| The Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) successfully demonstrated
a low-cost system enabling ground forces elements to control,
monitor and manage multiple airborne imagery sources sharing
a common airspace. The system, known as HURT, for Heterogeneous
Unmanned Reconnaissance Team, allows ground forces to receive
video surveillance imagery of the surrounding area and request
specific information about suspected enemy positions on user-friendly
touch-screens. The system autonomously processes multiple requests
and directs the most suitable aircraft to take a closer look.
|
|
The latest
exercise, the third demonstration of the HURT system’s
capabilities, was conducted April 9-24, 2007, at Fort Hunter
Liggett, Calif. During the demonstration, the HURT system controlled
combinations of manned and unmanned aircraft to send essential
tactical data in real-time to Soldiers equipped with handheld
computers. DARPA program manager Dr. Michael Pagels explained,
“This demonstration showed the increased effectiveness
of multiple airborne assets to the warfighter when the assets
are flown in a coordinated manner.”
The exercise showed HURT’s ability to simultaneously
control three “tiers” of reconnaissance aircraft.
A manned C-12 aircraft served as Tier I, flying at 6,000 feet
and scanning areas as far away as 100 miles from the combat
area. Aircraft in Tier II (Hunter,
Shadow and ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles) flew at 2,000 feet and covered
areas approximately 50 miles away, and those in Tier III (Pointer,
Raven and Wasp unmanned
aerial vehicles) flew as low as 100 feet over the immediate
combat zone. Using a software interface, HURT linked the aerial
platforms together to build a unified picture of the combat
area for the warfighters’ use.
Previous demonstrations showed how HURT could control unmanned
aerial vehicles to collect and deliver real-time surveillance
information to ground forces in urban combat zones. In 2006,
U.S. Marines used HURT’s capabilities during training
exercises at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine
Palms, Calif. The system was initially demonstrated in 2005
at the former site of George Air Force Base in Victorville,
Calif. The recent demonstration was performed in cooperation
with the U.S. Army. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor
for HURT.
The US Army has reportedly deployed to Iraq a system called
ODIN, which provides has already participated in combat operations
provding persistent surveillance, target tracking, handoff and
BDA by different 'sensors' and 'shooters'. (Read about ODIN
at DTI's new Ares
Blog)
|
