Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Military Space News .




UAV NEWS
AeroVironment Receives $16.5 Million of Funding from U.S. Army for RQ-11B Raven
by Staff Writers
Monrovia, CA (SPX) Sep 06, 2012


The RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery wirelessly to a portable ground control station for "over the hill" and "around the corner" reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units.

AeroVironment has received $16,472,298 in additional funding to perform on Aug. 10, 2012 from the United States Army under a contract action with a total projected value of $65,889,191. The company announced the initial $15.8 million funding of that contract action on June 1, 2012.

The overall contract action includes RQ-11B Raven systems, new miniature gimbaled payloads and initial spares packages and is funded from the Army's fiscal 2012 procurement budget.

Delivery of systems, spares and payloads is scheduled for completion by June 30, 2013.

Weighing 450 grams, the ruggedized, multi-axis Mantis i23 payload for the Raven system houses an electro-optical and infrared thermal video sensor in addition to a laser illuminator.

The single payload replaces two separate sensor payloads on the Raven air vehicle, delivering daytime and nighttime capabilities from a single package.

"The Army is quickly and easily integrating the new miniature gimbaled payload into the Raven systems because of its reliability in providing superior imagery and tracking capability in harsh environments," said Roy Minson, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

"We anticipate our new payload, an example of our focus on continuous and cost-effective capability enhancement for the warfighter, will become a standard component of currently fielded and future Raven systems."

The RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery wirelessly to a portable ground control station for "over the hill" and "around the corner" reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units.

U.S. armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection. Each Raven system typically consists of three aircraft, two ground control stations and spares.

RQ-11B Raven, Wasp AE, RQ-20A Puma and Shrike VTOL comprise AeroVironment's Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Operating with a common ground control system (GCS), this Family of Systems provides increased capability to the warfighter that can give ground commanders the option of selecting the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed.

This increased capability has the potential to provide significant force protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units and security personnel.

AeroVironment provides logistics services worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness and provides mission services for customers requiring only the information its small UAS produce.

AeroVironment has delivered thousands of new and replacement small unmanned air vehicles to customers within the United States and to more than a dozen international governments.

The Qube small UAS is tailored to law enforcement, first response and other public safety missions.

Small enough to fit easily in the trunk of a car, the Qube system can be unpacked, assembled and ready for flight in less than five minutes, giving the operator a rapidly deployable eye in the sky at a fraction of the cost of manned aircraft and large unmanned aircraft.

.


Related Links
AeroVironment
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
Northrop Grumman Highlights International Capabilities in Unmanned Aircraft Systems at ILA Berlin Air Show 2012
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Sep 06, 2012
Northrop Grumman is participating in the ILA Berlin Air Show, where it will highlight its industry-leading intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities with the EURO HAWK and NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) platforms, both of which are international derivatives of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The company's a ... read more


UAV NEWS
Israel's Arrow 3 missile to be tested soon

PAC-3 Missile Intercepts Tactical Ballistic Missile Target During Test

US looks at new early-warning radar for Japan: officials

Lockheed Martin Receives Contract To Produce THAAD Weapon System Equipment For The US Army

UAV NEWS
Raytheon successfully tests HARM upgrades

Raytheon receives $230 million contract for SM-3

Russia to create new ICBM by 2018

Boeing Winged JDAM Completes First Round of Tests

UAV NEWS
AeroVironment Receives $16.5 Million of Funding from U.S. Army for RQ-11B Raven

Northrop Grumman Highlights International Capabilities in Unmanned Aircraft Systems at ILA Berlin Air Show 2012

Apple shoots down drone strike tracking iPhone app

Drones, UAV: what is better?

UAV NEWS
Intelsat General Awarded Contract in US Government's New Custom SATCOM Solutions Program

Smartphone App Can Track Objects On the Battlefield as Well as On the Sports Field

Lockheed Martin Wins Role on Defense Information Systems Agency Program

Raytheon unveils cross domain strategy to securely access information via mobile devices

UAV NEWS
Aura Systems boosts South Korean orders

Thales Australia creates munitions group

Powerful new explosive could replace today's state-of-the-art military explosive

Northrop Grumman Welcomes UK Defence Minister to Unmanned Ground Vehicle Facility in Coventry

UAV NEWS
Rheinmetall expands; GKN set to do so

Outside View: How much is enough?

Cash-strapped Slovenia slashes defence order

Thales in Australian, Indian ventures

UAV NEWS
Birdman Putin flies with rare cranes over Siberia

Clinton in Brunei on mission to calm sea row

Tensions set to cloud APEC summit

Japan to buy islands disputed with China: reports

UAV NEWS
Researchers Develop New, Less Expensive Nanolithography Technique

Breakthrough in nanotechnology material science

Nano machine shop shapes nanowires, ultrathin films

New wave of technologies possible after ground-breaking analysis tool developed




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement