SBIR-STTR Award

The Navy desires to equip P-3s and similar future aircraft with UAVs that can be launched from a standard A-size sonobouy tube and return real-time information including video images from remote locations to the P-3 for further analysis and action. Lite Machines has previously developed an electric-powered rotary-wing UAV having a cylindrical body and a counter-rotating, coaxial, rotor system, that fits within these tight size constraints, and that could be reconfigured for use in the Navy program. This Phase I work plan will measure the flight performance of the existing prototype UAV and use these measurements to calibrate a computer software model. This model will then be used to predict the flight performance of variants of the current UAV developed to meet specific P-3 mission requirements.

Benefit:
The rotary wing UAV is compact, simple and inexpensive to produce. It has substantial applications in other military and civilian applications, including, for instance, tactical battlefield surveillance, situational awareness for law enforcement, crop stress analysis, and chemical/biological detection.

Keywords:
coaxial, coaxial, UAV, RPV, Voyeur, helicopter, VTOL, mini, Portable

The Navy desires to equip P-3s and similar future aircraft with UAVs that can be launched from a standard A-size sonobouy tube and return real-time information including video images from remote locations for further analysis and action. Lite Machines has developed an electric-powered rotary-wing UAV having a cylindrical body and a counter-rotating, coaxial, rotor system, that fits within these tight size constraints, and that could be reconfigured for use in the Navy program. The focus of this Phase II work plan is to further develop the current UAV prototype in a vertical flight configuration, to flight test prototypes from the ground with a ground control station and autonomous guidance system, and to air-launch full test vehicles using the sonobouy launch tubes onboard an air launch platform such as the P-3.

Benefit:
The Voyeur rotary wing UAV is a compact, simple and inexpensive solution to the Navy’s unmanned needs. It has substantial applications in other military and civilian applications, including, tactical battlefield surveillance, situational awareness for law enforcement, crop stress analysis, and chemical/biological detection.

Keywords:
mini, VTOL, P-3, Unmanned, tube, Voyeur, UAV, RPV