By Ann Roosevelt
Boeing [BA] yesterday announced its A160T Hummingbird has successfully completed a cargo delivery demonstration under a Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory contract, proving the unmanned rotorcraft’s ability to resupply frontline troops in rough terrain.
“Everything executed as planned,” Ernie Wattam, program manager, Boeing A160T Hummingbird, said during a telephone interview with reporters. “We completed all requirements in two days. They gave us three…We met all of our threshold requirements and exceeded many of them.”
The tests, using A006, a U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Hummingbird, was the primary flier during the March 9-11 tests at the Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Yesterday, the assembly jig at Boeing facilities in Mesa, Ariz., was loaded for the low-rate initial production vehicles, called Block II, he said. The vehicle on the jig will also have provision for satellite communications, he said. These latest Hummingbird versions offer more reliability and redundancy.
“We can deploy capability today, that’s what we think,” Wattam said.
A 45-day deployment comes July 1, the second with the Foliage Penetration Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Tracking and Engagement Radar (FORESTER) for SOCOM. For this effort, Wattam said a couple of Hummingbirds and mobile ground control stations will deploy for a more realistic demonstration than that held at Ft. Stewart, Ga., last year demonstrating intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, extended ranges and times.
At the Dugway Proving Ground demonstration, Boeing showed that the A160T can deliver at least 2,500 pounds of cargo from one simulated forward-operating base to another 75 nautical miles away in well under the required six hours. The simulated mission carried 1,250-pound sling loads over two 150-nautical-mile round trips, with the A160T operating autonomously on a preprogrammed mission.
“The Hummingbird’s performance was outstanding, as we had expected,” Vic Sweberg, director of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Boeing Military Aircraft, said in a statement. “The A160T’s capabilities can fulfill our customer’s near-term need for 24/7, reliable cargo resupply.”
The A160T completed seven test flights during the demonstration, including a two-minute hover at 12,000 feet with the 1,250-pound sling load, and a nighttime delivery to a simulated forward operating base. The A160T’s ability to execute extremely accurate autonomous deliveries also was demonstrated.
“On the accuracy–all of our drops…were within the objective requirements, and all of them inside 10 feet,” Wattam said.
The demonstration included the use of a remote terminal, a backpack weighing about 13 pounds, with an Enhanced Position Locating Reporting System radio and Panasonic [PC] Toughbook, Wattam said. Taking control of the Hummingbird at the initial point, about three to four miles out, the backpack can “nudge” the air vehicle around over the drop point. When an onboard downward looking camera shows the load is in the correct place, the operator cuts it loose. The remote terminal could then command the vehicle to head home.
“All in all in all we feel we’re pretty much on track,” Wattam said.
The multi-mission A160T has a 2,500-pound payload capacity. It features a unique optimum-speed-rotor technology that significantly improves overall performance efficiency by adjusting the rotor’s speed at different altitudes, gross weights and cruise speeds. The autonomous unmanned aircraft, measuring 35 feet long with a 36-foot rotor diameter, has hovered at 20,000 feet and cruised at more than 140 knots. The A160T established a world endurance record in its class in 2008 with an 18.7-hour unrefueled flight.