Bell Designs Helicopter Concept for Lockheed Martin UCAR Program

UAV NEWS

illustration only

Owego NY (SPX) Sep 28, 2004
Bell Helicopter, a key member of the Lockheed Martin Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) team, has successfully completed its preliminary design of a novel air vehicle to conduct reconnaissance and combat missions that does not compromise aircrew safety.

During a two-year, multimillion dollar effort funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the US Army, Bell analyzed 13 concepts from advanced, slowed rotor helicopters, through to very high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), fan-in-wing configurations. Bell chose a heavy fuel advanced compound helicopter concept to obtain efficient vertical lift and speed capabilities in excess of 170 knots.

The 5,500 pound gross weight aircraft is designed to meet emerging Army hot-day performance requirements of 6,000 feet altitude on a 95 degree-day Fahrenheit, and still be able to climb at 500 feet per minute, and altitude ceiling of 18,600 feet. This was accomplished while staying inside the structural limits normally associated with all types of rotorcraft and using turbine engine fuel available on the battlefield, such as JP-5, JP-8 and diesel.

"We are delighted with the advanced technical achievements of this design. It will revolutionize the helicopter industry for years to come," said Mike Redenbaugh, chief executive officer of Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, TX.

"In today's world, protection of U.S. interests at home and abroad are paramount and this system fills a gap in our strategic and tactical systems. It is an honor to serve the U.S. Army in this way," Redenbaugh added.

The main rotor concept is an advanced rotor with cambered blades, a product of Bell's 60 years experience in producing high performance, safe rotor systems.

The Propulsive Anti-Torque System (PATS) is a technically advanced, high-bypass propulsion system within the tail cone that provides an anti-torque capability comparable to modern helicopter designs, with the added synergistic benefit of forward propulsive thrust. This provides the benefit of compounding without the weight penalties normally associated with compound helicopters.

The concept also provides high levels of safety, as there is no exposed rotating tail rotor. Absence of a tail rotor and slowed main rotor contribute to achieving significantly lower noise levels and vastly improved survivability attributes over standard helicopters.

Bell considered using a turbocharged internal combustion engine to achieve an even greater endurance than the maximum nine hours, but found that the empty weight penalties associated with these concepts outweighed the advantages.

"Our design simplicity, use of man-rated helicopter components and specifications, combined with our fully integrated redundant flight control system provides a significant improvement in performance, safety and reliability compared to standard UAV systems with single thread or nonintegrated dual redundant flight control systems," said Charles H. Jacobus, director of Advanced Technology Programs for Bell.

The Lockheed Martin UCAR team includes Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Advanced Development Programs, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories, Lockheed Martin Simulation and Training Systems, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Bell Helicopter, a Textron company, Raytheon Company, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Whitney, Bradley & Brown, L-3 Communications, DRS Technologies and Harris Corporation.

UAV NEWS

VMU-1 Pioneer UAV Provides Birds Eye View Of Combat Zone

Al Taqaddum, Iraq (SPX) Sep 27, 2004
The fog of war clouding the modern battlefield is getting a whole lot thinner. Marines fighting an insurgency through the maze-like streets of Iraqi cities like Ar Ramadi and Fallujah are finding the enemy more easily thanks to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1, Marine Aircraft Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.