AeroVironment Unveils Tethered and Sub-Launched Drones

The U.S. Department of Defense office charged with studying technologies to combat terrorism is evaluating a new tethered drone for continuous surveillance and security applications, manufacturer AeroVironment said May 23. The announcement came a week after AeroVironment unveiled a tube-launched drone the U.S. Navy will deploy from submarines.

The Pentagon’s Combatting Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) is evaluating AeroVironment’s “Tether Eye” small unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the company revealed at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa. CTTSO also funded the development of the rotary-wing aircraft, which hovers above a small base station to provide a continuous 360-degree field of view.

“Having the ability to deploy a ‘virtual observation tower’ at a moment’s notice above buildings and vehicles represents a game-changing capability for ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and security operations that has the potential to save lives,” stated Amanda Toman, CTTSO program manager. “We look forward to continuing our evaluation of Tether Eye’s capabilities with AeroVironment as a possible deployable capability across government facilities.”

The tether that connects the aircraft to its base station provides continuous power. The Tether Eye is fitted with electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) cameras to provide day and night imagery, and communicates with its ground station and other platforms via encrypted digital datalink.

On May 16 at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition in National Harbor, Md., AeroVironment introduced the tube-launched “Blackwing” small UAS, which the Navy will deploy from attack and guided missile submarines. The Monrovia, Calif.-based manufacturer said Blackwing builds on its “Switchblade” system, an expendable, “backpackable” UAS with an explosive warhead.

The Navy and the U.S. Special Operations Command tested the Blackwing system under a 2013 joint capability technology demonstration called Awesum, for Advanced Weapons Enhanced by Submarine UAS against Mobile targets. The demonstration concluded last September “with a strong recommendation to transition the capability into the fleet,” according to AeroVironment.

Blackwing is fitted with a miniature EO/IR payload, Selective Availability Anti-spoofing Module-compliant GPS and secure datalink. It can be launched from surface vessels and ground vehicles as well as submarines. The system provides the Navy “with a low-cost, submarine-launched unmanned aircraft system optimized for anti-access/aerial denial environments,” AeroVironment said.

Separately, the U.S. Air Force announced a Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan on May 17 that describes its strategy for using small UAS (sUAS) over the next 20 years.

Larger, remotely piloted aircraft “have been foundational to the growth of the Air Force’s globally integrated ISR enterprise, but as new sensors and payloads are integrated, system costs continue to rise beyond sustainability,” stated Col. Brandon Baker, the service’s director of ISR capabilities. “SUAS offer a way to provide more capability and capacity to the warfighter at equal or lower operational cost.”