WVU experts take new ‘smart projectile’ out for a spin at prestigious national proving ground

WVUToday
May 23rd, 2012
 
West Virginia University scientists have developed a new “smart projectile” that can be fired from traditional weapons by soldiers on the battlefield and then transform during flight into unmanned aerial vehicles, which can provide unprecedented battlefield surveillance through miniature cameras.

This week, they took a giant step forward in testing their work when they were invited by the U.S. Army to test fire prototypes at one of America’s most prestigious military proving grounds.

News accounts have created the popular conception of an unmanned aerial vehicle as a large, odd-looking pilotless aircraft controlled by operators from locations on the other side of the planet. The WVU team has a different vision that, when turned into reality, will put smaller UAVs in the hands of American soldiers on the battlefield to save lives by providing previously unavailable real-time data.

Mridul Gautam, WVU associate vice president for research, the principal investigator of the U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored research project, explained that the University has been invited by the U.S. Army to test its concepts with firings at the famous Yuma Test Center in Arizona.

“Why not have a new class of UAVs that can be fired from the same platforms that soldiers have in their possession?” Gautam said. “That would save time, increase availability of surveillance and save soldiers’ lives. This is something that is small, easy to move, but still loaded with electronics like cameras and GPS.”

Wade Huebsch, associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, and co-principle investigator on the research project, said that the small smart projectile munitions idea has merit because the Army has so many grenade, mortar and shell launch capabilities.

WVU Drs. Jay Wilhelm and Pat Browning, after weeks of exhausting paperwork, preparation, packing and shipping, headed out to the 1,300-square-mile Yuma facility to put their project to the test under battlefield conditions.

It will be the first time the WVU UAVs will be fired from a 60-mm military mortar in a controlled demonstration.

“We have wanted to go out for some time,” Huebsch explained. “We’ve never actually fired them from a mortar before. About a month ago, we got an invitation to go out to Yuma to fire the first generation of smart munitions and we are very excited to see how they will do. This is a big step towards actual implementation in the field.”

The WVU scientists are invigorated by the opportunity because testing at the Yuma site will reveal a great deal about the capabilities of its smart munitions that they have dubbed the HERO – Hybrid Extended Range Ordnance.

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