Its retractable skid landing gear was replaced by a fixed gear. Carried over from the 209 were the slim fuselage with tandem cockpits (gunner in front of pilot), the Lycoming T-53 engine, stub wings with store stations and the under nose turret. The urgent need for greater armed helicopter performance in Vietnam and the success of the 209 led to Army orders for prototypes and production models of the 209 as interim attack helicopters, pending production of the AAFSS (which, finally, was never to occur). While the Army went forward with its sophisticated AAFSS (advanced aerial fire support system) program to provide an attack helicopter, Bell proceeded with another company-sponsored prototype, Model 209, using the Huey dynamics and an airframe similar to the initial design.
#Marine huey helicopter series#
Bell also built a company-sponsored, scaled-down prototype using H-13/Model 47 series components, its Model 207 Sioux Scout. Limitations of the modified armed utility helicopters used led to the specially configured attack helicopter.īell Helicopter (now Bell Helicopter Textron) had already evolved the first attack helicopter design, based on the use of UH-1 Huey dynamics (rotors, drives, engine) with a new fuselage. For now the Pentagon is limiting autonomous aircraft missions to cargo transport only, insisting that only manned aircraft should carry personnel.Armed helicopters came into widespread use in Vietnam in the early Sixties. Automation would also be useful in helping the Marines get the most out of their helicopters, having them fly low-risk cargo transport missions scheduled while the pilots are resting. The pilot, not actually in the aircraft and unable to sense the physical changes in real time, reacted too late to the conditions and the autonomous helicopter crashed.Īutonomous helicopters could be used in areas where the enemy air defense risk is extremely high, conducting the mission without risking pilots. One drone crashed in 2013 when the helicopter pilot monitoring the mission, expecting a 15 knot headwind, instead ran into a tailwind. The K-Max Afghanistan trials, although enormously successful, pointed to another problem, however.
![marine huey helicopter marine huey helicopter](https://d1a2ot8agkqe8w.cloudfront.net/web/2016/05/bell-helicopter-ah-1z-viper-and-uh-1y-yankee-us-m_67188.jpg)
Over three years, the two drones delivered 4.5 million pounds of cargo, helping keep trucks off the road in places where IEDs threatened truck crews. The Marine Corps flew two K-Max autonomous cargo helicopters in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013, often running six missions totaling 33,000 pounds of cargo a night. This isn’t the first time the Marines have tested autonomous helicopters.
![marine huey helicopter marine huey helicopter](https://media.defense.gov/2014/Nov/03/2001133883/-1/-1/0/615889-Q-MER14-509.jpg)
The Sea Dragon 2025 project is meant to take a hard look at new technologies that the Marine Corps could use in future fights against adversaries on the same technological level as the United States. Aurora, having provided the kit will now exit the program, with the Marines taking over and folding it into the Sea Dragon 2025 series of experiments. The Marines interacted with the Huey via a tablet and laptop computer.ĪACUS was funded by the Office of Naval Research. The autonomous tests consisted of three simulated missions, in which the unmanned UH-1H “Huey,” given guidance by Marine infantrymen with just “mere hours” of instruction by Aurora engineers, flew supplies to a remote outpost.
![marine huey helicopter marine huey helicopter](https://militarymachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/UH-1-huey-Landing.jpg)
The software, including flight algorithms, was developed by Aurora. According to USNI News, the hardware used were commercial, off-the-rack components easily sourced in the civilian market. The hardware side of the AACUS kit involves a LiDAR sensor for ranging and ground mapping, and cameras for obstacle avoidance and route planning.