A shipboard-capable
system designed to support both the launch and recovery of the Scan Eagle
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) successfully completed final demonstration flight
testing Sept. 27 at a testing range in eastern Oregon.
Sponsored
by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Compact Launch and Recovery System
(CLRE) will provide a small-scale solution for the unmanned surveillance
craft’s operations.
“This
system’s shipboard capability is unique,” said John Kinzer, who manages ONR’s
Air Vehicle Technology Program. “It’s more compact than other systems, so you
can install it on a small special operations boat—or save additional space on a
larger ship, since space is always at a premium on any vessel.”