UAV to be test-flown by remote pilots

UAV to be test-flown by remote pilots
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 19:37:42 EDT

An Air Force team is rigging an Army RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle so it can be flown by operators who are thousands of miles from the aircraft itself, the same way the Air Force operates its Predator UAVs.

This is a departure for the Army, whose UAV pilots must be in the same location as the aircraft. By contrast, the Air Force flies its Predator UAVs over Iraq and Afghanistan from ground control stations in Nevada.

The Air Force will conduct of demonstration of the concept – called remote split operations – with the Shadow in the next few months, said Martha Evans, the Air Force’s top UAV acquisition official.

The ground control station for the demonstration will be at Fort Belvoir, Va., and the aircraft will be flown at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif., she said.

“They’ve loaned us one of their Shadows, we’re working with their contractor, and we’ve got the guys that originally designed the remote split ops for to do it for them as well,” she said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/army_shadow_uav_042408w/