Can you harden a drone vs birdshot

[jyl]

Man shoots down neighbor drone

I wonder if you can harden a drone? Vs birdshot.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by jyl

Man shoots down neighbor drone

I wonder if you can harden a drone? Vs birdshot.

Sure, we already have.

The key is method of flight (fixed versus rotary winged - the quads, etc.). You cannot harden exposed props and rotary winged mechanisms, especially at the rotational speeds that the small UAS require from their propulsive systems.

Any impact to the aero structure of the props and blades is catastrophic.

I sponsored a years worth of practical research and trials in this exact arena. The expense required to make a small UAS less vulnerable to small arms fire would make the commercial variants unaffordable.

[jyl]

Some RC planes use ducted fan engines. Is that practical for a drone?. I was thinking the ducts would shield the rotating bits.

Does redundancy work? Software detects loss of 4th engine, reconfigures to be a 3 engine drone. So a 5 engine drone could sustain loss of 2 engines.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by jyl

Some RC planes use ducted fan engines. Is that practical for a drone?. I was thinking the ducts would shield the rotating bits.

Does redundancy work? Software detects loss of 4th engine, reconfigures to be a 3 engine drone. So a 5 engine drone could sustain loss of 2 engines.

It does. I am working with one of the designers of the T-Hawk for a smaller commercial variant.

Here is the larger T-Hawk, which I was responsible for first deploying with EOD many years ago. We helped the Army (it was an Army program) get it deployed first with the Navy and USMC:



The problem is the "wheel of aero misfortune": Every design change to make a platform more survivable causes basic changes to the air vehicle performance and cost.

Your last questions (Does redundancy work? Software detects loss of 4th engine, reconfigures to be a 3 engine drone. So a 5 engine drone could sustain loss of 2 engines.) is excellent.

The sophistication of monitoring systems and autopilots is quite something today. The aircraft KNOW a lot more than they ever have.

Unfortunately, there are still some damage scenarios that cannot be fixed. I am working with another really smart guy on an Office of Naval Research octo-rotor VTOL because NOAA wants redundancy in the small ship environment.

Mechanical failure is quire different from damage failure from external inputs: Very hard to predict the impact to the flying qualities of the air vehicle in order to allow the software to respond appropriately to attack.

It is fascinating stuff, JYL. I am happy to have been in this business for over 10 years...and counting.

[Seahawk]

Here is the website of the Avid folks (he is a Stanford grad and we wear each other out), the folks with the ducted fan VTOL:

http://www.avidaerospace.com/

[M.D. Holloway]

easy Paul, don't give away the farm!

[legion]

I hope not. Anything flying over my property without my permission is "open season".

[Reiver]

Try buckshot