Aereon WASP
{|{{Infobox Aircraft Begin
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| type= UAV Craft
| national origin=USA
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| designer=[[AEREON|Aereon Corporation]]
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| status=Conceptual
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| unit cost= [[United States dollar|US$]] 2 million (predicted)
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The '''Aereon WASP''' (Wide Aperture Surveillance Platform) is a conceptual [[STOL]] [[UAV]] craft designed by the [[AEREON|Aereon Corporaton]]. Unlike other ventures such as the [[Aereon Dynairship|Dynairship]], the WASP is a [[heavier-than-air]] craft, but still retains the [[lifting body]] capability that is common in Aereon's other designs. The basic idea and designs were unveiled on Aereon's website on 12 November 2002.
==Design and Development==
The WASP design builds on Aereon's previous manned generation of surveillance platforms. The WASP UAV was designed to show Aereon's recognition of the fact that future aerial warfare was most likely to be carried out by unmanned craft. Aereon claims that the design builds on their 40 years of research into "[[aerodynamic]], [[aerostatic]] and [[rotary wing]]" crafts.
The WASP UAV was primarily designed to offer low-cost covert observation capacity in [[littoral zone]]s. Aereon's unique deltoid airframe shape caters to this role well, giving "360 degree radar coverage". However, according to Aereon, it has [[multi modular]] [[payload]] capabilities, and therefore can also carry armament (see below) and various other supplies, both military and civilian. Aereon states that the large payload-carrying capabilities of the WASP UAV gives scope for a large spectrum of missions to be carried out.
The WASP UAV is supposedly designed to have extreme [[STOL]] capabilities, and therefore is suitable for both carrier, ship and land based operations. Coupled with a 12 hour endurance time, and all-weather flying capabilities, the WASP UAV is a truly diverse aircraft.
The WASP UAV was designed to be a direct competitor to the [[Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye|E-2C Hawkeye]], and the design, according to Aereon, boasts a 60% larger surface area than the Hawkeye and has a predicted unit cost of under 2 million dollars, compared to the Hawkeye's 80 million.
The following is a closing statement from the Aereon website, describing the WASP UAV:
<blockquote> ''"Envisioned to be the next generation of tactical surveillance aircraft, WASP UAV will allow the armed services to extend their reach with a cost-effective, multi-mission platform. It will allow time sensitive, in-theatre, sensor-shooter responses with the additional capability to deliver a broad array of payloads. Providing radar coverage, troop re-supply, and ordinance deployment, the WASP UAV will give the military the knowledge advantage needed for networked surveillance and time-sensitive strike operations, in littoral environments for joint force operations, well into the future."'' </blockquote>
==Specifications==
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|armament=The WASP will be able to carry the following conventianal weaponry:
*[[Sonobuoys]]
*[[Standoff (missile)|Stand-off missiles]]
*Much smaller Tactical UAV Systems (TUAV's)
*Various other [[Precision-guided munition|Smart Weaponry]]
|avionics= The following surviellience equipment will be able to be carried on the WASP:
*[[AEW]]
*CEC
*[[Electro-optics|EO]]
*[[Infrared|IR]]
*Periscope Detection
*[[Moving Target Indication|MTI]]
*[[Synthetic Aperture Radar|SAR]]
*[[Hyperspectral imaging|Hyper-spectral sensing]]
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==Notes==
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==References==
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*[http://www.aereon.com/pages/waspuav.html Aereon Wasp Website]
*[http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=700&ct=1 Hawkeye Factfile]
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[[Category:STOL]]
[[Category:UAVs and drones of the United States]]