Though Raytheon's Cobra Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) is the third unmanned aircraft, it is the first of its size to receive an Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The aircraft has a wingspan of 10 feet and is 9-feet long.

The overall Cobra UAS comprises the aircraft and ground elements. The ground elements consist of two control systems — the Cloud Cap Technology Piccolo ground control station and the Raytheon IIS multi-vehicle control system. The control system employs the NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4586 interface to communicate with the Cobra aircraft. The configuration of the dual control system provides for maximum flexibility and safety during testing. The Cobra test bed will be used to support the development, test and demonstration of sensor systems; networked command, control and communications systems — as well as UAS architectural concepts.

The certification is the first given to a small UAS and permits Cobra flight operations in a specified section of the national airspace in southeastern Arizona. It also authorizes Raytheon to conduct research and development, crew training and market surveys using the Cobra UAS.

"The Cobra UAS will significantly decrease costs and compress schedules for bringing new UAS technologies to market," said Ken Pederson, vice president of Raytheon's missile systems advanced programs. "Our customers will benefit from our ability to support both internal Raytheon development efforts and their programs with Cobra, without increasing the pressure on tactical systems and valuable range resources."

Raytheon worked closely with the FAA to receive the experimental aircraft certification, providing Cobra UAS design, manufacturing, maintenance, safety, operations and training documentation for its review and approval. The final step in the certification process was a demonstration of Cobra UAS ground operations conducted under the observation of FAA teams from Washington and Phoenix.

RSS    Save to Del.icio.us  Digg This