A160 Hummingbird: Boeing’s Variable-Rotor VTUAV
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Helicopters are familiar sights in the sky, and recent years have seen a variety of unmanned helicopter options introduced into the market. Boeing’s entry lays a breathtaking challenge before the field: what could the military do with a helicopter-like, autonomously-flown UAV with a range of 2,500 nautical miles and endurance of 16-24 hours, carrying a payload of 300-1,000 pounds, and doing it all more quietly than conventional helicopters? For that matter, imagine what disaster relief officials could do with something that had all the positive search characteristics of a helicopter, but much longer endurance.
Enter the A160 Hummingbird Warrior, which was picked up in one of Boeing’s corporate acquisition deals and uses a very unconventional rotor technology. The firm’s Phantom Works division continues to develop it as a revolutionary technology demonstrator and future UAV platform. With the Army’s Class IV UAV role and the Navy’s VTUAV locked up by the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout, Boeing’s sales options may seem thin. Their platform’s capabilities may interest the USA’s Special Operations Command and Department of Homeland Security, however, and exceptional performance gains will always create market opportunities in the civil and military space. At least, Boeing hopes so.
This is DID’s FOCUS article covering the A160 program. Flights have now resumed after a December 2007 crash, and Boeing is filing a world record claim for one recent test…
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