US Air Force Takes The Veil Off Beast Of Kandahar Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world/us-air-force-takes-the-veil-off-beast-of-kanda

For the first time US Air Force has confirmed that its arsenal contains an advanced stealth aircraft called ‘Beast of Kandahar‘. The images of the unmanned drone appeared in the Internet sometimes ago. Before Tuesday, the Air Force kept it garbed in secrecy. It has been developed by eminent aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin and according to the US Air Force, the stealth aircraft is meant for giving surveillance support and reconnaissance to augment the ground forces.

The Drone got the name ‘Beast Of Kandahar’ after its photographs got leaked. The photos showed the aircraft flying in the sky of southern Afghanistan. That was almost two years back. It is similar to the famous B-2 bomber in terms of looks. The state of the art stealth aircraft is a brain child of Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, a facility that is involved in implementing top secret US defense projects. It is the entity that is credited with making security marvels like the F-22 fighter jet,F-117 Nighthawk as well as U-2 spy plane.

The presence of the drone in a nation like Afghanistan has prompted the war experts to question USA’s intention all the more closely. As everyone knows, the militants and insurgents in that country do not have enough surveillance equipment. Some people are looking at it as an indirect way of spying on the neighboring countries of Afghanistan. The US Air force has plans to increase the number of unmanned stealth aircrafts in future and the Beast of Kandahar is a prime example of the fact.

Lockheed Martin to fund Delhi undergrads’ next-gen UAV

Impressed by the talent of a group of engineering undergraduates who won top honours at an international competition for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), US aerospace major Lockheed Martin announced Tuesday it would fund their efforts to create a new generation machine that would have civilian and military applications.
“Here is a group of students who are undergraduates and have worked on a technology they don’t even have classes on,” said Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin senior vice president and chief technology officer, while announcing the company would ink a deal with the Delhi Technology University (DTU), to which the 10 students belong.

“We will provide the broad parameters of the design requirements to be implemented by the students,” he added.

While congratulating the students, Johnson said: “This partnership is one more example of Lockheed Martin’s long-term commitment to India and the partnerships which we seek to develop and nurture.”

The company will provide the student group with Lockheed Martin-generated design space to structure their efforts. The team will be required to make an initial design and then develop a flying prototype - with the drones hopefully going into production by the Commonwealth Games in October 2010.

“These will be ideal vehicles for carrying out aerial surveillance at the Games’ venues and also for controlling traffic,” P.B. Sharma, the vice chancellor of the DTU, which was previously known as the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE).

Sharma, along with other DTU faculty, had guided the 10 students who won the director’s award for the best team effort for demonstrating a successful flight of a UAV at the 2009 Association of Unmanned Vehicles System International (AUVSI) Student Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) competition.

Explaining the salient features of the new UAV, Rochak Chadha, a third year student of electronics and communications engineering, said the effort would be to increase its endurance to 10 hours from an hour the existing machine can stay aloft.

“It will also run on an electric motor against the present petrol engine, we will downsize the autopilot and change the camera system for greater resolution and clarity,” Chadha added.

Speaking about what motivated the team to start work on the existing craft, Chadha said: “Technology for UAV’s is woefully lacking and the defence forces have to import these from Israel. We wanted to work on the ultimate level of robotics and to create something that was commercially viable.”

“The global UAV market is currently estimated at $3.4 billion and has the potential to rise to $7 billion in 10 years,” he added.

Asked if the defence ministry has been approached for potential purchase of the UAV, Sharma replied: “The defence ministry and ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) are aware of our capabilities. But more than that, there is tremendous potential for the machine in the civilian sector.”