ABSTRACT
The military has shown the most recent interest in small UAVs (SUAVs) for many
reasons. We developed a tailless small UAV (flying wing) for military application
(SAKR 2) and short range reconnaissance. SUAV is much more portable than its
large counterparts and requires only one operator. A smaller reconnaissance plane
can assess ground targets at a closer range without being detected. Most SUAVs
use electric motors for advantages as it is affected less by the environmental
circumstances, lower weight, less vibration and having lower cost. Also an SUAV is
less expensive and can be considered a disposable asset. Our design philosophy is
based upon improving aerodynamic features, surveillance capability, and controlling
the systems autonomously. To fulfill the mission requirements we designed a tailless
planform flying wing with 120 cm wingspan, flying at a maximum speed of 30 m/s
and about 3 kg take-off weight. Two identical prototypes was fabricated and tested
under several flight conditions using remote control to examine flight stability and
performance. A commercial autopilot and short range video link was integrated to the
SUAV to complete the unmanned system. The designed SUAV succeed to perform
20 minutes flying in stabilized mode with circle pattern and appeared to have
accepted navigational accuracy using FY-3ZT autopilot.