DARPA/ US Army Praeire UAV

[Dynoman]

This is the DARPA sponsored US Army mini-RPV vehicle. Development of Praeire and Calere led to the development of Aquila RPV. Tested laser range finding and target designating.

 

[Dynoman]

Flight tests conducted out of Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.

 

[Dynoman]

The Praeire was manufactured by Philco who had an interesting corporate heritage, which inspired the cartoon below.

"Aeronutronic was a defense and space related division of Ford Motor Company set up in 1956. In 1961 Ford purchased Philco and merged the two companies in 1963. Philco Aeronutronic became NASA's primary communications equipment vendor during the 1960s, also building the consoles in the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. Many portions of the Philco side of the company were sold off in the 1970s and 80s, until in 1975 all that was left was the original Aeronutronic divisions. These were renamed Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation in December 1976, and then again to Ford Aerospace Corporation in January 1988. In October 1990 what remained was sold to Loral to become Loral Aeronutronic, before eventually disappearing when Loral was purchased by Lockheed Martin in 1997."

 

[Dynoman]

The ARPA mini-RPV program began shortly thereafter (NITE GAZELLE), in early 1972, as an effort
toward the type of lightweight, compact, low-cost sensor/laser target designation system
that had been recommended by Dr. Foster and the DSB. The resulting PHILCO-FORD
RPV had exchangeable modular payloads, the RPV carrying the daytime TV-laser target
designator configuration called PRAEIRE, and the same RPV carrying a lightweight FLIR
and laser target designator combination, called CALERE. The propulsion system was an
adaptation of an engine that had been used in lawn mowers. The radio command was also
adapted from one commercially available, and was operated by a pilot and a sensor
controller. Vehicle stabilization was provided initially by an electrical field sensing system
developed by John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; later, gyro stabilization was
apparently used. Optical stabilization was provided for the high resolution TV, and the
laser designation systems used the same optical sighting train as the TV, as had been done in NITE GAZELLE. PRAEIRE I, the first of two versions produced under the ARPA
program, weighed 75 lb and had a 28 lb payload and a two-hour flight time. It was
described as an austere, low-cost system, with a cost estimate, in mass production, of
$10,000/copy. The first flight of PRAEIRE I occurred in 1973 after a joint ARPA-Army
program had been started. However, there were some difficulties with performance of
the CALERE IR payload, requiring further development.

The Army's effort in response to the DoD initiative included, besides the joint
program with ARPA, trials of several other types of available mini RPV's in a program
intended to gain a better determination of requirements, called "little r." Part of the 'little
r" program also was a phased developmental effort of an entire RPV system, together with
ground control and support, which led to the Lockheed AQUIJLA, beginnin'g in late 1974.

During the 1972-1975 period, ARPA produced PRAEIRE II and CALERE II,
again built by Ford, based partly on the experience with the previous vehic!es, and partly to
reduce radar and IR signatures. Sensors and propulsion were also improved, with flight
time capability extended to nearly six hours. The extended range vehicle PRAEIRE IIB
had nearly twice the weight of PRAEIRE I. An electronic warfare payload was also
developed. CALERE III was also produced, including a new, lighter FLIR-laser target
designator combination.

In late 1978, a joint ARPA-Army effort commenced to develop an integrated
communication-navigation system. A little later a PRAEIRE RPV successfully
demonstrated the capability of designating a tank target for the Army's COPPERHEAD
cannon-launched guided projectile.

 

[Stargazer]

Gives the saying "on a wing and a praeire" a brand new meaning! ;D

 

[Dynoman]

Stargazer...agreed

A lot of hopes were probably riding on the new technology at Ford-Philco Aerospace. As the ARPA Mini RPV chart shows, todays Predator, which came from the ARPA Amber program, has a direct lineage to Praeire!

 

[Stargazer]

And they probably all can trace their ancestry to the OQ-1 Radioplane drone of 1939, too!

 

[Dynoman]

Here is the 'tank-busting' version of the Praeire.

 

[jkftl]

I recall reading in AW&ST that Praerie was powered by a hypergolic engine.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

A new mini-RPV (miniature Remotely Piloted Vehicle) of advanced design was delivered to the US Army Electronics Command by Philco-Ford Corporation in May 1974, and is now undergoing flight tests at Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona. These flights are being made in conjunction with
tests of other RPV configurations as a preliminary step in development of the RPAODS programme.

The new Philco-Ford RPV, known as Praeire II is a glass-fibre aircraft measuring only 2.89 m in length, with a 3.66 m wing span, and weighing less than 40 kg. It is a pusher design, with the engine mounted in a streamlined pod above and behind the wing. Its payload is a unique target designation system fitted inside the fuselage nose section. The system employs a TV camera and laser for visual acquisition, tracking, identification and designation of ground targets for precision attack by laser guided projectiles and bombs.

The Praeire II is the newest in a series of mini-RPVs developed by Philco-Ford’s Aeronutronic Division at Newport Beach, Calif. The original Praeire | vehicle (from the Latin, “leading soldier’’) was developed for the Defence Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) under a contract with the US Air Force Aeronautical Systems Division. Like the current Praeire Il, the Praeire | system employed a stabilized sighting system with TV and laser for target designation. The Air Force, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., conducted a seriesof highly successful Praeire | RPV flight tests with actual drops of guided weapons against simulated combat targets.

Other versions of this new RPV series include night-time designation systems called ‘'Calere I and II", employing miniaturized FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) sensors in place of the daytime TV sensor.

Primary emphasis by Philco-Ford and the military in the design and development of mini-RPVs has been on extremely lightweight and low cost sensor packages and aircraft systems. It is expected that the test and engineering phase will continue for at least another year before the stage of placing production contracts is likely to be reached. The Fiscal Year 1975 Defence Budget called for a sum of $5.5-million for continuation of the RPAODS programme.

Jane's Weapon Systems 1974-75 P.194