Inexpensive Long Endurance Drone (ILED) - KIHOMAC, Inc

The peer, near-peer operation scenario, with current enemy long-range and/or heavy fire units shielded by a surface-to-air cover, is driving coalition units outside of an ever-increasing stand-off range. Coalition forces need a remote capability to cross enemy fire-covered terrain and provide them time and space to conduct advantageous actions that “place the enemy under the pressures of uncertainty”. However, current coalition remote capabilities are too expensive to be deployed in sufficient quantity for large-scale operations or swarming mission objectives. Close-range battlefield UAVs execute a myriad of roles, usually at low altitude, within as rapid a response time as possible all while maintaining full mobility within restricted terrain (complete mobility of Ground Control System (GCS), launch and recovery equipment). Current market drones do not fulfill all these roles at a price point applicable for large-scale deployment, leaving a capability gap shared across DoD and other government agencies. The Capability Need Statements (CNS) addressed by the Inexpensive Long-range Endurance Drone (ILED) concept are (1) low cost and (2) small logistics footprint for single use (non-recoverable) while being modular enough to (3) accept different payloads and (4) conduct a variety of missions. Our objectives in Phase I were optimization analysis, subsystem integration feasibility, and to down select concept options/variations to a best concept form of the KIHOMAC Concept (ILED). While there are a nearly infinite number of design choices, some were easily removed from contention due of the relatively few benefits they provided. While a couple of unconventional designs were explored, any development path that incurred an impassible consequence to a CNS was eliminated. Motor placement, avionics systems selections, wing folding, and deployment concepts were guided by the ILED concept. Desired capability and performance analysis further developed (i.e., filled the gaps) and defined derivative requirements, informed constraint analysis and configuration alternatives.  Our objective in Phase II is to build, test and conduct a full flight demonstration that meets performance metrics, achieving a flight qualified test and demonstration that the KIHOMAC ILED design concept fulfills the CNSs. Structured, and repeatable feasibility analysis has generated positive results on all four capability needs and affirmed that KIHOMAC ILED could meet or exceed nearly all performance metrics, it will be within expected cost range and that we can produce it. Two alternate design paths identified by the trade studies to achieve better payload capacity and dash speeds are limited by the survivable launch velocity of the internal avionics, maximum permissible force of the launch system and achievable All-Up-Weight.