Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MUAV)

The Air Force has a need to deliver a payload to a specifically identified target location within prescribed accuracy limits. The delivery system must be small, light-weight, and capable of operating effectively at significantly greater distances than existing man-portable systems. AeroVironment Inc. (AVI) will design, build, test and deliver air vehicles, launchers and ground control units under this proposed effort that will provide this ability. The tube launched vehicle transitions to an electric powered tandem-wing air vehicle for sustained reconnaissance, target selection and acquisition. Once a target has been selected, the air vehicle can then be directed to fly into the target with a prescribed accuracy. The launcher is also the storage and transport canister and the ground control unit is a common Raven B GCU already in the government inventory. The payload will be provided, installed and tested by the Air Force Research Labs Munitions Directorate at Eglin AFB. The proposed effort is based on prior and on-going work by AVI with the XUAV family of packaged tandem-wing air vehicles.