|
ROBOTICS
September 2007
Small Drone and Missile Network Allows for Quick Strikes
By Sandra I. Erwin
 Army officials are considering deploying small man-portable drones that can not only locate targets but also send, within seconds, precise coordinates of the targets to a missile launcher located five miles away.
The technology was first used by Israel’s military forces to strike Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon last year, and recently garnered attention from U.S. military officials.
The U.S. Army has deployed hundreds of small unmanned aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but those aircraft are not connected to any weapons. When soldiers operating the UAV find a target, they call for close air support in the form of tactical jets or armed helicopters.
Israel’s small UAV, built by Rafael Armaments Development Authority Ltd., is a 13-pound remote-controlled aircraft that is equipped with day and night sensors. The aircraft, called SkyLite B, in itself is not a remarkable technology. The innovation comes in the way all the pieces of the network work together — the UAV acquires the target, produces GPS coordinates, transmits them to the ground station, which then sends them to the missile launcher operator, according to company officials. The fire-and-forget missile, also made by Rafael, is the Spike ER.
The missile operator can redirect the weapon in flight if the target moves, the company said.
Rafael is marketing the $50,000 UAV, the control station and the $100,000 missile as a package, suited for battalion-level operations.
U.S. officials saw a demonstration of the technology in Israel in May and are considering making it available to Army forces if the system can successfully pass standard Defense Department operational tests.
Please email your comments to SErwin@ndia.org
Back To Top
|
Search Tips
