Carol Collins
A Raytheon Technologies business unit completed the initial flight test of an air-launched effects drone that it designed to meet the size, weight and power requirements of the Future Vertical Lift program of the U.S. Army.
The ALE air vehicle leveraged Raytheon Missiles and Defense’s Coyote uncrewed aircraft system design and accomplished all flight objectives that included low-altitude launch, wing and flight surface deployment and stable flight control, the company said Thursday.
The defense contractor was selected by the Army in August 2020 as one of the three awardees of Other Transaction Authority contracts for the development of ALE air vehicle designs.
Thomas Laliberty, vice president of land warfare and air defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, said the modular open systems architecture of the ALE drone allows the rapid integration of advanced technologies for facing threats and protecting the aircrews.
The recent effort is the first in a series of flight tests intended to modernize the drone’s design, payload integration and expand the drone’s maturity and performance.
