Wiring UAVs

The development of electronic architectures for UAVs and UCAVs marks a major step-change in the evolution of military aircraft as significant as the emergence of jet propulsion more than 60 years ago.

The potential for change in everything from strategic and tactical applications to manufacturing processes for UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) is only now starting to be understood and accepted. Central to the success of UAVs are reliable, robust, and cost-effective electronic systems.

With advances in electronic and computer technology in the 1970s and 1980s and the efficacy of miniaturization, practical and effective UAVs started to shift from the realms of science fiction to the real world. Not surprisingly, early UAV electronic system architectures replicated the “federated” philosophy used in manned military aircraft, comprising several application-specific units including air data, flight control, guidance, and navigation computers. These units interpreted analog signals from dedicated sensors, making decisions and outputting signals. But communication between the units to create an integrated network was limited as each unit had custom sensors and displays.