Design Innovation Award for the Mariner Unmanned Aircraft

Design Innovation Award
for the Mariner Unmanned Aircraft
London,
United Kingdom -- (GA-ASI)
July 15, 2004 -- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., the leading
manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems, was presented with the Shephard’s
Press Unmanned Vehicles Magazine Design Innovation Award for its development of
the Mariner aircraft. Mr.
Thomas J. Cassidy, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, received the
award at a presentation ceremony held at the Shephard’s Press UV Europe
Conference held at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Center in London. This is the
second award the company has received for its innovative design of unmanned
aircraft. The first was given for the Predator B program in 2001.

The
Mariner UAV (Photo Ga-ASI)
“A tremendous
amount of innovation has gone into the design and employment of the Mariner
aircraft. This program evolved from conscious efforts to expand the utility of
the prop jet Predator B series for maritime surveillance without incurring
operational risks or financial burdens. I thank every one of our employees for
their continued dedication to this program and to the readers of Unmanned
Vehicles Magazine for recognizing the Mariner program for its innovative
design,” said Mr. Thomas J. Cassidy, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer.
The Mariner
aircraft program utilizes the same design philosophy that the company has built
its success on since the early 90s. By understanding the mission objectives of
its customers, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is able to adopt proven
systems to meet diverse mission requirements. In the case of maritime
surveillance and the development of the Mariner program, the company utilized
the Predator B program to further the mission flexibility of the system and
utility by the customer.
Beginning as
a company funded initiative in 1999, the Predator B program transitioned to a
jointly funded effort by the company and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) in January 2000. The program initially consisted of a
turboprop, jet and an enhanced turboprop configuration. In 2001, the U.S. Air
Force procured the first two prototypes equipped with a Honeywell TPE-331-10T
turboprop engine. The company is under contract with the U.S Air Force to
produce fourteen Predator B aircraft. All production versions are equipped to
carry over 800 lbs internally and 3,000 lbs externally at speed over 200 KIAS to
an altitude over 50,000 feet.
The third
aircraft, ALTAIR, was originally developed for scientific and commercial
applications that require a large payload capacity and operations above 50,000
ft. Configured with an 86-foot wing span along with the same Predator B fuselage
and Honeywell engine, ALTAIR flew for the first time in June 2003. To further
expand the capabilities of the Predator B series, ALTAIR has since been modified
with a radar pod which is designed to house any number of multi-mode maritime
radars.
On 22 April
2004, this aircraft, the Mariner Demonstrator, was deployed off the coast of San
Diego. During this operation, Mariner flew from El Mirage, California on an
instrument flight plan through the Los Angeles area to an operational area off
the coast of San Diego where it performed maritime surveillance using a Raytheon
multi-mode radar and electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) cameras. The operation was
a complete success for several reasons but specifically because it was the first
time that a U.S. unmanned aircraft had flown with a maritime radar. Control of
Mariner and its payloads were passed in real-time to an operational center
located at the U.S. Navy’s SPAWAR facility in San Diego where one operator at a
Lockheed Martin Q-70 workstation controlled the aircraft, radar and EO/IR
cameras using a computer mouse for point-and-click commands. This operation was
conducted together with Lockheed Martin, the company’s teaming partner on the
U.S. Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) Program.
The Mariner
Demonstrator will soon deploy to northeast Canada to support the Atlantic
Littoral ISR Experiment where it will perform launch and recovery operations
from Goose Bay, Labrador and reach back control from a command center in
Ottawa. The objective of this deployment will be to conduct 28-30 hour
surveillance flights over the Artic, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Grand Banks areas
using EO/IR cameras as well as different maritime radar. Imagery will be passed
real-time to ground sites including Canadian ships at sea.
Headquartered
in San Diego, California, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. was
established in 1993 and currently employs over 1,000 people located in over six
locations around the world. The company is completely focused on the design,
development and employment of proven unmanned aircraft systems for customers
throughout the world. Thomas J. Cassidy, Jr. is President and Chief Executive
Officer.
Cyndi
Wegerbauer, Public Relations Manager,
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems,
Inc. (858) 455-2294; (858) 774-4958 -- wegerb@gat.com; www.uav.com
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