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AAI MQ-19 Aerosonde

2001 MODERN AIRCRAFT DRONE TECHNOLOGY

History of the Aerosonde AAI MQ-19

AAI Aerosonde is described as a modular, long-lived unmanned aerial system (UAS) designed to perform primary missions of unarmed reconnaissance, data collection and surveillance. The UAS is marketed to budget-conscious buyers who need true UAS capabilities without the high acquisition and operating costs of full-scale systems like the popular Predator series. Aerosonde was originally developed by Washington-based Insitu (part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems) and manufactured by Australia-based Aerosonde Ltd. made.

On June 22, 2006, Aerosonde was acquired by AAI Corporation and is now known as "AAI Aerosonde".

Externally, the Aerosonde UAS shares configuration with many other modern UAS. Major internal components (payload, engines, fuel, sensors and avionics) are housed in a centralized cabin. Attached to it is a straight wing assembly that spans the top of the tail of the fuselage.

Thin tree stems are present on the trailing edge of each wing that connects to the rear stabilizer for stabilization. The engine is mounted at the very end of the fuselage nacelle and drives a simple two-bladed propeller system in a "thrust" arrangement. The Aerosonde base is powered by a four-stroke J-type gasoline engine, giving the system a cruising speed of up to 60 knots (up to 80 knots maximum stroke speed) and a service ceiling of 15,000 feet. An optional engine upgrade to a K-twin, two-cylinder, four-stroke engine with electronic fuel injection is mentioned. Both engines run on jet fuel or 93 premium octane.

Using standard surveillance equipment, the aerial probe is capable of 10 hours of flight time. The aerial probe is designed to be launched via a catapult-like orbital system and retrieved via a two-column grid structure.

Therefore, there are no fixed or disposable landing gear in the design of aerial probes.

Like most UAS, the Aerosonde UAS comes with a complete "kit" consisting of three Aerosonde UAS aircraft (each with an associated surveillance payload), a launch/recovery trailer system and a ground control station .

Until the late 1990s, the aerial sonde UAS was in the design, development and testing phases, with various evaluation stages completed. The aircraft is believed to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean for the first time by drone in 1998 - travelling from Newfoundland, Canada to Scotland in less than 27 hours (26.45 hours) while being fully autonomous.

At the time of writing (2013), aerobic detectors are very active in the world. The U.S. military is evaluating Aerosonde Mark 4.4 series models to potentially expand its growing inventory of capable drones in the field. In this role, the Mark 4.4 production model is considered the "XMQ-19A".

After acceptance, the vehicle will receive the official designation "MQ-19A".

The latest Aerosonde production form is the Mark 4.7 with automatic launch and recovery capability, integrated data link facilities, and is designed to comply with NATO 4586 single system ground control station and single system remote video terminal arrangements.