Article Posted on : - Dec 03, 2010

An aerial target is an unmanned, aircraft-like system used by the military to simulate tactical threats posed by enemy aircraft and evasive, sea-skimming missiles. A Northrop photo

SAN DIEGO (BNS): US Navy's BQM-74E aerial target, equipped with a new software system developed by Northrop Grumman, has successfully completed three test flights recently.

The BQM-74E aerial target, which is an autonomous unmanned system developed to simulate tactical threats posed by enemy aircraft and evasive, sea-skimming missiles, has been equipped with the Programmable Autonomous Waypoint Navigation (PAWN) software.

The new PAWN software allows the target to fly complex fully autonomous missions.

Equipped with the new software, the BQM-74E completed two test flights on October 12 and a third flight on November 17 at Naval Air Warfare Weapons Division test range in Point Mugu, California, Northrop said.

The flight test programme included 147 performance requirements in addition to enhanced safety features in the first two flights, the company said.

Aerial targets are unmanned, aircraft-like systems used by the military to simulate tactical threats posed by enemy aircraft and evasive, sea-skimming missiles. They are typically used to test and evaluate surface ship defensive weapons systems or to train pilots in air-to-air combat techniques.

The BQM-74E is the latest in a series of manually-flown targets that Northrop has converted into an autonomous unmanned system by adding sophisticated control logic.