Honeywell T-Hawk Micro GPS Vehicle Heads for U.K.

February 5, 2009

Honeywell received an order for six T-Hawk micro air vehicle (MAV) systems from the U.S. Navy, the contracting agency for the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) for the T-Hawk MAV system procurement, in a contract valued at USD $5.7 million.

The new UK order comes in addition to the Navy's existing T-Hawk contract with Honeywell, announced in November 2008, for 90 systems. The T-Hawk MAV will be used by joint force EOD (Explosive Ordinance Device) units in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other locations.

The circular vehicle, weighing 17 pounds and 14 inches in diameter, can fly down to inspect hazardous areas for threats without exposing warfighters to enemy fire. The T-Hawk MAV can take off and land vertically and fly more than 40 minutes, at more than 40 knots of airspeed, operating at altitudes of more than 10,000 feet.

An eye-in-the-sky for battlefield surveillance, the Honeywell MAV carries video cameras to relay real-time data and a GPS device of standard U.S. military requirement, a common core product used across a variety of platforms. One of T-hawk's primary purposes is identification of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other hazards facing troops. It can inspect suspected bomb sites in areas inaccessible by ground robots.

The unit is small enough to carry in a backpack and is equipped with video cameras that relay information back to foot soldiers using a portable handheld terminal. The system has been deployed in Iraq to keep American troops safer by identifying enemy threats from the sky. The deployment is the first time a ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle has been used during combat missions, according to the company.

"The system requires minimal operator training and includes two airborne vehicles and a portable ground station used to guide the aircraft and receive images from the cameras," a spokesperson said. "The ground station can be used to program a flight path for the T-Hawk MAV or control it manually. The aircraft also can be optionally equipped with electro-optical cameras for daylight operations or infrared cameras for night missions. A civilian version of the T-Hawk is being evaluated by the Miami Dade Police Department for law enforcement applications."

Although ungainly in appearance — one observer described it as "a lawnmower engine with kickstands" — the T-Hawk can hover in mid-air, keep a steady bead on a target for photography or other sensing, negotiate canyons and cityscapes, hide behind cover, look into third-story windows, and may soon, if programmed with GPS coordinates of a building's interior, be able to fly inside.

Its fan engine sucks in air and propels it through a duct containing flight-control flaps. It carries either an electro-optical or an infrared camera, in modular pods for quick switching. The MAV controller uses a stylus pen on the screen of a Toughbook laptop computer to create GPS navigation points; an onboard inertial measurement unit helps track position and speed. Honeywell is developing demonstration models of a 41-pound MAV.

So far, the main customer has been the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division, whose troops are using about 20 pre-production models of the 17-pound version to scout for IEDs and insurgent ambushes in Iraq, according to the Army Times Publishing Company.

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