Page 62 - World Airnews Magazine May 2020 Edition

NEWS DIGITAL

HOW TARGET DRONES ARE USED

IN AEROSPACE TESTING

Remotely-controlled aircraft have provided targets for weapons
trials since the 1950s. Today’s weapons manufacturers and
militaries employ a variety of aerial, land and surface targets in
trials

by Paul Eden

GLOBAL REQUIREMENTS
In 2016, Meggitt Aerospace sold its Target Systems business to
June 26 1935, a de Havilland DH.82B Queen Bee lifts off QinetiQ in a £57.5 million (US) $75 million deal. QinetiQ Target
at Farnborough, UK in the first demonstration of the type’s Systems (QTS) offers aerial, land and surface (maritime) targets and
remote-control system. Flown via push buttons on a specially has continued to invest in new capabilities and systems. It supplies
designed panel, the aircraft manoeuvres around the airfield before its products off the shelf or within a bespoke service for individual
returning to land on its wheeled undercarriage. trials.
Designed and built as a practice tool for anti-aircraft gunners, Jules Werner, business development manager, QinetiQ Target
the Queen Bee paved the way for similar conversions of existing, Systems, said, “Customers come to us with a set of requirements.
usually surplus military aircraft and the post-war development of We work to understand exactly what they’re trying to achieve,
more specialised ‘drones’ for military training or trials. then our field services people pack everything together. It’s like
Capability, performance and cost, bearing in mind success are a Formula 1 team, with all the equipment and control systems
most often measured in the craft’s own destruction, have always deployed in a series of trucks.
driven the production of remotely controlled targets. Latterly, as “Typically, we deploy a five or eight person team, depending on
guidance systems moved from air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles the requirements and number of targets. We often send teams and
into precise air-to-ground munitions, the requirements of aircraft equipment to overseas locations and currently operate in more
weapons trials and for target drones changed. than 40 countries.
Laser and electro-optically guided air-to-ground weapons “At the end of the trial, we de-rig, load the equipment back in the
appeared operationally during the 1960s and had matured by the trucks and ship it back to our facilities. The customer receives a set
time of the 1991 Gulf War. Subsequently, a new breed of weapon of results and has the opportunity to witness whatever aspect of
emerged, capable of engaging manoeuvring surface targets the trial they need to see.”
moving at speed. Proving such systems has brought dedicated land Fundamentally, there is no difference between flying a drone
and surface vehicles into the aerospace testing remit. as a target for weapons practice compared to flying for training
purposes, but Werner said QTS always listens carefully to its

The Barracuda USV-T is
powered so it can tow multiple
targets(Photo: QTS)

World Airnews | May Extra 2020
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