Northrop Grumman R-Bat Specs, Engine, and Control

Northrop Grumman R-Bat Specs, Engine, and Control – The R-Bat (Rotary-Bat) is an autonomous, tactical unmanned helicopter manufactured by the global defense and technology company Northrop Grumman. This unmanned helicopter was demonstrated at AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2014, which was held in Orlando, Florida. Northrop Grumman and Yamaha Motor Corporation USA partnered to develop and market the R-Bat helicopter system in May 2014. Initially the R-Bat tactical helicopter was designed to meet the requirements of the US Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and the Department of Homeland Security.

R-Bat helicopter can be used to carry out various missions including search and rescue, situational awareness, border patrols, tactical intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, communication relays and strikes. This can also be used for power line inspection and forest fire observation. This helicopter is able to perform tasks in urban and limited areas.

Northrop Grumman R-Bat Specs

R-Bat helicopter airframe is based on the RMAX unmanned helicopter that is driven remotely developed by Yamaha Motor. Overall, the dimensions of the helicopter cover a length of 3.65 m, height of 1.06 m and width of around 720 mm. The maximum gross take-off weight is 93 kg and has a load capacity of 19 kg.

R-Bat unmanned helicopter have innovative and unique designs and can be configured with sophisticated intelligence systems to meet tactical and operational needs. This has improved situational awareness capabilities and offers superior security. It can be controlled by one operator.

The R-Bat helicopter propulsion system consists of a two-bladed main rotor and a two-bladed tail rotor. The diameter of the main rotor is 3.13 m, while the diameter of the tail rotor is 0.53 m. It features a movable two wheel type landing gear and handling handles. The helicopter can be launched and landed in a restricted area.

Northrop Grumman R-Bat Engine and Performance

The R-Bat helicopter powered by a 2-stroke water-cooled 2-cylinder Yamaha engine has 500 W of power. This helicopter can monitor an area up to 80 miles away from the take-off location and can operate on the 1,829 m service ceiling. It can continue to carry out the mission for more than four hours.

Northrop Grumman R-Bat Sensor

The R-Bat helicopter is equipped with a TASE300 imaging charge that is stabilized in two axes. The payload system provides long wave thermal and high definition imagery to enhance surveillance.

This unmanned helicopter consists of a new autonomous control system and avionics flight, the latest sensors, and other intelligence collection technologies. A high-performance global positioning system (GPS) is installed to provide direction control and location details. The height control system is also installed in the helicopter to allow easy operation.

Northrop Grumman R-Bat Control

The R-Bat unmanned helicopter can be controlled by a ground control station (GCS) which is run by one operator. Reliable data links are used to transmit real-time data and intelligence data collected by R-Bat to earth stations. GCS is equipped with a single laptop / rover to monitor and control air vehicle hubs and speaking operations.