AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has flown three of its small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) simultaneously at the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range.

This demo with Flint Hills Solutions LLC took place in conjunction with the 2009 Kansas Unmanned Systems Symposium. AAI's Aerosonde Mark 4-series aircraft completed a fully autonomous flight from takeoff to landing, operating at 4,500 feet using an electro-optic (EO) payload. Spectators were able to view real-time data from the Aerosonde aircraft using AAI's One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT), which is in service currently with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The OSRVT is one of AAI's unmanned aircraft system (UAS) networked and interoperable ground control technologies. The Aerosonde system also used the commercial version of AAI's One System-compatible Expeditionary Ground Control Station during the flight demonstration to control and operate the aircraft.

Using a layered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) approach, AAI also launched two lightweight, electric Orbiter aircraft into simultaneous operation with the Aerosonde aircraft. One Orbiter miniature UAS flew at 1,500 feet using an EO payload, while another Orbiter aircraft flew at 1,000 feet with an infrared, or IR, payload. AAI's fleet of Mark 4-series SUAS is well-suited for covert and long-endurance ISR applications. This fleet includes the newest in the Aerosonde Mark 4 series of SUAS, the Mark 4.7, which combines a low acoustic signature with launch and recovery flexibility suitable for the rigors of maritime and confined-area missions.