U.S. Navy Tests Small UAV Support Equipment

The U.S Naval Air Systems Command recently completed tilt-table testing of a small UAV. Aviation Support Equipment Technician 1st Class (Aviation Warfare) Clyde Williams and engineers Doug Waddell and Wayne Hewitt, from the Support Equipment Test and Evaluation Branch, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. conducted the tests with the RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aircraft vehicle on January 16 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. Tilt-table testing is conducted on all support equipment deployed aboard a ship to ensure stability and proper braking.

During the test, engineers used a steel platform to simulate the flight-deck environment. The unit, in this case the RQ-21A’s transportation cart, was tilted 15 degrees to simulate the ship’s dynamic motion at 24 points around a 360-degree compass.

The RQ-21A Blackjack, managed by the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program Office (PMA-263), will operate from both land and sea and will provide persistent maritime and land-based tactical reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition data collection and dissemination capabilities to the warfighter.