Swift Completes Test Flights of Boeing AIS

(San Clemente, Calif., February 27, 2008) -- Swift Engineering, in conjunction with Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, has completed flight tests to demonstrate the KB4 KillerBee Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, integrated with a Boeing-built Automatic Identification System (AIS) sensor and communications data link. Flying at 5,000ft MSL, the KillerBee with its AIS payload increased the sensor coverage area 100 times over existing ship-based equipment. The series of successful tests were performed in December, 2007 at the Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.

The KB4 KillerBee was selected by Boeing due in part to its unique yet useful combinations of features. The KB4 KillerBee is both electrically and mechanically quiet and has the payload volume, power, and lift necessary to fly multiple payloads simultaneously. KillerBee's low EMI spectral signature was extremely beneficial for the AIS flight tests. It maximized the range to detect AIS signals throughout the flight tests, and its inherent low-vibration noise allowed for superior real-time imagery of targets.

Steve Kamen, Business Development Manager of Swift Engineering, remarked that the tests demonstrated once again the KB4 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle's exceptional flexibility to handle multiple payload configurations tailored to mission requirements. "With the KillerBee's 3.4 cubic feet of useable space, we definitely have a proven path to integrate a variety of additional sensors," Kamen said. "The KB4 KillerBee paves the way for Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to assume another role for the warfighter."

Source : Swift Engineering, Inc

Recent News / Press releases from Swift Engineering, Inc