New naval UAVs at Navy League

[CammNut]

Two announcements from the Sea-Air-Space show in Washington:

General Atomics is offering a carrier-based Sea Avenger derivative of its Predator C for the U.S. Navy’s unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) requirement. The company formally proposed the jet-powered Sea Avenger in its response to Navair's UCLASS request for information submitted on 30 April.

And

Northrop Grumman has teamed with Bell Helicopter to develop and demonstrate the Fire-X, an unmanned derivative of the Bell 407 light single-turbine commercial helicopter. Fire-X would use the unmanned systems architecture from the smaller MQ-8B Fire Scout and carry payloads up to 3,000lb, provide over 14 hours of endurance and haul 2,600lb of external load. The aircraft is planned to fly by year end, Northrop hopes to enter the Fire-X in a 2011 U.S. Navy competition to demonstrate a medium-range UAV.

 

[sferrin]

IIRC Predator C already has a hook on it. (ISTR the distinction was made that it wasn't simply an over-run hook.)

 

[AeroFranz]

Good stuff, CammNut.

IIRC, Tom Cassidy told AvWeek that Avenger would be suitable for carrier landings way back in the day, which sounded odd to me at the time. I'm working from memory here, but i think this was around the time of the unveiling and of that huge article with lots of pictures. Then the navy comes out with this RFP, for which Avenger is a shoe-in. I wonder if it was a case of GA gazing in a crystal ball, or something else. Mind you, the need for a naval UCAS is not that hard to predict, but damn...the timing was pretty good.
Regarding Fire-X, could NG have come to the conclusion that A160 outclasses RQ-8 in every single relevant metric, and thus a bigger platform is needed?

 

[Trident]

F-35 EOTS on the naval Avenger?

 

[fightingirish]

F-35 EOTS on the naval Avenger?

Probably, but presumably rescaled for the Sea Avenger.

Fire-x website with more information, pictures and a PDF - data sheet:
http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/fire-x/index.html

 

[Creative]

Sorry to go OT here but did anyone see what looked like some kind of rotor craft near the Boeing sign at the end. What was that?

 

[CammNut]

Re: F-35 EOTS on Avenger: LockMart revealed last year it was repackaging the EOTS as the EO/IR sensor for the Avenger, with the second protoptype now nearing completion expected to be equipped with the system. One of the mods needed is to enable EOTS to operate at higher altitude.

EOTS in turn is heavily based on the Sniper targeting pod.

 

[donnage99]

GA's last try with Navy, the Mariner:

 

[Mr London 24/7]

In relation to the UCLASS RFI (https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=3c621aa3f10b785132ca7c2abdabf75f&tab=core&tabmode=list&print_preview=1):

'Carrier-borne UCAS nears first flight' (posted July 22, 2010):
http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/carrier-borne-ucas-nears-first-flight-25590/?no_cache=1

Further ID of responses:

In March, the deputy chief of naval operations (DCNO) issued a request for information dominance, which has drawn responses from a number of companies, including Boeing with a Phantom Ray-based proposal and General Atomics with the Sea Avenger [based on Predator C]. Northrop Grumman has, of course, responded with a proposal drawing on its X-47 technology and expertise.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

They must have missed the Lockheed Sea Based Endurance (SBE) UAV...

 

[quellish]

They must have missed the Lockheed Sea Based Endurance (SBE) UAV...

Also known as the MRE-UAV and other names:
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,227.msg1292.html#msg1292

 

[fightingirish]

Fire-X Vertical Unmanned Aircraft System
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKdBTGJ1tYY

 

[doolyii]

Is there the rest of SBE study available ?? Lockheed Sea Based Endurance (SBE) UAV...
Thanks !!

 

[Steve Pace]

They must have missed the Lockheed Sea Based Endurance (SBE) UAV...

Shades of the the Tacit Blue (whale). -SP

 

[Matej]

Thats true. There is only one significant difference - the shaping. Tacit Blue was based on the Gaussian curves for the simplier computing of the RCS. This is of course a bit advanced.