iNeo 0 Posted September 3, 2004 Last Wednesday, SAAB's stealth UAV SHARC took off, flew on a mission and landed in northern Sweden without any assistance at all. <span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>Saab has, for the first time, conducted autonomous take-off and landing of the SHARC technical demonstrator</span>On Wednesday August 25, Saab conducted its first totally autonomous flight with its unmanned aerial vehicle, the SHARC technical demonstrator. SHARC took off, flew and landed completely according to plan, and Saab can now count itself among the few companies to succeed in conducting a totally autonomous flight. "By conducting flights with autonomous take-off and landing, we have shown the rest of the world that we are a company to be reckoned with in future collaborative international UAV projects. We have strengthened our position as one of the main players in the UAV market," says Lennart Sindahl, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Saab Aerosystems. The flight took place during a test campaign at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration test site in Vidsel. After taking off without pilot assistance, the SHARC performed a totally autonomous mission before landing on its own, aided by differential GPS and a radar height finder. The SHARC technical demonstrator has been developed by Saab. The project began in 2001 and the first flight was conducted in February 2002. The test campaign recently carried out in Vidsel is the third in order. The previous test campaigns, which included autonomous flights both within and beyond the point of visibility, laid the foundation for the successful autonomous take-off and landing. Successfully completing totally autonomous flights – i.e. flights with no pilot assistance whatsoever – is an important stage in Saab’s development of autonomous UAVs. There are many advantages of being able to conduct autonomous take-offs and landings, as these are the points where a large proportion of UAV failures occur. Automating these parts of a flight therefore represents a dramatic risk reduction, while also bringing about tactical and operational benefits such as landing at dusk or in darkness. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HotShot 0 Posted September 3, 2004 It can have all the stealth it want, but when it's bright yellow... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
llauma 0 Posted September 3, 2004 It can have all the stealth it want, but when it's bright yellow... They had to paint it bright yellow otherwise they would have lossed the track of it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Schweitzer 10 Posted September 3, 2004 I think I remember the prototypes of this plane... it all started like that ... I am happy the development took a lucky turn! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iNeo 0 Posted September 3, 2004 I think I remember the prototypes of this plane... it all started like that ... I am happy the development took a lucky turn! http://www.saab99.de/99m73.jpg Actually SAAB originally manufactured (military) planes. Cars came later, and today they have various activities and manufacturing within "defence, aviation and space." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the_shadow 0 Posted September 3, 2004 yeah, SAAB is actually short for Svenska Aeroplan AktieBolaget (Swedish aeroplane corporation) so yes, they built planes before cars ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FSPilot 0 Posted September 3, 2004 How stealth is it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted September 3, 2004 How stealth is what? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bernadotte 0 Posted September 3, 2004 How stealth is what? Good answer!! Â Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mister Frag 0 Posted September 3, 2004 How stealth is it? Not very. Acceleration is poor, too. On the bright side, it seats four comfortably... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ares1978 0 Posted September 7, 2004 I think I remember the prototypes of this plane... it all started like that ... I am happy the development took a lucky turn! http://www.saab99.de/99m73.jpg You can say that again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FSPilot 0 Posted September 7, 2004 How stealth is what? hehe, should've seen that coming Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theavonlady 2 Posted September 7, 2004 How stealth is what? hehe, should've seen that coming  Seen what coming? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FSPilot 0 Posted September 7, 2004 you just fucked with my universe but seriously i dont see whats so special about a stealth UAV. i can do better than that. radar doesn't pick me up in my cessna under 3000 feet out here, and i've got my transponder turned on! i can take off and land too, do a whole lot more if you want. plus i can carry up to 3 other people in my cessna, plus some baggage as long as nobody's really overweight. whats the big deal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theavonlady 2 Posted September 7, 2004 but seriously i dont see whats so special about a stealth UAV. Â i can do better than that.radar doesn't pick me up in my cessna under 3000 feet out here, and i've got my transponder turned on! Â i can take off and land too, do a whole lot more if you want. Â plus i can carry up to 3 other people in my cessna, plus some baggage as long as nobody's really overweight. Â whats the big deal? I just phoned Homeland Security's 800 number. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted September 7, 2004 Ares1978 no hotlinked images over 100kb please. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ares1978 0 Posted September 7, 2004 Sorry, didn't notice the file size of that photo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
