SEND THIS ARTICLE TO RAI arun86@rediffmail.

com

NEXT GENERATION UNMANNED FLYING MACHINES

By Arun Mishra

The operational capability of the UAVs a decade ago was much different than what it is today. Ten years from now, the entire design and capability of the UAVs would change. Advanced technologies are giving tremendous opportunities to create excellent unmanned flying machines in the future.

The NextGeneration MQ-X Drone Next-generation drones, such as the MQ-X, will need to do more than gather intelligence and carry weapons. Many countries as reassessing their views on UAVs as to how best they can be used as multi tasking agents. The future UAVs must go beyond their intelligence gathering capability. The next-generation UAVs will need to take on additional duties including cargo transport, refueling and possible medical applications, and they will need to be interoperable with different platforms, users and military services. Most of the UAVs in the world are capable of gathering intelligence in a serial form. They need to gather intelligence in a multi tasking form. That would save manpower, energy, time and much more to a country. The armed forces operating UAVs should concentrate on developing modular, plug-and-play aircraft built on standardized interfaces one aircraft for multiple missions, similar frames for one platform. They also need to identify the interior architecture for developing such unmanned aircraft with capabilities of interoperable command and control, multi-access controls and enhanced human-

system interfaces. The next generation UAVs should be more multi task oriented to outsmart the enemies. This multi tasking can be clubbed with the VTOL technology for the UAVs that have added advantages. Some of the advanced features include almost instantaneous stall recovery, gust insensitivity, reverse thrust to enable the platform to be sucked down onto the deck of a ship pitching in heavy seas and minimum power to rotate the thrust-vectoring propulsion units. Even loitering into wind, keeping the vehicle airborne with minimal power, just like sea birds, is also a feature. In the event of power failure in one or two of the propulsion units, the vehicle can still remain airborne and fly at close to its cruising speed, whilst total propulsion unit failure poses fewer risks than for rotary-wing craft such as helicopters by flying with a shallow glideangle, rather than at best the rotary-wing craft descending to the ground with its rotor-blades auto gyrating. One of the companies that has constantly been working towards vertical takeoff and landing is the UK based VTOL Technologies Ltd. Resizing the UAV with weight and power to handle a combination of various payloads and missions will give boost to create a multi task UAV for the next generation UAVs. To be prepared for a contested and denied environment UAVs should have increased durability and survivability.

The NextGeneration Camcopter

According the resources, the USAF is working to incorporate the next-gen requirements into designs of the MQ-X and the department is working with Air Force Materiel Command, Air Mobility Command and Air Force Special Operations Command to establish requirements for the new UAV designs. And they also intend to have the requirements finalized in time to be included in its 2014 Program Objective Memorandum.