Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Kaman BURRO+ UAV impresses US Army

Kaman Aerospace Corporation reported that on April 28 its new-generation full-scale Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial System (VT-UAS) showed unprecedented mission endurance, completing a 12-hour and 17-minute simulated mission without refueling.

Kaman believes this is the first time a full-scale VT-UAS with significant payload has proven such endurance. The BURRO+ VT-UAS departed Kaman’s airfield in Bloomfield, Connecticut at 6:13 am and flew a pre-programmed three-leg course repeatedly, autonomously landing at 6:30 pm. The flight path took the BURRO+ over parts of Western Massachusetts, Connecticut and the Mid-Hudson River Valley in Eastern New York State.

This demonstration highlighted the high-endurance capability of BURRO+, an important performance milestone. “The Army is very interested in high-endurance capabilities in its new Unmanned Systems. Persistence over the battlefield is a key performance indicator and I am very impressed with this double-digit endurance proven by BURRO+ here today,” remarked Bob Johnson, U.S. Army program manager. “Last November we completed a first-ever ‘robots moving robots’ demonstration at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal. Today Kaman and the Army are once again breaking new ground with this high-endurance demonstration. We are continuing to work with Kaman to expand the capabilities of the BURRO+ system.”

The high-endurance demonstration aircraft utilized a modified conformal fire fighting belly tank developed and certified by K-MAX helicopter operator Superior Helicopter, and manufactured by Kawak, both based in Oregon, USA. Under contract to Kaman, Kawak modified a fire-fighting tank to carry fuel. “This demonstration proves the versatility that comes with having a VT-UAS with significant payload capability,” commented Mel French, director of marketing and business development for Kaman. “We can imagine several missions for this air vehicle that simply cannot be considered with any other VT-UAS under development today. The demonstrated endurance and payload capability can enable persistent, multi-sensor and weapon delivery capabilities that today require multiple platforms, manned assets, or a combination of the two. And the simplicity of this air vehicle means that these new unmanned missions can be accomplished more reliably, with fewer support crew, and ultimately, at lower cost and risk.”

Kaman Aerospace and the U.S. Army are developing BURRO+ to perform a variety of fully integrated logistics support missions. Based on the proven K-MAX helicopter, the aircraft’s unique ability to lift 6,000 pounds and resupply autonomously to over 20,000 feet will provide battlefield commanders with a new range of options without unnecessarily putting pilots or troops in harm’s way. BURRO, an acronym for, Broad-area Unmanned Responsive Resupply Operations, is based on the Kaman K-MAX “Aerial Truck” helicopter and was initially developed by Kaman under U.S. Marine Corps contract, demonstrating ship-to-shore resupply capabilities. Later, U.S. Army programs demonstrated BURRO’s ability to precisely deliver equipment and supplies totaling up to 6,000 pounds, to four locations and return to base autonomously. The BURRO demonstrated the delivery and precise placement of 155mm ammunition, fuel, water, Non-Line Of Site Launch System (NLOS-LS), and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) during several Army tests.

Posted by Darren at May 6, 2006 10:16 AM | More from UAV News |