Eyes in the Skies: Planes without pilots take off
Editor’s Note: The following article appeared in the January/February 2008 issue of Fiscal Notes.
by David A. Rivers
Nearly all of the planes made since the Wright brothers first flew have had one component in common: a pilot. But human pilots are becoming less necessary today.
Take the TR-918 Eagle Eye, a tilt-rotor aircraft built by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth. The Eagle Eye, which is currently awaiting a purchase decision by the U.S. Coast Guard, can conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions in all weather conditions without endangering a human pilot.
“A concept developed for use with the Coast Guard was to carry the Eagle Eye on their cutters,” says Mike Cox, a spokesman for Bell Helicopter. “When they wanted to see what was miles beyond their view, they would launch the Eagle Eye and gain a much greater search capability. The tilt-rotor eliminates the need for a runway, and the craft can land back on the ship automatically.”
While unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the Eagle Eye may seem futuristic, they aren’t an entirely new idea. A few rudimentary remote-controlled aircraft were built and tested as early as World War I.
UAV Research and Technology
Developments in digital computer technology, robotics and miniaturization help today’s pilotless flying robots work. Jeff Hostetler, a lecturer in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, reports that much of today’s UAV research and development has centered around the miniaturization of avionics systems and the refinement of small-motor technology.
Miniaturization has produced dramatic reductions in the size and weight of avionics equipment.
“There has also been a lot of development effort in the use of small, very reliable, high-output motors,” Hostetler says. “These engines are typically used in the smaller UAVs, from hand-launched craft on up to UAVs with wing spans up to 10 feet.”
The Department of Defense expects to spend $10 billion annually by 2010 on UAV research and related technologies, and to quadruple its use of these craft in the field. This will boost business opportunities for Texas companies involved in the development or manufacture of guidance systems, autopilot solutions, precision control technology and real-time mission programming.
On the Radar Screen
With the beginning of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. defense funding for research into pilotless aircraft started flowing in extrordinary amounts, spurring the development of new types of these specialized vehicles.
These aircraft can fly specific, predetermined missions and return to base. Some, like the Air Force MQ-1 Predator, can be remotely controlled from a local battlefield or from a distant command center such as Nevada’s Nellis Air Force base, thousands of miles from the action.
UAV types include a wide range of vehicles, from handheld, hand-launched machines such as the U.S. Marine Corps’ Dragon Eye to the U.S. Air Force’s long-endurance, all-weather RQ-4 Global Hawk. The Global Hawk can patrol thousands of miles of territory at high altitude, sending intelligence to designated ground stations.
While UAVs are still primarily used in their traditional roles of surveillance, reconnaissance and target drones, a new generation is taking on more aggressive missions. Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles that can be equipped with Hellfire missiles, bombs and other types of ordnance are already looking for trouble in hostile skies.