The
Puma AE is a fixed-wing, front propeller driven, small all-weather unmanned aerial
vehicle manufactured by AeroVironment and designed for land and water
operations. As of August 2013 over 1100
Puma had been placed in service with the U.S. Army. Provided with electro-optical (EO) and
infrared (IR) camera as well as a lightweight mechanical gimbaled payload, the
Puma AE is well-equipped for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and
targeting data (ISRT). A Global
Positioning System (GPS) provides accuracy and reliability, and the ground
control station (GCS) allows for manual or programed GPS-based autonomous navigation
with a communication range of 15 km. (AeroVironment,
Inc., 2015).
The
Puma’s airframe is constructed of rugged materials to withstand harsh
conditions, but is light enough to be carried and hand-launched by a single
individual. The Puma has a maximum
altitude of 10,000 feet and a maximum speed of 83 km/h. The Puma’s modular design allows for the
integration of various payloads to meet the requirements of military missions or
civilian operations. With a flight time
of over 2 hours, the Puma provides adequate time for take-off, landing, and
extended operations (Army-technology.com, 2015).
With
an estimated commercial and recreational market worth $11 billion dollars by
2020, and with military budgets being reduced, defense companies are turning to
the civilian market as an opportunity for added revenue. The commercial market offers potential
applications in data collection and analysis in agriculture, mining, construction,
utilities, humanitarian efforts, and law enforcement to name a few. According to the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) at least 10 defense firms, including AeroVironment, have requested or
received section 333 exemptions to operate UAVs in the national airspace (NAS).
In this regard, the Puma was one of the first UAVs to be issued an exemption by
the FAA in 2013 to fly across arctic waters to support oil spill response and
wildlife surveillance. At present, at
least three entities have plans to use the Puma for commercial operations
including WinTec Arrowmaker, Inc., for infrastructure inspection, and Cambervision
for aerial data collection (Divis, 2015).
The
Puma offers the advantage of a rugged, water proof design that permits operation
in all weather conditions for land or maritime utilization. Furthermore, its light weight and ability to
be carried and hand launched makes the Puma a low cost UAV when compared to
larger UAV, having versatility with cross-over applications in military and
commercial data acquisition. The Puma
offers the advantage of speed and efficiency to cover large areas of terrain,
however being a fixed wing UAV the Puma does not offer the benefit of hovering that
may be advantageous for bridge and structural inspections. But, as indicated by Divis, “These platforms,
however, are seldom intended to be a companies’ only flight option” (p.
19). The Puma is a proven military
platform and is making inroads into the commercial market. As such, any apparent limitations in Puma are
mitigated through the use of alternative unmanned aerial vehicles.
References
Army-technology.com
(2015). Puma AE (All Environment)
Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), United States of America. Retrieved from http://www.army-technology.com/projects/puma-unmanned-aircraft-system-us/
Divis.
D. (2015, September/October). Defense Firms find commercial foothold. Inside Unmanned Systems, 18-28.
AeroVironment,
Inc. (2015). UAS: RQ-20A Puma AE.
Retrieved from http://www.avinc.com/uas/small_uas/puma/
Mark,
ReplyDeleteThis is a well written and informative post. I find it amazing that the growth of small UAS has increased rapidly due to their uses combat military operations. I agree with you in that a Puma could be utilized for many civilian operations and with the current budget cuts going on in the military world, any civilian manufacturer of UAS should take note and begin a move into the civilian realm. It is a very versatile system.
I am not saying that military needs will decrease, only the budgets. We will once again be expected to do more with less as has always been the case after a conflict ends.
With the range, speed, and endurance of the Puma, a civilian task such as surveillance of wildlife or other could be easily conducted.
The uses of small UAS such as these are only restricted due to the FAA integration which may happen in the near future. The real problem may be in the number of pilots or operators available to fly the systems.
Since the military is the main user of the system currently, we may see a wave of well- trained operators departing the military for greener pastures in the civilian UAS environment.
Great job!
Freddie
I found your blog very interesting. I did do some research a few semesters ago on the R1-11 Raven developed by Aerovironment. Included in the research I had found that The Puma and The Raven are actually integrated. This platform becomes very useful in the field because it is light weight and is hand-launched. The Fuel Cell Puma gets a lot of attention as well. This UAV was particularly developed for advanced energy storage and propulsion technology (Aerovironment, 2015). The fuel cell is a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) type and uses Protonex’s chemical hydride fuel source (Coppinger, 2009). This UAV weight 13lb, 9.2ft wingspan, and is proficient of land and maritime operations due to its water landing capabilities. According to Flight Global, “Aerovironment and Protonex achieved a fuel-cell-powered flight exceeding 9h using the original Puma in March 2008 (Coppinger, 2009)”. The AE provides a line-of-sight up to a range of 15km, rather than the 10km of the Puma. As of 2015, The Puma UAV is still successful and its demonstrations of long-duration flight, mobility, and fuel cell battery hybrid technology display its efficiently in electric energy. I like that you informed the particular advantages of speed and efficiency to cover large areas of terrain, being that is a variation of small UAVs that are available for combat operations, it becomes challenging while choosing which may be the most effective. Great blog and very informative.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Johnson
References
Aerovironment. (2015, October 25). Puma. Retrieved from Aerovironment: https://www.avinc.com/uas/adc/puma/
Coppinger, R. (2009, March 20). A Protonex fuel-cell powered Aerovironment Puma All Environment (AE) unmaned air vehicle with a classified endurance is to fly within the next 12 months under a $3.3 million US Department of Defense contract. Retrieved from Flight Global Web Site: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/aerovironment39s-puma-ae-to-make-fuel-cell-flight-324134/