Two businesses owned by Textron Inc., a multi-industry aircraft, defense, industrial and finance company, successfully integrated and demonstrated Textron’s Synturian software and a Scorpion jet Monday.
Textron Systems and Textron Aviation Defense installed the software into the jet’s cockpit mission computer. Two unmanned aircraft systems were demonstrated. The systems feature flight acquisition and control of the simulated air vehicles and sensors.
The jet’s crew changed the unmanned aircraft heading, airspeed and altitude; established surveillance orbits; steered the sensor and set up flight route waypoints. The technology was able to operate the aircraft without further aircrew instruction.
“Through Textron Systems’ extensive experience in the field and Textron Aviation Defense’s expertise, we realize the revolutionary benefits that manned-unmanned teaming can deliver to keep manned assets out of harm’s way,” Wayne Prender, Textron Systems vice president of programs, said. “Together, Synturian command and control technologies and the Scorpion jet take this capability to the next-level – increasing Textron Systems’ Level of Interoperability from three to four, while enabling multi-vehicle command and control from a moving airborne asset.”
The software empowers situational awareness and informed action. It comes in two product lines – Synturian Control and Synturian Remote.
Textron Systems and Textron Aviation Defense already have plans to advance integration efforts, testing, demonstrations to interested worldwide customers.
“The ability to easily and intuitively control unmanned systems from the cockpit of a manned tactical aircraft is a game-changer,” said Textron Aviation Defense Senior Flight Test Pilot Brett Pierson, after flying the Scorpion-Synturian test missions. “The tactical and operational ramifications of this new capability are enormous. Further extending Scorpion’s sensor suite and penetrating a weather layer to generate target coordinates, or creating a triangulated solution independently; or adding layers to a multi-spectral fused solution, deliver an entirely new set of tactical capabilities that have never been possible in a fighter-typed aircraft.”