Intelligence

An Inaugural Meeting of the UAVNET Thematic Network for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)'s Civilian Applications, the First of its Kind in Europe, was held on October at Sweden

Nov 19, 2001

Project Leader is Israel Aircraft Industries

A successful inaugural meeting of the UAVNET thematic network, who's goal is to optimize research efforts of civil UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) applications was held on October 23-24, 2001, in Sweden.

Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel - A successful inaugural meeting of the UAVNET thematic network, who's goal is to optimize research efforts of civil UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) applications was held on October 23-24, 2001, in Sweden. Thirty participants from nearly twenty organizations, representing ten countries, attended the meeting. This is the first time a program of this kind is taking place in Europe, under the auspices of the European Community (E.C) and the coordination and initiative of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).

The purpose of UAVNET is to advance the development of UAVs for civilian purposes within the Framework of the European Community. The Network tries to achieve its goals by bringing together industry, universities, research centers and potential users to exchange and disseminate knowledge and to coordinate activities.

The present meeting in Sweden is a continuation of Civil UAV activity started in a workshop in Israel. On November 7-8, 2000, IAI's MALAT Division, along with IAI's Engineering Division held a workshop at IAI facilities in Israel, on the topic of civil / commercial applications for UAVs. The workshop was intended for governmental representatives, management representatives of the aeronautical industry and academy, and potential customers for civilian UAVs. Major European Aerospace companies and research centers attended the workshop. Following the workshop, international think tanks were established and started to work on the subject.

The current meeting presented the programs of two new research projects:

1. UAV Safety Issues for Civil Operation (USICO) - A project whose objective is to improve the safety of UAVs and enable their integration within civilian airspace. Project members are preparing recommendations for UAV system air-worthiness certification procedures, standards and operations regulations, development of technology for the prevention of mid-air collisions between UAVs ("see and avoid"), and flight simulations for UAVs.

2. Civil UAV Applications & Economic effectivity of potential CONfiguration solutions (CAPECON) -A project whose objective is to investigate new directions for future UAV development. Its goal is to come up with cost-effective and safe civil UAV applications. The project intends to define seven new aircraft configurations for civil applications, including HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance), MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) and Rotary UAVs (a kind of "unmanned helicopter" with vertical takeoff).

Israel Aircraft Industries leads international thematic network "UAVNET" and "CAPECON" project. The coordinators at IAI's Engineering Division hope that UAVNET line of activities will lead to the development of a European capability in the field of civilian UAVs: "My aspiration is to achieve progress in the technology and to make UAVs for civilian applications a part of everyday life. I believe it will happen within the next 10 years or so", said Shlomo Tsach, Director of Flight Sciences, IAI's Engineering Division.

Civil / Commercial UAV systems will provide new and improved tools for earth observation and surveillance, environmental monitoring, law enforcement, communication relays, etc.

UAVNET receives R&D funds, granted by the European Union: USICO project receives 4.6M Euro ($4.1 million approximately) and CAPECON project receives 5.2M Euro ($4.7 million approximately). The funds are given for a period 2.5 years.

IAI has been developing and operating UAV systems for nearly 25 years. IAI's technological edge will assist in meeting the safety requirements needed to fly UAVs over highly populated areas.

Sales of UAVs by IAI/MALAT Division (including UAV technologies and sub-systems) for the year 2001 are in the proximity of $200 million.

For more information, contact:
Doron Suslik
Deputy Corp VP for Communications
Tel: 972 (3) 93 5-8509
Fax: 972 (3) 935-8512
Email: hpaz@hdq.iai.co.il