DALLAS, JUNE 28, 2005 – Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. is showcasing its advanced technological capabilities with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) conference this week in Baltimore, Md.
Vought’s exhibit (booth 507) features its work on Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4A/B Global Hawk UAV and its own Kingfisher II hybrid concept, a sea-going UAV that could take off and land on water.
Vought’s work scope on the Global Hawk RQ-4B includes design development, fabrication, assembly and structural testing of the new wing. The company is currently slated to build seven production wings for the new RQ-4B model, with options for future production lots of the new wing configuration. For the RQ-4A model, Vought built two prototype and nine production wings under its Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract with Northrop Grumman.
Earlier this year, Vought received a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) contract valued at $497,000 to investigate the feasibility of the Kingfisher UAV concept. Under the DARPA contract, Vought will modify an existing aircraft for water operations, develop sea state sensors, develop ATOL (Autonomous Take Off and Landing) software, and demonstrate vehicle capability to modify flight characteristics based on transmitted sea state data. This seedling aircraft is called the Kingfisher Jr.
Since receiving the DARPA contract in March, Vought has completed the Kingfisher’s modification design and is now adding ventral fins to restore directional stability. The twin floats and attachment hardware are being fabricated and will be assembled in late July. The integration of the vehicle, sea state sensor and ground station is planned for later this summer. Flight testing will begin later this year.
“Vought recognizes the importance and growth potential of the UAV market,” said Fred Schwartz, Vought vice president of military programs. “Our Global Hawk experience and the Kingfisher research project position us well for future work in unmanned systems.”
About Vought
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. (www.voughtaircraft.com) is one of the world’s largest independent suppliers of aerostructures. Headquartered in Dallas, the company designs and manufactures major airframe structures such as wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages, nacelles and other components for prime manufacturers of aircraft. Vought has annual sales exceeding $1.3 billion and more than 6,000 employees in seven U.S. locations.
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