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Hairy Buffalo Controls Airborne UAV
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A test crew aboard Naval Air Systems Command’s flying Network Centric Warfare laboratory, an NP-3C known as Hairy Buffalo, successfully demonstrated airborne control of an Aerolight unmanned aerial vehicle on 31 March at Webster Field in St. Inigoes, Maryland. The NP-3C is the first Navy platform capable of controlling a UAV and its sensors. The permanently modified test P-3C served as a surrogate to assess the utility of an adjunct-UAV role for the Navy’s future Multimission Maritime Aircraft. The Buffalo commanded the UAV’s electro-optical sensor to track a forty-four foot Coast Guard vessel conducting north-south runs in the river, as well as target vehicles located at Webster Field. The UAV was controlled via the Buffalo’s airborne control station for approximately thirty-five minutes, including one mid-flight transfer, before being handed back to the ground station for recovery. During the flight, the Aerolight provided video imagery to both the airborne and ground collection nodes. |
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