JMartJr
Senior Member.
Looking for pics of helicopters on the Salisbury Plain, I came across several images of heli-drones or fixed wing drones associated with crewed helicopters.
I don't think either of these particular drones would account for the flashing-whatever in the original vid (the first is possibly too big and I don't know how well it can loiter in place, the second "Black Hornet" drone is too small), but I do wonder if a helicopter operating in conjunction with a larger heli-drone or quad copter might be the answer here. I see one article covering integrating drones and helicopters to the point where the drone is piloted from the cockpit of the chopper -- would there be siuations where the helicopter would maneuver close to a drone, maybe to launch or recover, or for some other reason?
https://www.suasnews.com/2020/10/le...uav-teaming-in-the-uk-with-its-aw159-wildcat/
Edited to include reference to Salisbury Plain the quoted text.
I don't think either of these particular drones would account for the flashing-whatever in the original vid (the first is possibly too big and I don't know how well it can loiter in place, the second "Black Hornet" drone is too small), but I do wonder if a helicopter operating in conjunction with a larger heli-drone or quad copter might be the answer here. I see one article covering integrating drones and helicopters to the point where the drone is piloted from the cockpit of the chopper -- would there be siuations where the helicopter would maneuver close to a drone, maybe to launch or recover, or for some other reason?
and
- A UK first for seamless integration of a UAV into a helicopter's mission system – allowing a helicopter crew to control a UAV from the cockpit as if it was one of the aircraft's on-board sensors
- Teaming a helicopter with a UAV can significantly increase the situational awareness of the helicopter crew, while the seamless integration minimises additional workload
- This demonstration, run with the support of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory's (Dstl) on behalf of the British Army, confirms Leonardo's leading role in developing, integrating, and providing cutting-edge solutions for manned, remotely-piloted and autonomous/semi-autonomous missions, in addition to the AW159 Wildcat's growing potential as a force multiplier in modern battlespace scenarios
On 17th September, Leonardo successfully demonstrated unique integrated capabilities between a manned aircraft and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This took place in the UK during Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUMT) trials between a Leonardo AW159 Wildcat helicopter and a semi-autonomous UAV from Callen-Lenz Associates.
The demonstration was part of the British Army's MUMT themed Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE) 19, and was planned and executed by Dstl and took place on Salisbury Plain...
https://www.suasnews.com/2020/10/le...uav-teaming-in-the-uk-with-its-aw159-wildcat/
Edited to include reference to Salisbury Plain the quoted text.