DÉFENSE ZONE
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has reached an important milestone in the development of its Air Recovery System for small unmanned aircraft systems, successfully demonstrating in-flight recovery technology.
On 10 October 2023 the company revealed a significant advance in its Air Recovery System for SUAS/ALE. The demonstration, held on 20 September 2023 at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, highlighted the ability to deploy and retract a towline fitted with a “smart end functionality” from an MQ-20 Avenger unmanned aircraft system in flight.
This technological advance comes at a time when unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are gaining importance in both military and civilian operations. The air recovery concept developed by GA-ASI uses a towline and a smart end functionality, which serves as a beacon and a mechanical interface for air recovery. The SUAS/ALE calculates its precise position relative to the “smart” towline in order to latch onto it without any action from the pilot.
Mike Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI, stressed the importance of advances in autonomous navigation technologies, which make it possible to integrate drones deployed directly in the air by other drones.
Beyond simply being carried back to base, the SUAS/ALE can be refuelled, recharged and/or rearmed, then redeployed. Redeployment can take place from the host aircraft, allowing SUAS/ALE to fly their own orbits from airborne launch and recovery positions. This capability allows drones such as GA-ASI’s Avenger or MQ-9A Reaper to serve as mobile command centres for a network of smaller drones.
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