The T-Hawk Flying Roomba
When i was a kid i was in love with the movie 1979 The Black Hole ( I was five, thank you). It was an otherwise forgettable sci-fi flick that featured a pair of what today would be classified as Self-Aware AI-outfitted UAVs named V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B. ( Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens did the voices for them!):
In 1979, these were total fantasy……and I was hooked
Now Honeywell has made a dead ringer: the T-Hawk
The T- Hawk is a pretty Groovy little thing that is of course a much less intelligent RC/ROV- UAV that the Army, Navy and UK are using. Four of these guys sniffed out the melted nuke plant at Fukisihima. So who knows, maybe Black Holes are in their future.
The T-Hawk is powered by a 3W-56 56cc Boxer Twin piston, two stroke gas-powered engine. Each engine produces an output of 4hp. It can fly at speeds of up to 46 miles an hour (mph) at wind speeds of about 17mph. The MAV can reach altitudes of up to 10,000ft and has an endurance of about 46 minutes. Its flight routes can be pre-programmed or controlled manually.
……Now, its routine….coming soon to an EOD/UXO team near you….
The US Army awarded a $61m contract to Honeywell in May 2006 to develop an advanced version of the drone with a heavy fuel engine and long endurance. The US Navy ordered 20 gasoline engine MAVs (GMAV) for deployment with the US Multi-Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group in Iraq. The $7.5m worth contract was awarded in 2007. Another order for 372 more MAVs was placed in January 2008.
The US Navy designated the T-Hawk MAVs as the RQ-16A T-Hawk. The navy received the first MAV in August 2009. Six T-Hawk MAVs were ordered by the UK Ministry of Defense in February 2009. The Miami-Dade Police Department has also purchased two of the T-Hawk drones
More here at ArmyTechnology.com