25% and 30% of the program, Saab is Dassault's largest partner in a grouping that includes Greece—with Spain and Italy also preparing to join. NEURON will develop technology for the next-generation of unmanned (and manned) craft with the focus on advanced low-signature airframe techniques, open architecture avionics and evolved weapons/payload capability. The vehicle will be about 10 meters long, with a wingspan of 10-11 meters, an empty weight of three tonnes and a maximum take-off weight of five tonnes. It will be twin-engined with the powerplant to be selected from either Rolls-Royce or Snecma. The vehicle will fly at around Mach 0.7 to 0.8 and should deliver several hours of airborne endurance. Saab hopes to see a DGA contract issued by the end of 2004 with the aim of flying the first NEURON in 2009. According to Saab's program director of UAV Systems, Mikael Franzen, the first full-fledged European requirements for UCAV capabilities are expected to emerge in the 2015 timeframe.
EuroMALE
The European Medium Altitude Long Endurance (EuroMALE) UAV initiative was launched in June 2004, as a DGA-backed program involving, Dassault EADS and Thales. Saab and the Swedish authorities are now discussing how to take on a future role in the project. Saab's Franzen says that while it is currently only a demonstration program, the need for a EuroMALE system grows more and more pressing—more so than any UCAV. He cites France, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden as potential partners who all have a similar requirement. If an industrial consortium can be agreed it might be possible to have a demonstrator flying by 2008 and a real product available in 2010.
TUMAV
Away from the big collaborative programs, Saab is working on a new small collaborative program, the Tactical Unmanned Multirole Air Vehicle (TUMAV). Saab sees a requirement for a vehicle in the sub 500 kg class that would be more sophisticated, yet more affordable and easier to use than current tactical UAVs. The TUMAV would be a modular UAV that would be developed with a single partner—not one of Saab's traditional partners, says Franzen—to come to market around 2010.
SHARC
The SHARC (Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration) was Saab's pathfinder UAV program. Unveiled in July 2002, the SHARC is developing the advanced flight operations systems that future UAVs will need. This fall the SHARC will be launched on its first fully autonomous flight test campaign over Sweden's RFN Vidsel test range complex. This will include fully automatic take-offs and landings, using a comprehensive fit of radio altimeter and differential GPS navigation equipment.
FILUR
Saab's second original UAV program, the FILUR (Flying Innovative Low-Observable Unmanned Research), is tasked with low observable "stealth" technology development. The two FILUR air vehicles are now in production—with Franzen noting that good progress has been made despite a tight budget. He also comments that development and production of the FILUR's radar absorbent structure and other signature management features is a time-consuming job. The first FILUR will take to the air in September 2005 and Saab plans to have it flying operational missions against "hostile" radars before the end of the year. As with the SHARC, the experience gained through the FILUR will feed directly into the NEURON program.
Source (http://www.saabaerospace.com/node3916.asp)
http://www.newsonline.nu/release/260/pics/preview/B-04-062_SHARC-p.jpg
SHARC flying during the tests
Saab AB, Sept. 2, 2004
On Wednesday August 25, Saab conducted its first totally autonomous flight with its unmanned aerial vehicle, the SHARC technical demonstrator. SHARC took off, flew and landed completely according to plan, and Saab can now count itself among the few companies to succeed in conducting a totally autonomous flight.
“By conducting flights with autonomous take-off and landing, we have shown the rest of the world that we are a company to be reckoned with in future collaborative international UAV projects. We have strengthened our position as one of the main players in the UAV market,” says Lennart Sindahl, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Saab Aerosystems.
The flight took place during a test campaign at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration test site in Vidsel. After taking off without pilot assistance, the SHARC performed a totally autonomous mission before landing on its own, aided by differential GPS and a radar height finder.
The SHARC technical demonstrator has been developed by Saab. The project began in 2001 and the first flight was conducted in February 2002. The test campaign recently carried out in Vidsel is the third in order. The previous test campaigns, which included autonomous flights both within and beyond the point of visibility, laid the foundation for the successful autonomous take-off and landing.
