By IANS
Dubai : British firm BAE Systems’ HERTI (High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion) range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has made its Middle East debut at the Dubai Airshow currently underway.
The debut comes following the deployment of this new generation UAV by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Afghanistan in collaboration with BAE Systems under Project Morrigan Initiative.
“Project Morrigan is a mutually beneficial relationship between the RAF Air Warfare Centre and BAE Systems,” the company’s head of programmes Martin Rowe Willcox said at a press conference here Monday.
Unlike other UAVs in operation, HERTI does not need to be controlled by an operator with a joystick and a throttle, sitting in a ground station.
Instead, once programmed, the operator just has to click his mouse and the aircraft does everything else for itself from takeoff to landing, said Willcox.
It is able to deal with unexpected events, taking evasive action if another aircraft crosses its path, and can point its sensors at targets of opportunity.
According to Wing Commander Mike Humphreys, commander of the RAF’s UAV Battlelab, the objectives and outputs from HERTI’s use in Afghanistan remain classified, but the system has been successful in demonstrating its capability in an operational environment.
“Both the RAF and BAE Systems are satisfied with the progress and development of the project thus far. We look forward to building on this in the coming months,” he said.
With its ability to take off, complete a full mission and land, HERTI has been designed to meet a wide range operational needs both cost effectively and with extremely high levels of reliability while removing the need for an operator or pilot to control the aircraft from the ground