Italian UAVs and UCAVs

[hesham]

Hi,

the Alenia Sky-X UCAV.
http://www.flightglobal.com/PDFArchive/View/2004/2004-09%20-%200693.html

 

[hesham]

Hi,

Here is a selex unveils Harrier-style UAV.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3Ac744cd37-461b-4287-af2d-2e5b32d4db84

 

[Matej]

Alenia Sky-Y demonstrator

 

[Matej]

Alenia Black Lynx UCAS

 

[donnage99]

That last one is a lovely concept. Is there any more info on them beside it's in predator B class and optional internal weapon carriage?

 

[Matej]

Yes, but wait a bit. I currently finished the french UAVs/UCAVs and now I am going to the Italian ones, so I will post some further info soon.

 

[donnage99]

cool pic found of sky-y in testing (?) and the back end of sky-x

 

[Matej]

There are more of them in high-res @ Alenia-Aeronautica´s homepage. Use the right placed menu.

http://www.alenia.it/Eng/UAV/Proprietari/Pages/Sky-X.aspx

 

[Matej]

That last one is a lovely concept. Is there any more info on them beside it's in predator B class and optional internal weapon carriage?

Here we go! Some interesting highlights:

Blacklynx - the latest info that I was able to find is from late 2007. The wingspan is somewhere near 25 m (the same as the Molynx, but some sources say that thanks to winglets it is 28 m) with the length of 9 m. MTOW is 4100 kg with 800 kg payload at max. altitude 45 000 ft and endurance 36 hours. Powered by two unspecified diesel engines. Armament is carried on the four external pylons (two on the each side of the wing) with the possibility to use the internal bomb bays. However they are questionable, because Blacklynx is not full aspect stealth plane so it does not need to carry the weapons internally.

Molynx - Alenia press release from 12. October 2006

On the occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition “Architect Carlo Mollino – create modernity”, in Turin,
Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company, has presented for the first time the Molynx, study of a newgeneration
UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to be used for land monitoring and surveillance.
The general layout of the new aircraft, displayed within the exhibition in scale 1:4, reminds the aeronautic
passion of Mollino who designed many, especially acrobatic, aircraft during his career as designer. And in
fact one of these project, for a 4/5-seat twin-engine air vehicle, has inspired the Molynx project, an
unmanned, surveillance aircraft operating at high altitudes (up to 45.000 feet) with a long endurance (up to
30 hours).
The Molynx will integrate on board advanced sensors, operating both in optical and electromagnetic band,
such as synthetic aperture radars, optical sensors, infrareds and hyper-spectrum analyses sensors. Thanks
to these equipments it will be possible to monitor the ground for long periods and in all weather conditions,
providing real time essential data of all those phenomena (rains, pollution, hydro-geological situation, traffic,
and last, but not least, also the archaeological resources’ search), which are of vital interest specifically for
those national and international institutions committed to the civil protection and environment safeguard.
“The study of the new aircraft – says Giovanni Bertolone, Alenia Aeronautica’s CEO – represents an ideal
platform of multi-discipline research aimed at integrating industrial competences and development
capabilities of the Piedmont Region’s aerospace industries, the Turin’s Polytechnic and the Research
Centres. A network that, in the Piedmont's Technological District, may well favour a fruitful process with
benefits in terms of knowledge transfers, competitiveness, innovation, production capabilities and
employment in technologically evolved fields”.

Sky-Y

From the early 2009 the bigger version of the plane called Sky-YS is in the development. The main difference is more powerful 3400 ccm engine.

Sky-X

The demonstrator started as the full-stealth flying wing called the Iron Bird. Because they wanted to cut the costs, the basic Sky-X fuselage design in the revised demonstrator is derived from a modified weapons dispenser pod (!). Does anybody know which one? This relation has caused some constraints, especially on the size because they wanted to use existing hardware as far as possible and contain costs.

Now the work continues to remove the tail and replace it with the thrust vectoring. It seems that there are some delays, but there is still a little chance, that we probably will see the modified demonstrator in October.

 

[hesham]

Hi,

the SkyLynx MALE UAV.

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/neuron-ucav-spawns-isr-uav-partnership-03387/

 

[Matej]

SkyLynx is in fact early concept of the Sky-Y.

 

[enrr]

SKY-Y
1 Dieseljet Forli derived from FIAT (or better Alfa Romeo ;D ) 1.9 JTD with 170-200 hp at 3.800 rpm. It consume about 14-15 kg (20 litres) of normal diesel oil or JP-8.
Lenght: 9,72
wingspan 9,94
net weight 850 kg
diesel oil 200 kg
payload 150 kg
ie MTOW 1.200 kg
cruise speed 140 knots (260 km/h)
ceiling 7.600 m
range: 900 km with a max flight of 14 h

possible payload: Galileo Avionica EOS-45 turret with tv-camera, IR camera & spotter
or SAR radar in X band of Selex Galileo Gabbiano family

SKY-YS

It's scheduled for the next year, about, the SKY-YS as a variant of SKY-Y with a powerfull motor and a wingspan of 16-18m (-Y 9,94m) with a MTOW of 1.600 kg (-Y 1.200kg )

MOLYNX

propulsion: 2 x diesel 1.9 or 2.4 JTD with about 250 HP each
wingspan 25 m
MTOW 2.500 kg
cruise speed 220 knots (400 km/h)
Ceiling: over 13.000 m
range: 36 h


PS: If there're some Punto or Alfa 159 on the air base there aren't problem for finding spare for the UAS ;D

 

[Matej]

Return Receipt

Your Questions about the Alenia Aeronautica UAS products
document:

was press-office/HQ_ALENIA_AERONAUTICA
received
by:

at: 05/02/2010 15.51.51

Yupiii! Or not? I sent the original mail at 7. September 2009!!!!! :

 

[AeroFranz]

so you should be getting a reply in early June? ;D

 

[pesholito]

Hi,

Here is a selex unveils Harrier-style UAV.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3Ac744cd37-461b-4287-af2d-2e5b32d4db84

This is an interesting one. Does anyone have any more pictures or any other information aside from the one already posted?

Thank you!

 

[aonestudio]

Sky-X, precursor of future Loyal Wingman, the uncrewed “followers” for the next generation aircraft

The Sky-X demonstrator conducted the first flight on 29 May 2005 at the Vidsel, Sweden test range. This historic event took place without clamour in an area near the arctic Polar Circle, far removed from people and air traffic. It was a demonstration of the first Uncrewed Air Vehicle (UAV...

www.leonardocompany.com

 

[hesham]

Hi,

Here is a selex unveils Harrier-style UAV.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3Ac744cd37-461b-4287-af2d-2e5b32d4db84

From, Aeronautica - Difesa 2007-08 (250).