Satnews Daily
November 21st, 2008

Alenia Aeronautica Sky-High Over Sky-Y UAV


SKY-Y UAV The Sky-Y of Alenia Aeronautica is the first European unmanned aircraft of the MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) class to have completed a series of ground surveillance missions, by using a European-made electro-optical sensor, to have transmitted data to the ground through a satellite system and to have accomplished missions in any weather condition. Alenia Aeronautica has successfully completed an important final testing phase for the mission system of the unmanned Sky-Y aircraft at the Vidsel testing range in Sweden.

The Sky-Y has been developed as a demonstrator for innovative technologies created for unmanned aircraft of the MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) class. The aircraft has now made six flights during which the following products were tested for the first time: electro-optical sensor EOST-45 developed by SELEX Galileo; the mission computer developed by Quadrics; a new datalink used for the sensor’s remote control and for sending images to the ground, and new functions of the Tactical Control Station with a Remote Sensor Operator Station developed by Alenia Aeronautica. In the tests, Sky-Y reached a distance of more than 125 km from the Ground Control Station, during which checks were carried out on its automatic take-off and landing; search operation modes, land “target” identification and surveillance (visible, hidden, 'Warm', moving); night flight and landing; 'Real time' capabilities of reception and image-data management and delivering to several web recipients, video and infrared image transfer to the Central Operation Unit of the 'Civil Defence Agency' of the Piedmont Region (through the satellite link developed by Telespazio, and, finally on the performance of the datalink system".

(Source: AvioNews)