AeroVironment's Blackwing to deploy with U.S. Navy's submarines
NewsMay 18, 2016
WASHINGTON. The U.S. Navy plans to deploy its submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles with AeroVironment?s Blackwing, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that launches from platforms beneath the sea?s surface.
Engineers developed the Blackwing system from a Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) in 2013 called the Advanced Weapons Enhanced by Submarine UAS against Mobile targets (AWESUM).
Blackwing employs an electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) payload, Selective Availability Anti-spoofing Module (SASSM) GPS, and a Digital Data Link (DDL). AeroVironment officials announced the Navy's plan at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition.
AeroVironment’s Blackwing UAS is a new capability that resulted from our team’s collaboration with the U.S. Navy’s undersea warfare community and the Special Operations community, says Kirk Flittie, AeroVironment vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business unit. Blackwing can also be integrated with and deployed from a variety of surface vessels and mobile ground vehicles.
Read more on unmanned systems:
Lockheed Martin & MIT enter into future autonomous systems research agreement
U.S Army completes UAS radar-based sense & avoid system test
MicroGram GPS receivers ordered for Navy's ordnance disposal robotics program
