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[1] The Tactical Control System (TCS) is a group of protocols that govern the command and control system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2024) |
[1] The Tactical Control System (TCS) is a group of protocols that govern the command and control system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Developed by EG&G Technical Services and Raytheon, starting in 1999, the Tactical Control System is designed to run UAVs in all branches of the United States military as well as NATO STANAG 4586 compliant UAVs. Raytheon developed the systems to run on computers using a type of Unix operating system called Solaris 8 from Sun Microsystems. Raytheon also developed a system for the Linux operating system.
According to the winning Raytheon bid for the development of the TCS system, it will feature:
Raytheon was to undergo formal Operational Evaluation with Fire Scout in Fiscal Year 2008. Until then, tests to determine the progress of the system's development were ongoing. Positive results included:
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station (GCS).
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs were originally developed through the twentieth century for military missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans, and by the twenty-first, they had become essential assets to most militaries. As control technologies improved and costs fell, their use expanded to many non-military applications. These include aerial photography, area coverage, precision agriculture, forest fire monitoring, river monitoring, environmental monitoring, policing and surveillance, infrastructure inspections, smuggling, product deliveries, entertainment, and drone racing.
The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is an X-band electronically steered pulse-Doppler 3D radar system used to alert and cue Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces. It is currently produced by Raytheon Missiles & Defense.
The ADM-160 MALD is an air-launched, expendable decoy missile developed by the United States. It uses gradient-index optics to create a radar cross section that simulates allies' airplane, in order to stimulate, confuse, and degrade the capability of missile defense systems. Later variants (MALD-J) are additionally equipped with electronic countermeasures to actively jam early warning and target acquisition radars.
The usefulness of UAVs for aerial reconnaissance was demonstrated to the United States in the Vietnam War. At the same time, early steps were being taken to use them in active combat at sea and on land, but unmanned combat aerial vehicles would not come into their own until the 1980s.
The history of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) is closely tied to the general history of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). While the technology dates back at least as far as the 1940s, common usage in live operations came in the 2000s. UCAVs have now become an important part of modern warfare, including in the Syrian civil war, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Smallest UAVs are called micro air vehicle.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Armed Forces. The Fire Scout is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The initial RQ-8A version was based on the Schweizer 330, while the enhanced MQ-8B was derived from the Schweizer 333. The larger MQ-8C Fire Scout variant is based on the Bell 407.
The Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle program was an unmanned vehicle designed by Emil Lien Akre in 2005. It was developed to support the United States Marine Corps conduct of Ship To Object Maneuver (STOM) missions through the use of a medium-sized, robotic system to minimize risks and eliminate threats to Marines during conflict. Manufactured by Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center, The Gladiator has the ability to perform surveillance, reconnaissance, assault, and breaching missions within its basic technical configuration.
The BAE Systems Phoenix was an all-weather, day or night, real-time surveillance Unmanned Air Vehicle. It had a twin-boom UAV with a surveillance pod, from which the imagery was data linked to a ground control station (GCS) that also controlled the aircraft in flight. It was the third generation of UAV in British Army service with the Royal Artillery after SD/1 and Canadair Midge.
The AGM-176 Griffin is a lightweight, precision-guided munition developed by Raytheon. It can be launched from the ground or air as a rocket-powered missile or dropped from the air as a guided bomb. It carries a relatively small warhead, and was designed to be a precision low-collateral damage weapon for irregular warfare. It has been used in combat by the United States military during the War in Afghanistan.
The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support Navy and Department of Defense acquisition programs.
Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) is a NATO programme to acquire an airborne ground surveillance capability (Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk). The NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force (NAGSF) was activated in September 2015, after it was formally agreed on the configuration of the unit responsible for operating the remotely piloted aircraft.
The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, company name Integrator, is an American unmanned air vehicle designed and built by Boeing Insitu to meet a United States Navy requirement for a small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS). It is a twin-boom, single-engine monoplane, designed as a supplement to the Boeing Scan Eagle. The Integrator weighs 61 kg (134 lb) and uses the same launcher and recovery system as the Scan Eagle.
STANAG 4586(NATO Standardization Agreement 4586) is a NATO Standard Interface of the Unmanned Control System (UCS) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) interoperability. It defines architectures, interfaces, communication protocols, data elements and message formats. It includes data link, command and control, and human/computer interfaces. The current revision is with mission phase enhancements, an updated list of vehicle identifiers etc.
The Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) was a United States Navy program to develop an autonomous carrier-based unmanned combat aerial vehicle providing an unmanned intelligence and strike asset to the fleet. After debate over whether the UCLASS should primarily focus on stealthy bombing or scouting, the Pentagon instead changed the program entirely into the Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System (CBARS) to create a UAV for aerial refueling duties to extend the range of manned fighters, which led to the Boeing MQ-25 Stingray.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout is an unmanned helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Navy. The MQ-8C also has autonomous take-off and landing capability. It is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The MQ-8C airframe is based on the Bell 407, while the avionics and other systems are developed from those used on the MQ-8B Fire Scout. It first flew in October 2013 and achieved initial operational capability on 28 June 2019.
The Raytheon Coyote is a small, expendable, unmanned aircraft system built by the Raytheon Company, with the capability of operating in autonomous swarms. It is launched from a sonobuoy canister with the wings deploying in early flight phase.
The ATLAS C4EYE is a tactical reconnaissance UAV produced by C-Astral Aerospace Ltd from Ajdovščina in Slovenia. The ATLAS is a NATO class 1 mini-tactical UAV under 2.9 kg MTOW designed for ISR or ISTAR missions for army reconnaissance and Special Forces relying on low signature detection. It carries a payload consisting of a gyro-stabilized micro-gimbal with EO/IR sensors and laser illuminator. The ATLAS 4EYE is hand-launched, water-resistant and carries up-to-date avionics, data-link and guidance solutions.