Rheem
Manufacturing Company developed a surveillance drone in 1957 for the US Army
known as the SD-2 (valka.cz, n.d) . In 1959 Rheem’s defense business was
purchased by Aerojet General, who developed an improved version of the SD-2 named
the Overseer drone (valka.cz, n.d) .
The Overseer was launched on a zero-length launcher utilizing two
solid-fueled rocket boosters (valka.cz, n.d) .
Once in the air, it was propeller driven by a Lycoming piston engine,
producing two-hundred and twenty-five horsepower (Goebel, 2013) .
Upon completion of its mission, it utilized a parachute for landing (Goebel, 2013) . The sleek design of the Overseer was
complimented with a v-shaped tail that helped hide it from radar. It carried an infrared sensor with real-time
data transmission capabilities (valka.cz, n.d) . In 1963, the Overseer was designated
the MQM-58A (Goebel, 2013) .
Northrop
Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk is a surveillance UAV that is similar to the
MQM-58A. Both the RQ-4 and MQM-58A have
a sleek design with a v-shaped tail, they both utilize IR sensors with
real-time data transmission capabilities, and both were used as reconnaissance
planes. The two aircrafts differ by the
launch and landing methods. While the
MQM-58A used a rail system to launch and a parachute for landing, the much
larger Global Hawk uses a runway for takeoff and landing like a traditional
airplane.
Further
advancements in technology have increased the capabilities of the RQ-4 over the
MQM-58A. Instead of being propeller
driven, the Global Hawk uses a Rolls-Royce AE3007H turbofan engine (Northrop
Grumman, n.d.) . The high bypass, two-spool, axial flow engine
has a capability of producing 7,580 pounds of thrust (USAF, 2008) . As technology advanced, the sensors aboard
reconnaissance UAVs progressed. The
addition to Ku communication antennas, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and Electro-optical
(EO) increased the data link and visual data shared between the aircraft and
ground crews. All of these technological
additions have contributed to the unique design of the RQ-4. The dominate bulge in the forward fuselage
houses the Ku communication antenna and the external turbofan engine is
noticeable on top of the fuselage. As
these changes were implemented into reconnaissance UAVs, the construction of
the aircraft developed in order to fully utilize the capabilities. The advanced construction increased the
range, duration, and strength of the aircraft.
A
new technology that might influence future evolution of the design and system
capability is the addition of Sense and Avoid (SAA) technology. The Global Hawk has the ability to search a
forty-thousand square nautical mile area in twenty-four hours with three foot
resolution (Air-Attack.com, 2014) . Implementing a SAA technology will allow
multiple aircraft to fly in close proximity of each other with a reduced risk
of collision. In the event of a search
and rescue operation, the deployment of multiple UAVs would increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of the search operation potentially saving
lives.
References
Air-Attack.com. (2014). RQ-4 Global Hawk.
Retrieved March17, 2014, from Air-Attack.com:
http://www.air-attack.com/page/54/RQ-4-Global-Hawk.html
Goebel, G. (2013, September 1). Early
US Target Drones. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from vectorsite.net:
http://www.vectorsite.net/twdrn_01.html
Northrop Grumman. (n.d.). Global
Hawk. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from northropgrumman.com:
http://www.northropgrumman.com/Capabilities/GlobalHawk/Pages/default.aspx
USAF. (2008, October 16). RQ-4
Global Hawk. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from af.mil:
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104516/rq-4-global-hawk.aspx
valka.cz. (n.d). USA - MQM-58
/ SD-2 Overseer. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from valka.cz:
http://en.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/t/48039
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