Target Control System allows US Navy to control multiple types of drone targets with one ground station

6th April 2010 - 10:10 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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The AeroMech Engineering (AME) team announced today that the Common Interface Target Control System (CITCS) was successfully tested in a live flight demonstration on December 15 at the NAWC Pt. Mugu Sea Test Range. CITCS allows a single ground system, with a standard and common protocol, to control multiple unmanned aerial targets.

Craig Smith, AME Program Manager for Target Control, said, "CITCS successfully operated and controlled a Navy BQM-74E target drone configured with a STANAG 4586 data link. Success was due to close collaboration between NAWC and AME personnel."

Interchangeability, commonality within hardware and software and lower operating costs are all made possible with the CITCS. The system includes both the ground based and airborne elements and can be used at different test ranges with various targets through modular software and quick on-site "personality" software installation. "CITCS has the potential to greatly simplify the target control environment, enabling multiple-type target control with a single standard ground station," said Thomas Akers, CEO of AME. "This will save money and valuable development time for our customers."

CITCS provides a common interface for targets to allow single or multiple target control in a military UHF band, using either a STANAG 4586 data link format or the Joint Interoperable Standard Data Link Interface (DLI) data link format.

This was the second flight demonstration of the CITCS; the first occurred on 28 October 2009 with the system configured for the Joint Interoperable Standard Data Link Interface and yielded the same positive results and met all operational objectives.

Source: AeroMech Engineering