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battle gear
June 2007
Liquid Hydrogen-Powered Drones Within Reach
By Grace Jean
 HONOLULU — As the demand for unmanned aerial vehicles continues to soar, companies are producing systems that fly higher for longer periods and can carry more payloads, including lethal weapons.
One of the newest systems in development is the Global Observer, which can fly at 55,000 to 65,000 feet for as long as a week and provide 2,500-mile radius coverage.
“We’re building a stratospheric truck that can carry a number of payloads,” said John Grabowsky, vice president and general manager of Monrovia, Calif.-based AeroVironment Inc.
Global Observer will run on liquid hydrogen fuel, which has an energy density that is 3.5 to 4 times that of fossil fuels, said Grabowsky.
A 1/3 scale model prototype, Odyssey, took flight in May 2005. With a 50-foot wingspan, the aircraft proved that liquid hydrogen-powered technology is within reach for unmanned systems, he added.
The Global Observer is in the early stages of the military’s joint capability technology demonstration program, which strives to expedite novel technology and concepts to the battlefield. It will proceed through assessments by Special Operations Command for a sole source three-year contract of up to $129 million to provide “stratospheric persistence.”
The aircraft could be flown high above an approaching hurricane for weather monitoring. With the right payload, it could provide important data to emergency planners or help relay cell phone communications.
AeroVironment also is developing a lethal tube-launched unmanned aerial vehicle called Switchblade. Weighing in at 4 pounds with its launcher, the 19-inch long battery-powered drone has retractable wings and is deployable by a single operator. It will carry a high explosive warhead and offer troops on the ground 15 minutes of surveillance and targeting capabilities, said Grabowsky.
Switchblade can acquire coordinates from other UAVs, such as the Shadow or Wasp, and switch into an automatic guidance mode to hit soft targets, such as snipers, mortar batteries and enemy fighters laying improvised explosive devices, he said.
The drone will fly off of the company’s standard ground control station and will send real time data back to the operator.
Please email your comments to GJean@ndia.org
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