Unmanned fixed-wing aircraft with (fully) automatic firearms for combating drones and cruise missiles

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicle characterized in that one or more (fully) automatic firearms are mounted in a fixed-wing carrier drone for the purpose of combating other drones or cruise missiles.

Description

[0001] 2. Category: unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0002] 3. Purpose: To create a reusable, sustainable, effective, efficient and economically viable unmanned fixed-wing aircraft for drone or cruise missile defense, which can be operated autonomously, automatically or operator-supported regardless of weather and time of day and has a modular, adaptive and future-proof design.

[0003] 4. State of the Art: Currently, Western countries lack reusable, sustainable, effective, efficient, and economically viable drone or cruise missile countermeasures. At medium and long ranges, either drones themselves are used as disposable targets for drone or cruise missile countermeasures, or expensive surface-to-air missiles are employed. Laser-based or electromagnetic drone or cruise missile countermeasures systems are not yet ready for deployment, even at close range. A solution is urgently needed. The use of (fully) automatic firearms in aircraft to engage other missiles has been state of the art since the 1910s. However, (fully) automatic firearms in drones to engage other drones or cruise missiles are a new development, although drones have been used militarily since the 1940s.

[0004] 5. Critique of the State of the Art: Current defenses against drones or cruise missiles often rely on drones with very limited capabilities, which are often used as expendable assets, or on expensive air defense systems or air-to-air missiles whose cost far exceeds that of the drone or cruise missile being targeted. This type of drone or cruise missile defense leads to the economic depletion of the armed forces defending themselves against aggressors. Laser-based systems for drone or cruise missile defense are still under development and struggle with fundamental physical problems. Purely electromagnetic systems for drone or cruise missile defense are also of very limited use when the areas to be defended are large.

[0005] 6. Objective of the invention: The objective of the invention is to create a reusable, sustainable, effective, efficient and economically viable system for combating drones or cruise missiles by integrating (fully) automatic firearms, which is not possible with the current state of the art.

[0006] 7. Innovation: The integration of (fully) automatic firearms into a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) for combating other drones or cruise missiles represents an innovation in several respects. Firstly, it creates a truly reusable, sustainable, effective, efficient, and economically viable system for defending against drones or cruise missiles, as the use of (fully) automatic firearms in this area has proven successful since the 1910s. By using (fully) automatic firearms in a fixed-wing aircraft airframe, the drone can be immediately redeployed after re-arming and recharging its energy storage. Further maintenance is only required to the extent of that required for a small aircraft.Secondly, integrating (fully) automatic firearms into a fixed-wing aircraft enables operation with true independence from the time of day and, above all, weather conditions, as icing conditions are relatively easy to compensate for with fixed-wing aircraft. The wing-based lift also results in higher aerodynamic efficiency, allowing for longer dwell times in the target area and the monitoring of larger areas. This is not easily achievable with currently deployed multicopters or rotary-wing aircraft. Furthermore, integrating the target acquisition sensors into the aircraft creates a fully operational system, something that is simply not possible with currently available multicopters due to weight limitations.

[0007] 8. Design: One or more (fully) automatic firearms (2) and (3) for combating other drones or cruise missiles in the air are mounted in an unmanned fixed-wing aircraft (1), see Fig. 1. The (fully) automatic firearms are attached either parallel to the direction of flight (2) and / or at an angle to the direction of flight (3), see Fig. 1. Target detection and tracking are carried out via sensors on the unmanned fixed-wing aircraft (4), see Fig. 1. The installation of the (fully) automatic firearms can either be rigid, as in Fig. 1 shown, or designed to be pivotable and / or rotatable, as shown in Fig. 2 shown. The integration of the (fully) automatic firearms can be provided, for example, either in a swiveling and / or rotating nose (5), or in a weapon turret (6), see Fig. 2.

Claims

[1] Unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized by , that one or more (fully) automatic firearms are mounted in a fixed-wing carrier drone to combat other drones or cruise missiles. [2] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized by that the (fully) automatic weapons are mounted either parallel to the direction of flight or at an angle to the direction of flight. [3] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized by that the (fully) automatic weapons are either rigidly mounted or mounted in a swiveling and / or rotating manner. [4] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized by , that electro-optical, electroacoustic, electromagnetic or other multispectral sensors are mounted for target acquisition. [5] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized by that the target acquisition is carried out autonomously, automatically, or by a ground operator. [6] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized bythat target engagement can take place regardless of the weather, day or night. [7] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized by that the operation is autonomous, automatic, or carried out by a ground operator. [8] Unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1), characterized by that the operation can take place regardless of the weather, day or night.

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