UAV Helo: More Military Hardware For GA Pilots to Dodge?

How long will it be before we're sharing the NAS with this blind
hardware?

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The Boeing Company http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/index.html
Boeing Unmanned Little Bird Demonstrator Helicopter Flies Unmanned for
First Time

The Boeing Unmanned Little Bird Demonstrator, a modified MD 530F
helicopter, flies without a safety pilot on board for the first time.
(Neg#: SMF06-G-076595)
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q3/060712c_pr.html
Click image to view Photo Release.
These images are available for editorial use by news media on:
boeingmedia.com http://boeingmedia.com/photoreleases/index.cfm

ST. LOUIS, July 12, 2006 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has achieved
a major milestone in the development of its Unmanned Little Bird (ULB)
technology demonstrator by flying the versatile aircraft unmanned for
the first time.

Boeing demonstrated the capability June 30 at the U.S. Army's Yuma
Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz., about 130 miles from the Boeing
Rotorcraft facility in Mesa, Ariz., where Boeing has tested the
aircraft, a modified MD 530F single-turbine helicopter, over the past
two years with a safety pilot on board.

The aircraft lifted off from a helipad, hovered briefly and flew a
programmed armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission
around the proving ground.

After the 20-minute flight, the aircraft returned to the helipad and
landed within six inches of the planned recovery location. Prior to
the fully unmanned demonstration, the ULB Demonstrator had flown more
than 450 hours of engineering flight test time as a rapid prototyping
platform, developing and integrating the sensors and systems necessary
to create an operational unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

"Expansion of the flight envelope to include true unmanned flight is a
major milestone for the program and opens doors to a wide range of
applications for this aircraft," said Dino Cerchie, Advanced Systems
program manager for the ULB Demonstrator and A/MH-6X Little Bird
programs, a part of Advanced Rotorcraft Systems for Boeing. "Previous
autonomous demonstrations with this aircraft have included target
identification, precision re-supply, communication relay and weapons
firings."

The ULB Demonstrator mission payload for the first unmanned flight
weighed more than 740 pounds, not including fuel weight. The aircraft
lifted off at 3,000 pounds, but could have added an additional 550
pounds of payload.

The A/MH-6X configuration, which is expected to make its first flight
later this summer, adds an additional 800 pounds of payload to the ULB
Demonstrator design, giving it even greater flexibility in the field.

"The Unmanned Little Bird offers potential operators a low-cost,
multi-purpose aircraft that will provide manned or unmanned options in
combat, making it a versatile and easily deployable asset on future
battlefields," said Cerchie. "We are clearly demonstrating the
unmatched advantages of combining a cost-effective, proven airframe
with emerging manned-unmanned network centric technologies."

The prototype aircraft is validating an autonomous flight control
system that could be added to any manned aircraft. This automated
flight control system includes integrated weapons systems, sensors and
a ground control station. Cerchie said the entire package could be
retrofitted to most existing rotorcraft.

Mark Hardesty, Boeing Rotorcraft Unmanned Systems test director in
Mesa, said Boeing Advanced Systems is funding research and development
of the ULB Demonstrator, which is demonstrating Level 5 UAV control
capabilities, indicating it can be flown autonomously while its
payload or sensor is guided from a remote site or another platform.
One candidate for remotely operating a ULB aircraft is the
Boeing-produced AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopter,
which already has demonstrated such capabilities during UAV test
programs.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
http://www.boeing.com/ids/index.html is one of the world's largest
space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing
Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.8 billion business. It provides
network-centric system solutions to its global military, government
and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military
aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer; a
foremost developer of advanced concepts and technologies; a leading
provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator
for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global
leader in sustainment solutions and launch services.
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