Textron Systems press release
In June, Textron Systems was awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command Center (NAVAIR) to provide UAS operational support to one Freedom Class and two Independence Class LCS variants.
The Aerosonde UAS will support the LCS missions of forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence with overwatch and extended intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services with enhanced payloads. The Independence Class LCS marks the fifth class and seventh total ship the Aerosonde system has been contracted to support.
“Teaming an uncrewed Aircraft System with a crewed ship is a force multiplier for the ship’s existing mission sets, which we’ve seen with our Aerosonde UAS operating from DDG and ESB– class ships,” said Wayne Prender, Senior Vice President of Air Systems. “The expansion of the Aerosonde system’s services onto the LCS extends the capability of the various mission packages employed by the ship.”
The Aerosonde UAS offers multi-mission capability built upon a family of systems which have amassed over 650,000 flight hours over more than 10 years. The system is equipped for multiple payload configurations with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing options.
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About Aerosonde SUAS
Designed for expeditionary land- and sea-based operations and equipped for simultaneous day/night full-motion video, communications relay, signals intelligence, and a customer-selected payload in a single flight, Textron Systems’ Aerosonde Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) delivers multi-mission performance in a class by itself. It is field-proven with more than 500,000 flight hours, including desert heat and Arctic cold.
The company also offers turnkey, fee-for-service operations with its systems, operators, and trainers. Textron‘s hybrid approach provides hands-on training for customer staff while we launch operations.
System Features
- Expeditionary land- or sea-based operations
- Powered by Lycoming® EL-005 heavy-fuel engine for benchmark-setting reliability
- Covert operation, with negligible visual and auditory signature
- Multi-intelligence (multi-INT) payloads, i.e., electronic warfare (EW) and communications relay, in a single flight
Payload Capabilities Available:
- Full-motion video (FMV) and day/night imaging
- Voice communications relay
- Ad-hoc networking (MANET)
- Synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
- EW
- Signals intelligence (SIGINT)
- Communications intelligence (COMINT)
- 3D mapping
- Automatic identification systems (AIS)
Key Data
| Aerosonde® Fixed Wing | Aerosonde® HQ | |
| Payload | Up to 20 lbs (9.1 kg) up to 200W | 15 lbs |
| Max Wingspan | 12.0 ft (3.7 m) | 12.0 ft (3.7 m) |
| Ceiling | 15,000 ft (4,572 m) | 10,000 ft |
| Range | 140 km (75 nm) | 140 km (75 nm) |
| Max Takeoff Elevation | 8,000 ft (2,438 m) | 7,000 ft |
| UHF-, L-, S- and C-Band Capability | Yes | Yes |
| Weight | 80 lbs (36.4 kg) | 105 lb |
| Endurance | 14+ hr | 8 hrs (with 10 lb payload) |
| Automated Launch and Recovery | Single system with hydraulic pneumatic launcher and net recovery | Vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) capability |
| Airspeed | 45-65 kt | 45-65 kt |
| Transition Altitude | N/A | 50-150 ft above ground level |
