US Battlefield UAVs - Combat Surveillance UAV

Combat Surveillance UAV

The function of a combat surveillance UAV is to observe events on a battlefield in real time, orbiting over the battle area and relaying intelligence to a ground control station. They are generally powered by small rotary or two-stroke piston "chain saw" engines.

They are directed by an autopilot system with RC backup. The autopilot directs the aircraft from sets of waypoints programmed in before takeoff, with the program set up by displaying a map on a workstation, clicking on the desired map coordinates with a mouse, and then downloading the program into the UAV. Navigation is often verified by a GPS-INS navigation system. However, combat surveillance UAVs usually use the autopilot to get to the operating area, with the aircraft then operating by radio control to find targets of opportunity. The need to stay within radio range restricts combat surveillance UAVs to ranges within a line-of-sight of the transmitter. This is usually the determining factor in "range" specifications for such UAVs. For this reason, "endurance" is a more useful specification than "range".

The UAV sensors are generally housed in a turret underneath the aircraft, and almost always feature day-night imagers. The turret may also include a laser designator to allow the UAV to mark targets for smart weapons. Other specialized payloads, such as SIGINT packages, or new lightweight "synthetic aperture radar (SAR)" sensors with all-weather imaging capability, are now being fielded as well.

The larger combat surveillance UAVs have landing gear, usually fixed, and can take off and land on an unimproved airstrip, with an arresting hook to snag a cable for short landings. Such UAVs may also be launched by a RATO booster, and recovered by parachute, parasail, or by flying into a net. Smaller combat surveillance UAVs may be launched with a pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric catapult, with the very smallest launched by an elastic-bungee catapult.