BAE VTOL UAV impresses in autonomous tests

September 7, 2005 BAE Systems has achieved its first autonomous, untethered flight of its third-generation ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle. The company's vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air vehicle completed a course of 10 waypoints at BAE Systems' Southern California flight test facility. The seven-minute flight of the IAV2 ducted-fan air vehicle demonstrated a pre-programmed flight plan that included automatic takeoff, waypoint navigation with multiple groundspeeds and altitudes, and loitering and automatic landing. The demonstration flight was achieved just 10 days after the air vehicle's first flight and was the 14th flight of the IAV2. Flights were conducted at temperatures of up to 109 degrees, equating to density altitudes approaching 7,000 feet, in winds of nearly 15 knots.

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