Pilotless flying
Pilotless flying
Keywords Aircraft,Combat, Pilots, Vertical take-off
The US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, to define the requirements for a new family of uninhabited combat air vehicles(UCAVs) that could provide the US Navy with the ability to launch strike aircraft from a variety of naval surface ships and ballistic-missile submarines.
Lockheed Martin engineers will determine the criteria for three such craft: a short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing concept, a vertical-attitude-takeoff-and-landing (VATOL) airplane, and a submarine-launched VATOL vehicle. The stealthy UCAVs should weigh about 10,000lbs and carry payloads of about 1,000lbs.
With a range of approximately 600 nautical miles, the remotely piloted aircraft will be designed for low-level penetration strike missions at speeds just below Mach I.
