Aerosonde UAV Project NAW 3919

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Aerosonde UAV Project (NAW 3919)
Alice D. Rew
Description and Objectives The Aerosonde UAV,
combined with a sophisticated command and control
system, enables deployment and command from
virtually any location. Initially developed for
meteorological and environmental applications in
remote and dangerous conditions, the Aerosonde
has evolved into surveillance and military roles
in recent years. Two basic missions will be
flown at Wallops Flight Facility to demonstrate
the capability of the Aerosonde UAV. In both
cases the entire flights will be within
R-6604. Mission 1. A short flight in RPV mode
where the Aerosonde UAV will be launched, fly a
race track inside 2000 ft and below 1200 ft
remaining within visual range and then land.
This entire flight will be in control of the
manual pilot and will not involve the
autopilot. Mission 2. A longer flight in both RPV
and autonomous mode. The Aerosonde UAV will be
launched in manual control and flown to 1000ft.
The autopilot will assume control of the UAV and
it will fly a racetrack with a side of 2 km,
climbing from 1000 ft to 15000 ft and back down
again. The manual pilot will then resume control
of the Aerosonde and land it.  Mission3. Mission
specific including autonomous flights in National
Air Space from Wallops main base airport.
The Aerosonde unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is
developed and operated globally by
Aerosonde Ltd (AeL) and Aerosonde North America
(AeNA). It has been undertaking civilian
operations for about 7 years, was the first UAV
to cross the Atlantic Ocean and has an impressive
endurance record of over 32 hrs. This evolution
has seen the development of the Aerosonde through
to the current Mark 3 version and recently the
evolution of a sister aircraft, the Aero Guard,
for tactical reconnaissance and local
surveillance activities.
Project Initiation and Requirements
Definition June 2003 TIM June 2003
Team Meetings August/September 2003
Range Readiness Review November 2003 Pre
Mission Brief November 2003 Mission
Flight One, Two, Three and Four
November/December 2003 Mission Specific
Flights 2004

• Code Y funding
• Cooperative Space Agreement in place with
  the Australians
• Over all budget for the project is
  estimated at one million dollars