Всё проще :-)) Вот текст
Здравствуйте, уважаемый А.Никольский!
Это просто, по замыслу, должны быть дешевые малоразмерные БПЛА c вертикальным взлетом и посадкой, которые должны использоваться непосредственно боевыми подразделениями этих самых FCS. Вес аппарата не более 50 кг, а запуск должен производиться с боевых машин.
INTERNATIONAL DEFENSE REVIEW - OCTOBER, 2004
US FCS program looks to benefit from Organic Air Vehicle testing
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has issued a request for proposals to develop and demonstrate a prototype of the Organic Air Vehicle Class II (OAV-II) carrying a reconnaissance, surveillance and target-acquisition payload.
The effort will involve a Class II unmanned aerial vehicle able to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition for up to two hours at a range of several tens of kilometers. Phase I of the demonstration, lasting six months, will be followed by a down-select to not more than two contractors for the nine-month Phase II. A single design will then be selected for Phase III, of 33 months' duration, which will include hover and forward flight testing of the air vehicle.
DARPA will work closely with the US Army to ensure a smooth transition to the system development and demonstration phase. Up to 2,000 vehicles may be acquired over five years. Other potential users include the US Marine Corps and special forces. The operational variant is intended to cost less than US$75,000 in production, without its mission equipment package (MEP), allowing it to be regarded as expendable if necessary. The MEP, and a non-line-of-sight communications system, are being developed under separately funded US Army programs.
The platform is intended to equip small mechanized and dismounted company-level units within the Unit of Action for the US Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, providing situational awareness and target detection/designation in adverse weather from a small platform employing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and equipped for collision avoidance. Its ability to 'hover and stare' at an object of interest will be particularly useful in urban environments, which will be augmented by a 'perch and stare' mode - alighting, with the engine running, to provide basic situational awareness of the immediate neighborhood - for additional operating flexibility.
The OAV-II will provide the ability to conduct on-demand scout missions, and to detect or trigger ambushes, in addition to target designation. By flying autonomously in collaborative formations, multiple air vehicles can conduct area reconnaissance and tracking. Other missions will include path finding for friendly ground vehicles (both robotic and manned), force protection, mine detection and over-the-horizon targeting.
The air vehicle is intended to have a dry weight of no more than 50kg, allowing it to be carried by two soldiers, with launching direct from a combat vehicle. The operator can enter the desired mission route on a display unit, monitor its progress, and reprogram it while in flight. A heavy-fuel engine will drive a ducted fan. Advanced noise-reduction technologies will be incorporated. The flight-control system will incorporate an all-weather collision-avoidance facility, using its own sensors (but not the Global Positioning System) rather than relying on those in the MEP, to alert it when approaching within 50m of obstacles such as trees, power lines and buildings.
С уважением, Exeter
