News Review: Defence trials Mincham UAV systems | ADM Mar 2011
Defence is trialling an innovative UAV-based sensor delivery system developed by Adelaide-based SME Mincham Aviation. The sensor delivery system is designed to support acoustic signature management of the Navy’s ships, submarines and aircraft.
The most expensive single component in a signature management event is the platform being ranged, according to managing director Darryl Mincham. If sensors can be cost effectively positioned around that platform, Navy could significantly improve the information quality and cumulatively save many tens of millions of dollars in ship time as the chance of event success was far higher than present practices permit.
The UAV system allows the range operator to launch a 22kg air vehicle carrying a 10kg SSQ 53F GPS sonobuoy from the range control ship out to required distances and patterns around the platform being serviced. The current configuration successfully deployed its payload in tests last July. The whole evolution is now insensitive to aircraft availabilities (a traditional method of deployment) and the time lost by the current over-the-side sonobuoy deployments as the range ship manoeuvres to place the buoys correctly.
Mincham Aviation’s cheap, pneumatically launched flight vehicle is based on one of its own UAV baseline designs; it does not use flammable fuels or explosive launch charges to facilitate ship integration.
The company, in collaboration with DMO, plans to evolve the system further to pursue opportunities to reduce Navy’s operating costs in rangings and T&E, Mincham told ADM. Future plans include UAVs to deploy other payloads, including sensors, decoys and training aids. The UAV can either be disposable or recoverable, depending upon client requirements. The company is also looking to develop other UAV systems for both Defence and commercial applications and is collaborating with other SMEs from the Defence Teaming Centre (DTC), to leverage both innovation and technology across its service and product ranges.
Mincham Aviation was established in 1996; it is now the only certified, full structures component shop in South Australia and one of only a handful certified to carry out composites, sheet metal, heat treatment, machining and composite structure design, fabrication and repair. The company is now pushing into the global supply chains and has recently won a contract with Boeing to manufacture components for the CH-47 Chinook.