Two great U.S. corporations in the aerospace and defense industry, AAI Corporation and Honeywell, have teamed up for a project dedicated to production of UAV-type (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) micro helicopters, remotely controlled and capable of taking off and landing vertically, while carrying video equipment for surveillance and recognition.
The T-Hawk system is made up of two radio controlled vehicles, and a ground control station. The helicopter is equipped with a propulsion system that allows for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), making it suitable for operating practically anywhere.
Furthermore, its high flexibility, along with limited size and weight (only 57cm in height and less than 9kg in weight), allows it to reach a speed of up to 130 km/h (which, on some models, can be electronically limited to 90 km/h) making it an ideal partner for recognition operations on rough or mountainous terrain, where sending troops might mean exposing them to non necessary dangers, causing the mission to fail with loss of lives.
Of course, in order to carry out such a delicate recognition task, T-Hawk is equipped with a range of electro-optical cameras, as well as infrared sensors for vision from above and at night; these characteristics make it perfect not only for aerial recognition, but also as a support from above to troops on the ground, connected in real time to the ground station, towards which it would transmit images and videos which can prove vital to guarantee a successful surveillance or reconnaissance operation.
