Conceptual Design of an Interoperable Vertical Take-off Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Operations with Unmanned Ground Vehicles - Mission Payload Analysis

摘要

Recent global military operations and current army research have placed emphasis to address future conflict environments from a complex terrain/urban perspective, including threats from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Conventional countermine equipments and doctrines needs to be re-considered for the development of a new operational philosophy from an unmanned technology perspective. The Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace Design Technology has embarked on investigations and conceptual design studies of a VTUAV for IED detection. The conceptual design process under development at the Wackett Centre is based on a systems perspective that focuses on mission analysis, and mission payload design from a network centric operation perspective. Whilst the conceptual design needs to be further developed in a detailed vehicle design, it does provide a preliminary investigation of the issue of interoperability between unmanned systems to enhance mission capabilities.