The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) will go ahead with a plan to launch mini-unmanned aerial vehicles out of the AC-130 gunship later this year.
By Senior Airman Andy M. Kin, USAF [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Tactical off-board sensing (TOBS) will allow aircrews to pick up targets in poor weather or other challenging conditions.
Bill Lane, AFSOC’s chief of strike and ISR requirements, said the service plans to train AC-130 crews to use the technology and then deploy about four to six systems in the coming months, Lane said.
Raytheon’s Coyote mini-UAV is the temporary choice for TOBS but in the long-term the flying branch plans to replace it with another type as the Coyote does not meet key requirements.
AFSOC wants a UAV that can stay airborne for up to four hours but the Coyote has an endurance of only one hour.
The key technical challenge to overcome is to have a drone that can fit in the common launch tube that is only six inches in diameter and 48 inches long.
The service has been testing the concept at training ranges so far.