TOTAL AIR, GROUND AND MARITIME NEWS COVERAGE
With distribution supported by
Boeing set
for Schiebel
partnership
Boeing is likely today to announce
the Schiebel S-100
unmanned helicopter as a new
partner in the UAV market.
Although the company has not
confirmed the arrangement,
evidence of a new partnership
was abundant the day before
the show began.
A full-scale mock-up of the
Austrian UAV maker’s S-100
Camcopter is installed on the
Boeing display in the exhibit
hall (booth 218). The S-100
also appeared on a poster
hanging in Boeing’s display
area at the UAV demonstration
held at Webster Field. The
poster includes the slogan,
“Unmanned air surveillance
from air and sea.”
Further, Boeing has scheduled
a news conference today
to announce a new teaming
agreement in the UAV market.
Schiebel and Boeing have
not previously announced a
marketing or business relationship.
The 200kg S-100 is able
to lift a 25kg payload, and in
June became the first UAV to
participate in the air display at
the Paris Air Show.
Principal sponsor
BillyPix
BillyPix
AUGUST
11
2009
ISSUE 1
Contest now open for
immediate cargo UAS
Unmanned K-Max on show in the AUVSI hall
Boeing’s Hummingbird at yesterday’s Webster Field display
BY STEPHEN TRIMBLE
The US Marine Corps announced on the
eve of the AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems
North America 2009 that the Boeing A160T
Hummingbird and the Lockheed Martin/
Kaman K-MAX helicopters will compete
for an “immediate cargo UAS” contract.
The announcement means the Northrop
Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout has been
ruled out of the demonstration phase of a
critical competition to fulfil an all-new
mission for UAVs by US forces.
The USMC awarded Boeing a $500,000
deal and the Lockheed/Kaman team an
$860,000 contract to demonstrate their UAVs
as cargo aircraft by February. If the demonstration
is a success, the USMC will award a
services contract to the winning team to deploy
immediately to Afghanistan.
As the USMC hopes to replace dangerous
truck convoys to haul supplies to forward
bases with unmanned systems, the A160
and K-MAX must demonstrate the ability to
deliver at least 2,500lb of cargo in less than
six hours for three consecutive days.
The A160 features a 2,500lb cargo limit
and has been in development for a decade
as an aerial sensor and attack rotorcraft. The
K-MAX is designed to carry up to 6,000lb.
Other military services are closely
watching the USMC program. The US
Army does not have a requirement for a
cargo UAV, but could reconsider based on
the results of the deployment.
Meanwhile, the US Navy is evaluating
the option of expanding the mission set for
the MQ-8B to include moving cargo between
ships, says Capt Tim J. Dunigan,
commander of PMA-266, the office charged
with buying multi-mission tactical UAS.
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