Aerial leap for WolfPack

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BAE Systems recently demonstrated its vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial system at Fort Benning for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and US Army representatives.

The ungainly looking machine below is an unmanned aerial system (UAS) from BAE Systems that is capable of vertical take-off and landing.

It was recently demonstrated at Fort Benning, Georgia, for DARPA and the US Army.

The system is designed to fly for more than one hour and deploy a signals intelligence (SIGINT) payload, known as WolfPack.

WolfPack consists of unattended sensors designed to detect and disrupt enemy radio transmissions, while avoiding disruption to friendly military and protected commercial communications and radars.

BAE Systems integrated WolfPack with its UAS as part of DARPA's Network Centric Experiment VIP Demonstration in January.

'This demonstration shows that unattended battlefield sensors can not only operate autonomously, they can also be self-deploying, self-relocating and, if needed, self-recovering,' said DARPA programme manager Preston Marshall.

The emitter detection mission was conducted autonomously, carrying the 22lb SIGINT payload over a 1.1-km course. Launch and recovery were conducted from different locations to emphasise how the UAS would be deployed.

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