April 5, 2001

Submitted by TEAM Public Affairs, PEO (W)

It will be the first air demonstration of its kind, with flights of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from around the world. The Navy’s Program Executive Office, Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation (PEO (W)), in conjunction with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), is gearing up for the first ever exposition of unmanned aviation.

The event will be held July 30 as a kick off to AUVSI’s annual conference, Unmanned Systems 2001 to be held at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Md. The UAV demo will be held at the Webster Field annex of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, located in St. Mary’s County, Md. and will be open to conference exhibitors and conference attendees.

The focus of the UAV demo is to highlight UAV technology and capabilities. This venue offers a unique opportunity to display and demonstrate full-scale UAV systems and hardware.

The event coordinator is Lt. Cmdr. Dave Seagle of the Navy’s UAV program office. "Not only will UAV systems fly," he said, "but we expect to have propulsion, avionics and payload demonstrations as well. The integration of an opti-screen LED monitor allows the audience to see the same imagery as the UAV operators, while the vehicle is in flight."

The demo will include static displays all day and features flight demos from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Potential flight demonstrators include General Atomics (Navy) Predator; PUI Pioneer; Yamaha RMAX; AeroNautics AeroStar; BAI EXDRONE; SAIC Vigilante; and Piasecki Aircraft Dragonfly. Hardware displays are anticipated from Northrop Grumman Firebee, Fire Scout, Pegasus, and Global Hawk; Boeing Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicle; and IAI Heron.

For information about how to participate in the event, call Seagle at 301.757.5820, or visit the demo Web site at: , http://uav.navair.navy.mil or visit the PEO Web site at: http://www.strikenet.js.mil , and click on PMA-263.