Successfully completing totally autonomous flights – i.e. flights with no pilot assistance whatsoever – is an important stage in Saab’s development of autonomous UAVs.
There are many advantages of being able to conduct autonomous take-offs and landings, as these are the points where a large proportion of UAV failures occur. Automating these parts of a flight therefore represents a dramatic risk reduction, while also bringing about tactical and operational benefits such as landing at dusk or in darkness.
Saab UAV Program Overview
This time last year Saab Aerospace (Chalet B34-36 at the show) was occupied with two UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) and combat UCAV programs. Today the Swedish company has five different projects on its books and is placing itself at the heart of European unmanned technology development. Here Show News reviews the status of each program and examines what Saab hopes to do next.
NEURON
Taking the lead in Saab's priorities is the pan-European NEURON program. The name emphasizes its neural network technology credentials, while placing its "euro" nature at its core. NEURON was launched as a French program under Dassault leadership in June 2003. Saab began negotiating its partner status in September that year and in September this year the NEURON team hopes to submit its formal development proposal to the DGA (the French contracting authority). With between 25% and 30% of the program, Saab is Dassault's largest partner in a grouping that includes Greece—with Spain and Italy also preparing to join. NEURON will develop technology for the next-generation of unmanned (and manned) craft with the focus on advanced low-signature airframe techniques, open architecture avionics and evolved weapons/payload capability. The vehicle will be about 10 meters long, with a wingspan of 10-11 meters, an empty weight of three tonnes and a maximum take-off weight of five tonnes. It will be twin-engined with the powerplant to be selected from either Rolls-Royce or Snecma. The vehicle will fly at around Mach 0.7 to 0.8 and should deliver several hours of airborne endurance. Saab hopes to see a DGA contract issued by the end of 2004 with the aim of flying the first NEURON in 2009. According to Saab's program director of UAV Systems, Mikael Franzen, the first full-fledged European requirements for UCAV capabilities are expected to emerge in the 2015 timeframe.
EuroMALE
The European Medium Altitude Long Endurance (EuroMALE) UAV initiative was launched in June 2004, as a DGA-backed program involving, Dassault EADS and Thales. Saab and the Swedish authorities are now discussing how to take on a future role in the project. Saab's Franzen says that while it is currently only a demonstration program, the need for a EuroMALE system grows more and more pressing—more so than any UCAV. He cites France, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden as potential partners who all have a similar requirement. If an industrial consortium can be agreed it might be possible to have a demonstrator flying by 2008 and a real product available in 2010.
TUMAV
Away from the big collaborative programs, Saab is working on a new small collaborative program, the Tactical Unmanned Multirole Air Vehicle (TUMAV). Saab sees a requirement for a vehicle in the sub 500 kg class that would be more sophisticated, yet more affordable and easier to use than current tactical UAVs. The TUMAV would be a modular UAV that would be developed with a single partner—not one of Saab's traditional partners, says Franzen—to come to market around 2010.
SHARC
The SHARC (Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration) was Saab's pathfinder UAV program. Unveiled in July 2002, the SHARC is developing the advanced flight operations systems that future UAVs will need. This fall the SHARC will be launched on its first fully autonomous flight test campaign over Sweden's RFN Vidsel test range complex. This will include fully automatic take-offs and landings, using a comprehensive fit of radio altimeter and differential GPS navigation equipment.
FILUR
Saab's second original UAV program, the FILUR (Flying Innovative Low-Observable Unmanned Research), is tasked with low observable "stealth" technology development. The two FILUR air vehicles are now in production—with Franzen noting that good progress has been made despite a tight budget. He also comments that development and production of the FILUR's radar absorbent structure and other signature management features is a time-consuming job. The first FILUR will take to the air in September 2005 and Saab plans to have it flying operational missions against "hostile" radars before the end of the year. As with the SHARC, the experience gained through the FILUR will feed directly into the NEURON program.
Source (http://www.saabaerospace.com/node3916.asp)
http://www.newsonline.nu/release/260/pics/preview/B-04-062_SHARC-p.jpg
SHARC flying during the tests