AeroVironment’s New Long-Range Tracking Antenna Significantly Extends Puma AE UAS Capabilities and Enhances Warfighter Safety
September 12 2017 - 4:30AM
Business Wire
- Critical upgrade extends range of Puma™
AE systems equipped with AeroVironment’s secure Digital Data Link
(DDL) technology to approximately 60 kilometers
- New technology delivers three times the
range of current Puma systems
At DSEI: AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a
global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both military
and commercial applications, today announced the release of a new,
long-range tracking antenna (LRTA) for its Puma™ AE unmanned
aircraft system. The critical upgrade extends the range of Puma
systems equipped with AeroVironment’s secure Digital Data Link
(DDL™) technology to approximately 60 kilometers (37.28 miles),
significantly boosting Puma AE’s intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and enhancing warfighter
safety.
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AeroVironment’s new long-range tracking
antenna for its Puma™ AE small drone lets warfighters gather
surveillance data farther from dangerous hostile fire. (Photo:
Business Wire)
“The LRTA enables Puma AE operators to gather critical ISR data
while positioned much farther from dangerous hostile fire,” said
Kirk Flittie, AeroVironment vice president and general manager of
its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment. “Importantly, this
technology provides our customers with a UAS solution that can
triple the range of existing Puma systems that use our standard
omni-directional antenna.”
The antenna also features an automated tracking function
(two-axis positioner) that ensures a secure and reliable link with
the Puma air vehicle while it operates at extended range. When
integrated with AeroVironment’s Mantis i45 electro-optical/infrared
(EO/IR) gimbal sensor suite, this improved antenna gives Puma
capabilities similar to larger and more costly Group 2 or higher
UAS.
With M3/M4 DDL radio frequency capability, the new LRTA is
compatible with a wide range of flight and ground assets that use
those wavebands, including AeroVironment’s Pocket Digital Data Link
(pDDL AE™) transceivers and Pocket RVT (pRVT™) video transceivers,
which give users direct access to real-time video downlink images
and geodata from any DDL-equipped platform.
Among other important features of the new LRTA, its rugged frame
was designed for operation in the harshest conditions. It comes
fully equipped with all the components needed for its operation.
Plus, operation with the LRTA requires no modifications to Puma
Systems compatible with M3/M4 DDL radios.
The new LRTA’s automated tracking function offers close range
automatic antenna switching for omni-directional use. Additionally,
the antenna is equipped with a self-contained uninterruptible power
supply (UPS) for power conditioning.
Puma AE (All Environment) is a fully waterproof, small UAS
designed for land and maritime operations. Capable of landing in
water or on land, the Puma AE empowers the operator with unmatched
operational flexibility in the small UAS class. Puma’s enhanced
precision navigation system with secondary GPS provides optimal
positional accuracy and reliability. Moreover, AeroVironment’s
common ground control system (GCS) allows the operator to control
the aircraft manually or program it for GPS-based autonomous
navigation.
The LRTA for Puma AE systems is now available for ordering, with
delivery scheduled for Spring of 2018.
About AeroVironment
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) provides customers with more
actionable intelligence so they can proceed with certainty. Based
in California, AeroVironment is a global leader in unmanned
aircraft systems, tactical missile systems and electric vehicle
charging and test systems, and serves militaries, government
agencies, businesses and consumers. For more information visit
www.avinc.com.
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AeroVironment, Inc.Steven Gitlin+1 (626)
357-9983pr@avinc.comorFor AeroVironment, Inc.Mark Boyer+1 (310)
229-5956mark@boyersyndicate.com
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