Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Leading aeronautical consultant Reg Austin co-founded the Bristol International Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) conferences in 1979, which are now the longest-established UAS conferences worldwide. In addition, Austin has over 40 years' experience in the design and development of UAS. One of Austin's programmes, the "Sprite UAV System" has been deployed around the world and operated by day and night, in all weathers.

“This book review is part of the Practical Industrial Applications series on Startup Business Book Reviews, providing quality book reviews of the business books that matter.”  (Will Roney, 3 September 2012)"Overall, the book is a useful guide to the wide subject of unmanned aircraft and will sit comfortably on the shelves of both interested amateur and experienced professional." (RAeS Aerospace Professional magazine, 1 April 2011)

• Foreword xiiiAcknowledgements xivSeries Preface xvPreface xviiUnits and Abbreviations xix1 Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 11.1 Some Applications of UAS 11.2 What are UAS? 31.3 Why Unmanned Aircraft? 51.4 The Systemic Basis of UAS 91.5 System Composition 9References 15Part 1 THE DESIGN OF UAV SYSTEMS 172 Introduction to Design and Selection of the System 192.1 Conceptual Phase 192.2 Preliminary Design 202.3 Detail Design 202.4 Selection of the System 203 Aerodynamics and Airframe Configurations 253.1 Lift-induced Drag 253.2 Parasitic Drag 263.3 Rotary-wing Aerodynamics 293.4 Response to Air Turbulence 323.5 Airframe Configurations 343.6 Summary 42References 434 Characteristics of Aircraft Types 454.1 Long-endurance, Long-range Rˆole Aircraft 454.2 Medium-range, Tactical Aircraft 554.3 Close-range/Battlefield Aircraft 594.4 MUAV Types 664.5 MAV and NAV Types 684.6 UCAV 704.7 Novel Hybrid Aircraft Configurations 714.8 Research UAV 74References 745 Design Standards and Regulatory Aspects 755.1 Introduction 755.2 United Kingdom 765.3 Europe 885.4 United States of America 885.5 Conclusion 89References 896 Aspects of Airframe Design 916.1 Scale Effects 916.2 Packaging Density 936.3 Aerodynamics 946.4 Structures and Mechanisms 956.5 Selection of power-plants 1016.6 Modular Construction 1066.7 Ancillary Equipment 112References 1127 Design for Stealth 1137.1 Acoustic Signature 1147.2 Visual Signature 1157.3 Thermal Signature 1167.4 Radio/Radar Signature 1177.5 Examples in Practice 118Reference 1268 Payload Types 1278.1 Nondispensable Payloads 1288.2 Dispensable Payloads 141Reference 1419 Communications 1439.1 Communication Media 1439.2 Radio Communication 1449.3 Mid-air Collision (MAC) Avoidance 1519.4 Communications Data Rate and Bandwidth Usage 1519.5 Antenna Types 152References 15410 Control and Stability 15510.1 HTOL Aircraft 15510.2 Helicopters 15910.3 Convertible Rotor Aircraft 16310.4 Payload Control 16510.5 Sensors 16510.6 Autonomy 167References 16711 Navigation 16911.1 NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) 16911.2 TACAN 17011.3 LORAN C 17011.4 Inertial Navigation 17111.5 Radio Tracking 17111.6 Way-point Navigation 172References 17212 Launch and Recovery 17312.1 Launch 17312.2 Recovery 17712.3 Summary 18113 Control Stations 18313.1 Control Station Composition 18313.2 Open System Architecture 18513.3 Mini-UAV ‘Laptop’ Ground Control Station 18513.4 Close-range UAV Systems GCS 18613.5 Medium- and Long-range UAV System GCS 19013.6 Sea Control Stations (SCS) 19513.7 Air Control Stations (ACS) 19514 Support Equipment 19714.1 Operating and Maintenance Manuals 19714.2 Consumables 19814.3 Replaceable Components 19814.4 Vulnerable and On-condition Components 19814.5 Tools 19814.6 Subsidiary Equipment 19915 Transportation 