EADS Barracuda

• Germany Germany
• Spain

The test and research aircraft Barracuda Cassidian Air Systems is a German - Spanish experiment carrier for an unmanned military aircraft ( drone ).

History

The aim of the development of the Barracuda prototype is to gain experience with unmanned aircraft. In addition to defensive tasks such as reconnaissance and observation combat missions should be possible. It was originally planned to partially replace the reconnaissance Tornados of the Bundeswehr and to put the aircraft in 2015 and for the offensive combat.

On 2 April 2006, the successful first flight of the Barracuda took place on the Spanish airport San Javier Murcia region. The flight lasted 20 minutes and was conducted completely independently of the aircraft from takeoff to landing. A ground control station was used only for monitoring for security reasons.

In its second test flight on 23 September 2006, the experimental aircraft crashed shortly before the San Javier airport into the sea.

2008, the project was resumed and a second Barracuda built to serve as a carrier of electro-optical sensors and for demonstration of networked operations. In July 2009 and in summer 2010 he graduated series of successful test flights in the Canadian Air Force Base Goose Bay.

Development

The German - Spanish armor project is being developed as unmanned aerial vehicle at Cassidian Air Systems in the Bavarian town of Ottobrunn and in Manching; the German Aerospace Center (DLR ) in Stuttgart was involved in the development. Large parts of the structure have been made ​​of carbon fiber reinforced plastic in Augsburg.

Construction

The unmanned aircraft has a wingspan of about 7.22 m and a length of 8.25 m and a weight of about 3 tons. It is equipped with a jet engine from Pratt and Whitney Canada with 14 kN thrust. It offers space - partially beneath the hull - for various sensors for air and ground surveillance.

The ups and ailerons, rudder and flaps are electrically actuated by actuators ( Fly -by-wire ); the landing gear is hydraulically operated conventionally. The flight control system consists of a triple- redundant design flight control computer, navigation (GPS in combination with an inertial platform ) and the air and engine data processing. The command output is performed from the mission computer on the floor.

The drone communicates by radio link directly to view or indirectly out of sight on a satellite connection.