Winging It

Winging It: "

Selex Galileo is aiming for first flight of' a beefed-up version of its Falco unmanned aerial vehicle - known as the Falco Evo - by the end of the second quarter of 2010.

Attempting to gain maximum improvement in performance for a comparatively modest outlay, the company is using the Falco fuselage, but wedded to a larger wing and extended tail booms.

The basic Falco is already in service with Pakistan - though the company declines to identify Islamabad as the launch customer - while discussions are also continuing with Libya.

Four prototype ship-sets kits for the Falco Evo upgrade are now being manufactured. The design is intended to increase the basic Falco’s maximum take-off weight (Mtow) by 330kg (728lbs). The Falco Mtow is 420kg while the Falco Evo target is a 750kg Mtow. Maximum payload would be increased from 70kg to 120kg. Max endurance for the Falco Evo is projected to be 18-20 hours compared to 8-14 hours for the basic Falco.

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Selex is also continuing work on expanding the payloads available for the Falco family, with radar and electronic warfare packages at varying stages of development. The company’s PicoSAR synthentic aperture radar (pictured above) 'will be flown on the UAV later this year, while an electronic surveillance measures package will be tested on the UAV in 2010.

Pictures Credit Selex Galileo

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(Via Ares.)

Marines sack four over deadly plane crash

Marines sack four over deadly plane crash: "The Marine Corps has sacked four top officers of a California-based fighter squadron over the December crash of a fighter jet that slammed into a San Diego neighborhood, the service said Tuesday. Deferred maintenance and faulty decisions by the pilot and squadron members on the ground contributed to the crash, an investigation concluded. Two adults and two small children died when the jet hit their house.

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(Via CNN.com.)