Drone (Pilotless) aircraft Daley Brathwaite

INTRODUCTION Drones or Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV’s) are essentially aircraft that operate without the physical presence of a human operator (pilot) on board. They are usually remotely controlled from locations that can be up to thousands of miles away. UAV’s tend to vary in size and can be as small as handheld toy aircraft or as big as a family car. They are not limited to being fixed winged aircraft as there are also rotorcraft (helicopter) variants in existence.

History The first known UAV was developed during the period around the World War I. Its function was basically as an airborne torpedo to combat the Zeppelins of that era. This aircraft made use of gyros for stability an control and radio control techniques that were revolutionary for that time. The program caught the attention of the US Army which led to the development of the Kettering Bug which made its inaugural flight in In subsequent years this remote control technology saw further use in the conversion of existing aircraft frames to drones. This also led to the development of the idea of the anti-ship cruise missile which was essentially a pilot less aircraft fitted with an auto pilot. Some of these drones found use in becoming aerial targets for pilot training purposes. This became the main role for the drones as the second World War came around as various different airframes became utilised from those of small fighters to large bomber aircraft. Eventually as sufficient technology became available RCA television cameras were fitted to drones and television screens in the controlling aircraft, leading to the drones further used in their airborne torpedo roles by crashing them into ground based targets. These drones were making use of standard piston powered power plants and it wasn’t until the advent of the Cold war era that faster drones were developed to keep pace with the faster aircraft that were chasing them. As the United States made various tests on its nuclear capacity at this time drones were outfitted an flown into the radioactive cloud of detonated bombs to collect samples. (The human flight crews originally tasked with this objective became sick as a result of radiation poisoning,)

It was around the late 1950’s when drones found their place in their more popular role as reconnaissance platforms. The aircraft were fitted with cameras and flown over high priority areas to assess the capacity. Since the aircraft didn’t have any pilots on board to be interrogated or killed in the event of a shoot- down, these aircraft were utilised by both the Soviet Union and the United States. By the time the Vietnam War started, drones had more or less become the principle means of reconnaissance. The drones were painted grey on top with white bellies and flew fast and low to the ground so they made for very difficult targets. Just over 100 missions were flown by these drones in the Vietnam War.

Evolution

Thanks to significant advances to available technology and deeper understanding of basic principles concerning flight, modern day UAV’s are leaps and bounds ahead of their predecessors. The use of these machines, where once was mostly for military purposes and to aid in destruction, has been changed somewhat to a more peaceful role by taking up important scientific roles in aid of understanding the world around us. Oil, natural gas and mineral exploration- Specially outfitted UAV’s with sensors designed to probe the inner makings of the earth are being utilised to obtain measurements of the earth’s magnetic structure and hence predict the location of various mineral deposits. Weather and Climate – Due to the absence of precious human cargo in the form of pilots and crew, UAV’s are also used in the form of hurricane hunters. These aircraft are fitted with sensors for temperature, wind, atmospheric pressure and humidity to get a better understanding of the makeup of one of nature’s deadliest weapons in hurricanes.

Agencies such as the US Custom and Border Protection (CBP) have selected the UAV as one their primary means of protection from illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. The UAV they utilise is known as the Predator. The pic on the left shows a picture taken from a CBP Predator patrolling the US border.

The Predator

The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator made its first flight in January 1994 It was initially conceived as a reconnaissance and observation platform however has since been modified to fire missiles or other munitions. The Predator is used primarily by the US Air Force and the CIA and has seen action in theatres such as the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. It is propeller driven and has a very long endurance; capable of 14 hour station time over targets. Initially the first few moments of a Predator’s flight were limited to close up radio control systems, however it is now possible to do an entire flight using satellite relays.

Control of the Predator is via what is known as a C-band data link for line of sight operations and a K u satellite data link for beyond line of sight operations The crew of the Predator typically consists of a pilot and a sensor operator in the ground station. A colour nose camera is made use of by the pilot primarily for flight control whereas the sensor operator uses a Multi- Spectral Targeting System, a variable aperture TV day camera and a variable aperture infrared camera.

Click to see the Predator UAV in action

Future UAV’s

It is quite unclear what is on the horizon in terms of future UAV designs. Many big names in aviation such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman do have concepts on the drawing board and are definitely interested in this area. From their humble beginnings as mere converted aircraft taking miniscule roles such as training targets for pilots they have evolved into sophisticated aircraft capable of taking on quite important functions in the aviation field.

References  History of unmanned aerial vehicles. Wikipedia. Web. 29 Jan  Unmanned aerial vehicles. Wikipedia. Web. 29 Jan  General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. Wikipedia. Web 29 Jan 2011  Predator RQ-1 / MQ-1 / MQ-9 Reaper - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Airforce- technology.com. Web. 28 Jan 2011