Recently, Textron Systems demonstrated cross-domain interoperability by integrating the Aerosonde® Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) with the Cottonmouth™ Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) in an on-the-move operations event for Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC). During this demonstration, the two-person Aerosonde Hybrid Quad (HQ) team conducted rapid emplacement, assembly, pre-flight checks, launch and transition to forward flight in approximately 20 minutes. Under full control from the Cottonmouth ARV throughout the demonstration, the Aerosonde HQ UAS continued to fly beyond visual line of sight detecting and tracking targets as the Cottonmouth maneuvered to locations before returning for autonomous Aerosonde recovery. The Aerosonde interface controls were seamlessly integrated directly into the vehicle electronics enabling demonstration of an expanded mission to the service.
The Aerosonde UAS ground control system is openly designed to be integrated into vehicles and to operate various mission payloads with ease. Through various demonstrations and exercises, the Aerosonde UAS and Cottonmouth ARV have proven to be modular in nature, fitting our customers’ requirements by easily integrating with other assets and technologies. The Aerosonde HQ UAS has successfully proven its ability to deploy from a moving ship to provide maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability. Building off that success, Aerosonde HQ UAS can launch at sea and transition operations ashore to where four Cottonmouth ARVs are offloaded from a Ship-to-Shore Connector.
The Cottonmouth crew maintains full control of the Aerosonde to continue operations deeper into that environment – all with seamless handoffs and continuous payload feeds to the squad on the move. The Aerosonde HQ has autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability on land or at sea and is modular enough to be safely stored atop the Cottonmouth ARV in transit cases. This demonstration has now proven that Aerosonde can fully and seamlessly integrate into austere environments to provide persistent ISR to expeditionary forces. This ease of integration and common ground support technology provides the agility needed to support expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO) for the future warfighter.
The Cottonmouth Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) has been built with a clean sheet design to meet U.S. Marine Corps requirements, while providing modularity to support the integration of diverse technologies in the future. One of the key features of the Cottonmouth ARV is its Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) design, allowing low-risk integration of any battle command software. The Aerosonde UAS family of products provides proven capabilities, amassing over 600,000 operational flight hours as well as participating in many demonstrations and exercises integrating with other air, land and sea assets to provide cross-domain operations. Textron Systems is committed to providing customers with the modular technology, expeditionary capability, and autonomy to support the future combat demands.
