TALEUAS (Tactical Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial System)

The next step in reconnaissance drone technology will be a glider that can fly indefinitely, according to researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Marine Corps Capts. Derek Snyder and Dino Cooper, who recently graduated from the Navy school’s Systems Engineering course, may have the design that fits the bill. Reports Kevin Howie from the Monterey Country Herald. The planned aircraft was developed as thesis projects by Snyder and Cooper. It is dubbed Project TALEUAS (Tactical Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial System) and is a glider that can be hand-launched from the ground or by using a small electric motor with a folding propeller. It will have a sensor that seeks out rising thermal air currents, and solar panels on the wings to power the electronics aboard the glider. “It can ride thermals all day,” says Kevin Jones, a research associate professor at NPS. With solar panels installed, it could fly for days, possibly weeks, at a time. Gliders have been flown at Camp Roberts near Paso Robles along with powered drones to test communication between the unmanned aerial vehicles and to gauge their potential uses, he said. So far, none have solar panels, Jones said, but “solar technology is […]
TALEUAS (Tactical Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial System)