Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




UAV NEWS
Hunter UAV Gets Tactical Common Data Link
by Staff Writers
Herndon VA (SPX) Jan 04, 2010


File image of the MQ-5B Hunter UAV.

Northrop Grumman has equipped and fielded Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) on a U.S. Army Hunter MQ-5B Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), which has been deployed in support of the Afghanistan surge. The TCDL increases data transfer rates and doubles the communications range on the MQ-5B Hunter, enabling additional payload capabilities.

With the addition of the TCDL, Hunter now complies with requirements for all modern UAS aircraft to have encrypted data and video links. The TCDL also serves as a foundation of establishing interoperability among different U.S. Department of Defense air vehicles and ground stations. Such innovation also allows for manned aircraft to use unmanned aircraft, their sensors and weapons as an extension of their own capabilities keeping aviators out of harm's way.

TCDL also allows for smoother integration of present and future Hunter payloads that exchange digital data using airborne ground computers. With additional digital payloads in the future for Hunter, the warfighter can expect an air vehicle that can bring multiple sensors to bear on an area of interest to the battlefield commander allowing for more rapid intelligence gathering, monitoring and even targeting of enemy forces.

"When we changed from the RQ-5A to the MQ-5B configuration of Hunter, we doubled the endurance of the air vehicle. And with the data link transition, we have doubled the communications range giving the warfighter a much larger area of coverage," said Drew Telford, Northrop Grumman Technical Services' TCDL program manager.

"As we enter our 11th year of deployed service in support of the U.S. Army, the entire Northrop Grumman Hunter team is keenly focused on bringing new combat multiplier capabilities to the warfighter faster than the traditional programs of record can."

The MQ-5B Hunter, which is currently deployed in contingency operations, provides warfighters with state-of-the-art reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA), communications relay, signal intelligence, and weapons delivery. Hunter recently surpassed 80,000 flight hours, 53,000 of which are combat-related.

The RQ-5A Hunter was the Army's first fielded UAS. The MQ-5B is the next-generation Hunter, continuing a legacy of service to Army corps, division and brigade warfighters. Flying over the battlefield with its multi-mission optronic payload, the MQ-5B gathers RSTA information in real time and relays it via video link to commanders and soldiers on the ground.

The MQ-5B Hunter is distinguished by its heavy fuel engines, its "wet" (fuel-carrying) extended center wing with weapons-capable hard points and a modern avionics suite. The MQ-5B Hunter system uses the Army's One System ground control station and remote video terminal. It also carries a communications relay package to extend the radio range of warfighters.

The MQ-5B features a robust, fixed-wing, twin tail-boom design with redundant control systems powered by two heavy fuel engines - one engine to "push" and another to "pull" the air vehicle. Another Hunter capability is its relay mode that allows one Hunter to be controlled by another Hunter at extended ranges or over terrain obstacles typical of those found in Afghanistan.

.


Related Links
-
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








UAV NEWS
US drone attack kills five in Pakistan: officials
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) Jan 3, 2010
US missiles flattened an extremist hideout in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt Sunday, killing five militants in the latest strike in a recent spike in drone attacks, Pakistani officials said. The attack targeted a house in Mosakki village, about 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, and was the third suspected US missile attack in the tribal district in less than a week. "There may have been an important figure hiding in the house," a Pakistani security official in Miranshah told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak about the sensitive strikes. ... read more


UAV NEWS
Moon Mission In Running For Next Big Space Venture

Obama cuts moon travel, links NASA to private firms

3D Measurements Of Apollo 14 Landing Site

Blue Moon Rounds Out The Decade

UAV NEWS
Opportunity Approaching 'Concepcion' Crater Rim

Spirit Right-Front And Right-Rear Wheels Remain Stalled

ESA Member States Give Green Light To ExoMars Programme

Spirit Broken Wheel Spins Again After Three Years

UAV NEWS
US still has space ambitions: NASA chief

Chairman Gordon Comments On President's Budget Request

South Korea to send its cuisine into space

Research For The Future

UAV NEWS
China Building Large Radio Telescope For Space Observation

China To Launch Civil HD Survey Satellite In 2011

China Launches First Public-Welfare Mini Satellite

Chang'e-1 Has Blazed A New Trail In China's Deep Space Exploration

UAV NEWS
How To Live Long And Prosper In Space

Russia Set To Launch Another Space Truck To ISS

Obama budget extends US commitment to space station

Mini-Research Module MRM1 At Cape For Shuttle Processing

UAV NEWS
Apron Construction Contract Awarded For Spaceport America

Shuttle-Derived Vehicle: Shuttle-Derived Disaster

Final Launch Of Ariane 5 GS Completes Busy Year

ILS Proton Successfully Launches DirecTV 12 Satellite

UAV NEWS
Avatar Moon Pandora Could Be Real

Astronomers Find World With Inhospitable Atmosphere And Icy Heart

First Super-Earths Discovered Around Sun-Like Stars

Low Mass Planets May Be Common Around Nearby Stars

UAV NEWS
Superatom mimicry offers insights to periodic table

An Easy Way To See Thinnest Material

Understanding Interaction In Virtual Worlds

Boeing-Built DirecTV 12 Satellite Delivers 1st Signals From Space




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement