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Raytheon Receives FAA Experimental Airworthiness Certificate for Cobra Unmanned Aircraft System. November 3, 2006
From Cobra Unmanned Aircraft System The units used in this article have been converted to metric units. |
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TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 2, 2006 -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Cobra Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is the third unmanned aircraft and the first of its size to receive an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Cobra is a low-cost, highly reliable UAS designed to support Raytheon's development, integration and test of unmanned systems technologies. The aircraft has a wingspan of 3.1 m and is 2.83 m long. The certification is the first given to a small UAS and permits Cobra flight operations in a specified section of the National Airspace in Southeastern Arizona. It also authorizes Raytheon to conduct research and development, crew training and market surveys using the Cobra UAS. The Cobra UAS integrates advanced systems and capabilities from several Raytheon businesses, including Tucson-based Missile Systems Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS), based in Garland, Texas Space and Airborne Systems in El Segundo, Calif. and McKinney, Texas-based Network Centric Systems. The Cobra test bed will be used to support the development, test and demonstration of sensor systems networked command, control and communications systems and UAS architectural concepts. " The Cobra UAS will significantly decrease costs and compress schedules for bringing new UAS technologies to market," said Ken Pederson, vice president of Missile Systems' Advanced Programs. " Our customers will benefit from our ability to support both internal Raytheon development efforts and their programs with Cobra, without increasing the pressure on tactical systems and valuable range resources." Raytheon worked closely with the FAA to receive the Experimental Aircraft Certification, providing Cobra UAS design, manufacturing, maintenance, safety, operations and training documentation for its review and approval. The final step in the certification process was a demonstration of Cobra UAS ground operations conducted under the observation of FAA teams from Washington and Phoenix. Raytheon Company, with 2005 sales of $21.9 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide. Note The Cobra UAS is composed of the aircraft and ground elements. The ground element consists of two control systems -- the Cloud Cap Technology Piccolo Ground Control Station and the Raytheon IIS next-generation Multi-Vehicle Control System. The MVCS uses the NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4586 interface to communicate with the Cobra aircraft. The dual control system configuration provides for maximum flexibility and safety during testing. From http://www.cloudcaptech.com/whatsnew.htm
Cobra UAS is a low-cost, highly reliable platform that supports small UAS systems development, integration and test. Cobra UAS received Experimental Airworthiness Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration Sept. 29, 2006. Benefits
Description
Raytheon has designed, developed and is conducting flight operations with the
Cobra Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS Cobra UAS is designed as a test bed for the
development, test and demonstration of sensor systems networked command control
and communications systems UAS architectural concepts and small weapons. Cobra
UAS has proven to be an extremely cost-effective, reliable and maintainable
system. Cobra Air Vehicle The Cobra UAS air vehicle all-composite vehicle
combines a high-performance wing wi
Cobra UAS is equipped with a Desert Aircraft DA-150 engine, an air-cooled,
two-cycle, two-cylinder power plant that produces 12.3 KWatt. A 500-watt
generator provides primary electrical power and lithium polymer rechargeable
batteries provide backup power.
Cloud Cap Technology’s Piccolo II autopilot is used for guidance and navigation.
Piccolo II provides the Cobra an advanced integrated avionics system
specifically designed for small unmanned aircraft. The Piccolo avionics system
includes the autopilot, flight sensors, navigation capability, global
positioning system (GPS) receiver, wireless communication, payload interfaces,
and command and control (C2) data link.
One standard Cobra UAS test configuration includes a mission computer,
MicroLight™ data link radio and fixed electro-optical camera.
The onboard mission computer can process payload data and format data for
transmission to a ground or airborne control center or communications node.
The 1.4 GHz Pentium® mission computer has an 8 GB solid-state hard drive for
data storage.
Communication Links
The Raytheon MicroLight data link radio is the Cobra UAS’ primary communication
link for C2 and data transmission. The MicroLight is a miniature,
software-defined radio that transports voice, video and data across a UHF
network and supports multi-vehicle networked C2.
The MHX-910 Microhard radio is an integral part of the Piccolo avionics system.
It is used during launch and recovery
and as a backup C2 link.
The Cobra UAS also uses a commercial 2.4 GHz analog link for video transmission
from the onboard, fixed camera to the
ground.
MicroLight™ radio
Cobra Ground Element
The Cobra UAS ground element consists of two separate control systems: the
Raytheon Multi-Vehicle Control System
(MVCS) and the Cloud Cap Technology Piccolo ground control station. The two
control systems provide maximum flexibility and safety during payload testing.
The MVCS is network enabled allowing multiple pilot consoles to be connected to
share data. The MVCS uses the STANAG 4586 interface to communicate with a UAS
through a vehicle specific module (VSM) and accommodates complex mission plans.
The MVCS supports electro-optical / infrared full motion streaming video and
other advanced payloads.
The VSM is the interface or translator between the aircraft and the ground
control station. It can reside in an airborne processor, as on the Cobra UAS, or
at the ground control station. The Cobra VSM was created to communicate with the
Piccolo autopilot and can be readily adapted to any UAS that uses a Piccolo
autopilot.
The Core UAS Control System (CUCS) provides the operator interface to the system
controls and displays system and flight information to the pilot. The displays
are configurable and include the primary flight display, a moving map or
situational awareness display, warnings and cautions, and various data displays
from the aircraft telemetry. This system can use satellite imagery for the
moving map display. When more than one UAS telemetry stream is detected on the
network, all UAS positions are shown o
Cobra UAS Specifications
Wingspan: 3.1 m
Length: 2.83 m
Maximum Gross Takeoff Weight: > 45 Kg
Payload Volume: 42.5 litre
Weight Including Fuel: > 20 Kgs
Endurance with 9 Kgs Fuel and 11.3 Kgs Payload: > 3 hours
Air Speed: Cruise: 93 ... 111 Kmph
Dash: 148 Kmph
Engine: 12.3 KWatts
Onboard Power: Generator: 500 W
Batteries: Lithium polymer
Guidance and Navigation: Piccolo II and Piccolo Plus
C2: System A: MVCS
System B: Piccolo Ground Station
Communication Links C2 and Data: 420 – 450 MHz MicroLight
C2: 902 – 928 MHz Microhard
Analog Video: 2.4 GHz
Summary
The Cobra UAS provides users with a low-cost, reliable test platform, advanced
C2, and networked communications capability to support their UAS test needs.
Raytheon is ready to support customer test needs with the Cobra UAS. Purchase,
lease, training and test support are available.
The Cobra UAS received Experimental Airworthiness Certification from the Federal
Aviation Administration Sept. 29, 2006.
Raytheon Company
Missile Systems
Advanced Programs
P.O. Box 11337
Tucson, Arizona
85734-1337 USA
TEL
520 545 9761
FAX
520 545 9300
www.raytheon.com
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