20115.1 Micro-UAV 20115.2 VTOL Close-range Systems 20115.3 HTOL Close-range Systems 20115.4 Medium-range Systems 20215.5 MALE and HALE Systems 20316 Design for Reliability 20516.1 Determination of the Required Level of Reliability 20616.2 Achieving Reliability 20816.3 Reliability Data Presentation 21016.4 Multiplexed Systems 21216.5 Reliability by Design 21316.6 Design for Ease of Maintenance 21617 Design for Manufacture and Development 217Part 2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF UAV SYSTEMS 22118 Introduction to System Development and Certification 22318.1 System Development 22318.2 Certification 22418.3 Establishing Reliability 22419 System Ground Testing 22719.1 UAV Component Testing 22719.2 UAV Sub-assembly and Sub-system Testing 22819.3 Testing Complete UAV 23019.4 Control Station Testing 23619.5 Catapult Launch System Tests 23719.6 Documentation 23720 System In-flight Testing 23920.1 Test Sites 23920.2 Preparation for In-flight Testing 24020.3 In-flight Testing 24220.4 System Certification 243Part 3 THE DEPLOYMENT OF UAV SYSTEMS 24521 Operational Trials and Full Certification 24721.1 Company Trials 24721.2 Customer Trials and Sales Demonstrations 24822 UAV System Deployment 24922.1 Introduction 24922.2 Network-centric Operations (NCO) 25122.3 Teaming with Manned and Other Unmanned Systems 25223 Naval Roles 25323.1 Fleet Detection and Shadowing 25423.2 Radar Confusion 25423.3 Missile Decoy 25523.4 Anti-submarine Warfare 25523.5 Radio Relay 25623.6 Port Protection 25623.7 Over-beach Reconnaissance 25723.8 Fisheries Protection 25723.9 Detection of Illegal Imports 25723.10 Electronic Intelligence 25723.11 Maritime Surveillance 25823.12 Summary 25824 Army Roles 25924.1 Covert Reconnaissance and Surveillance 25924.2 Fall-of-shot Plotting 26124.3 Target Designation by Laser 26124.4 NBC Contamination Monitoring 26324.5 IED and Landmine Detection and Destruction 26624.6 Electronic Intelligence 26624.7 Teaming of Manned and Unmanned Systems 26624.8 System Mobility 26624.9 Persistent Urban Surveillance 26725 Air Force Roles 26925.1 Long-range Reconnaissance and Strike 26925.2 Airborne Early Warning 26925.3 Electronic Intelligence 26925.4 Pre-strike Radar and Anti-aircraft Systems Counter 27025.5 Interception 27025.6 Airfield Security 27026 Civilian, Paramilitary and Commercial Roles 27326.1 Aerial Photography* 27326.2 Agriculture 27326.3 Coastguard and Lifeboat Institutions 27426.4 Customs and Excise 27526.5 Conservation 27526.6 Electricity Companies 27526.7 Fire Services 27626.8 Fisheries 27626.9 Gas and Oil Supply Companies 27726.10 Information Services 27726.11 Local Civic Authorities 27726.12 Meteorological Services* 27726.13 Traffic Agencies 27726.14 Ordnance Survey 27826.15 Police Authorities* 27826.16 Rivers Authorities and Water Boards 27826.17 Survey Organisations 27826.18 Communications Relay 27826.19 Landmine Detection and Destruction 27926.20 Other Applications 279References 279Part 4 UAS FUTURE 28127 Future Prospects and Challenges 28327.1 Introduction 28327.2 Operation in Civilian Airspace 28427.3 Power-plant Development 28827.4 Developments in Airframe Configurations 29227.5 Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence 29927.6 Improvement in Communication Systems 301References 30128 UAV Systems Continuing Evolution 30328.1 Introduction 30328.2 Cruise Missiles 30428.3 World War II Systems 30528.4 The 1950s 30628.5 The 1960s 30628.6 The 1970s 30828.7 The 1980s 30928.8 The 1990s 31128.9 The 2000s 31228.10 The 2010s 31528.11 Into the Future 316Appendix A: UAS Organisations 319A.1 Conferences 319A.2 Industry Associations 319A.3 Press Organisations 320A.4 Useful Websites 320A.5 Test Site Facilities 320A.6 Regulators 321Index 323