Advanced UAV Research Planned for GE’s New $65 Million Ohio Aviation Park

Last spring, GE broke ground on a $50 million aviation research center at the University of Daytonin Ohio. When finished next year, the center’s 200 engineers, technologists, and researchers will work on advanced electric power systems for next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as “drones,” including classified UAVs as large as a fighter jet. GE Aviation, which is spending another $17 million to upgrade other Dayton plants, is already a big player in the UAV market. For example, GE’s power systems work inside UAVs like the Global Hawk, and the X-45, and X-47 drone prototypes. “These UAVs and are the next generation of fighter and reconnaissance aircraft,” says Vic Bonneau, president of the Electrical Power Systems unit at GE Aviation. “At GE, we are being very aggressive at trying to invest in the kinds of technologies that will solve large problems for our customers 10 years from now.” One such problem is heat. The Global Hawk, for example, has flown war reconnaissance missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, but also after Haiti’s devastating earthquake. More than half of the aircraft is built from lightweight, high-strength composite materials. But the composites, which are made from special resins, also make the inside of the UAV very hot. “They are like flying thermos […]
Advanced UAV Research Planned for GE’s New $65 Million Ohio Aviation Park