The United States Air Force has revealed its new long-endurance reconnaissance drone, ending the extended suspense over its name and capabilities.
The new drone made by DZYNE is called the Unmanned Long-endurance Tactical Reconnaissance Aircraft (ULTRA). It is being touted as a cheaper alternative to the expensive MQ-9 Reaper drones being used by the Air Force and Marine Corps for surveillance.
ULTRA was conceived by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) and developed in conjunction with DZYNE Technologies.
One of the specialties of ULTRA is that it is built by repurposing a previously manned commercial sport glider and converting it to a military hardened unmanned air vehicle, according to AFRL.
ULTRA’s capabilities and cost
According to AFRL, it is an ultra-long endurance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform.
It can fly for over 80 hours without needing a recharge and can carry a payload of up to 400 pounds (181 kg).
ULTRA can carry a variety of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR), radiofrequency (RF), and other low-cost intelligence collection payloads and sensors to provide a reconfigurable platform for various missions.
The long endurance allows wider and longer coverage of the desired areas with fewer airborne UAVs. Moreover, it is also touted as an economical option compared to other similar-performing drones, thereby reducing acquisition costs.
The secret behind the low-cost drone is using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) UAS technology, existing manufacturing and supply channels, and limited custom avionics to ensure costs remain low.
The drone is also capable of operating at lower altitudes, which cuts the need for expensive and large optics or high-power radio frequency for effectiveness.
“The ULTRA system is truly unique in its ability to conquer the tyranny of distance that inhibit operational use of current unmanned platforms at excessive ranges required in areas of operations such as the Pacific,” the AFRL says.
It can also be operated across the globe through satellite-based command and control links, and can send the data to the command center in real time.
US’ push for drones
All branches of the US military are pushing for multiple drones for different purposes – ranging from kamikaze (suicide) to surveillance.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and China’s tricky maneuvers in the Indo-Pacific region have shown that the US needs to be well-prepared for all circumstances.
Drones have played a central role in many of the ongoing war theatres and will continue to be a central figure in the years to come.
The Indo-Pacific-focused ‘ Replicator ’ program is a shining example of the US’ push for drone supremacy. Deliveries began in early May, marking the first phase in a multi-year strategy to deploy thousands of expendable drones to counter adversaries like China.
Quite recently, the Marine Corps also added an electronic warfare pod to its small fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones, which can help in making it untraceable from enemy sensors.
The pod, known as the Reaper Defense Electronic Support System / Scalable Open Architecture Reconnaissance (RDESS/SOAR), is a broad spectrum, passive Electronic Support Measure (ESM) payload designed to collect and geo-locate signals of interest from standoff ranges, according to General Atomics.
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