U.S. NAVAL RESEARCH LABS TESTS HIGH-ALTITUDE, SILENT, INVISIBLE, DISPOSABLE AUTONOMOUS UAV SURVEILLANCE GLIDERS

CICADA Mark III autonomous glider (Naval Research Laboratory) - Click Image To Enlarge

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Vehicle Research Section has successfully completed flight tests for the Autonomous Deployment Demonstration (ADD) program. The final demonstration took place Sept. 1 at the Yuma Proving Grounds, Yuma, Ariz., and consisted of a series of eight balloon-drops at altitudes of up to 57,000 ft, delivering sensor-emplacement Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft (CICADA) vehicles within 15 feet of their intended landing locations.The ADD concept is to enable small unmanned air vehicles (UAV) equipped with sensor payloads to be launched from aircraft (manned or unmanned), balloons, or precision guided munitions, and dispersed in selectable patterns around designated areas.

The Autonomous Deployment Demonstration programteam holds a Tempest UAV against two, CICADA Mark III gliders.  Click Image To Enlarge

The Tempest UAV airframe, designed and built by UASUSA, Boulder, Col., has a wingspan of nearly 10 feet and is construction using fiberglass and carbon fiber composites.  Click Image To Enlarge

Carried to altitude by balloon, the Tempest UAV with two wing mounted CICADA vehicles is released for flight to a 'drop' destination.  Click Image To Enlarge

Chris Bovais, aeronautical engineer and flight test coordinator, NRL Vehicle Research Section says. 

"The mission profile is straight forward.  The CICADA is dropped from another airborne platform, flies to a single waypoint, and then enters an orbit. It descends in that orbit until it reaches the ground."

The NRL developed CICADA Mark III UAV is a glider; it has no propulsion source onboard, therefore. It requires another airborne platform to get it to an altitude such that it can glide to its destination. Its lack of a motor and small size, make it nearly undetectable in flight.

A CICADA Mark III is carried beneath the left wing of the Tempest UAV at 53,000 feet, after release from the balloon and before releasing the CICADA. Click Image To Enlarge

Tempest UAV releasing a CICADA Mark III glider from its left wing. A CICADA Mark II prototype is carried beneath the Tempest's right wing.  Click Image To Enlarge

The ADD field trials successfully demonstrate that the CICADA can perform a precision delivery of a notional payload after being dropped from a 'mother-ship' or being carried aloft by a balloon. Standoff distances of 30 nautical miles and altitudes up to 57,000 feet were demonstrated, with an average landing error of 15 feet from the commanded location.

During the demonstration, the UAV ensemble was lifted to altitude using balloons operated by Aerostar International. A UASUSA built Tempest UAV, with two CICADA vehicles attached on wing-mounted pylons, was carried aloft to altitudes approaching 60,000 feet. The Tempest mother ship was released from the balloon, autonomously executed a pull-up maneuver, and then carried the two CICADAs to a drop location. Each CICADA vehicle was then released from the mother ship and autonomously flew to the preprogrammed target waypoint.

Bovais said. 

"Many remote sensors are currently hand emplaced.  The CICADA allows for the low-cost delivery of multiple precision-located sensors without placing the warfighter in harm's way."

The CICADA Mark III is a unique vehicle. The airframe is simply a printed circuit board also serving as the autopilot, the first known multi-purpose airframe/avionics implementation of its kind. This novel construction method significantly reduces assembly time, minimizes wiring requirements, and enables the manufacture of low-cost and rugged micro air vehicles. The airframe shape is easily scaled to accommodate various payload sizes and potential acoustic, magnetic, chemical/biological and SIGINT sensors. Unique to this construction technique, additional electronic payloads can be inserted into the system by updating the printed circuit board artwork and 're-winging' the aircraft.

A custom autopilot for the CICADA, both hardware and software, was developed by the Vehicle Research Section to be both inexpensive and robust. The only flight sensors are a 5Hz GPS receiver and a two-axis gyroscope. Although having minimal sensors, the navigation solution and the flight controller proved to be quite robust during in-flight testing, routinely recovering from tumbling launches. The flight controller also included a custom NRL algorithm that accurately estimated wind speed and magnitude, despite having no air data sensors onboard.

COMMENTARY:  The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Autonomous Deployment Demonstration (ADD) program is a slick system that could be used in all kinds of situations, military and public, where you have to conduct air surveillance operations and do it silently and with a high degree of stealth from high altitudes.  

The CICADA's could cover a large area, and with their little cameras the military could use them to identify military ground targets, military implacements, military vehicles,  troop encampments, landing fields and planes, structures, roads, dams, and many other things.  The CICADA's could also be used to conduct air surveillance of areas damaged or destroyed by natural catastraphe's like earthquakes, fires, mudslides, tsunami's, and so forth.  

Since the Tempest UAV and CICADA's are carried aloft by lighter-than-air aircraft such as balloons, gliders, etc. the cost to operate air surveillances using this system is very efficient and cost effective.  I like the fact that these UAV's are silent, invisible and disposable UAV's.  In a war zone, the enemy would not even know they are up there until the UAV's hit the ground.   

Courtesy of a news release dated December 5, 2011 by the U.S. Naval Research Labs

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