Bullseye Ready for its First Flight

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Target drones are unmanned vehicles that can be used as bullseye on military training and tests thanks to their low cost. One of them is the Aerial Target drone 5GAT is ready for its first flight later this month at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, following nearly flawless completion of ground-based testing in September. 

5GAT is a full-scale, low-observable air vehicle that represents, more accurately than anything else available, the fifth-generation fighter aircraft threats U.S. forces could face. The low-cost drone is designed to enable air-to-air and surface-to-air platform and weapons test and evaluation, pilot and ground-force training, and the development of tactics, techniques and procedures against a fifth-generation threat.  

The “fighter-sized drone” is 12.2m (40ft) long, a 7.3m wingspan and a maximum gross weight of 4,350kg (9,600lb). It is designed to be launched and landed using a conventional runway. 

“To determine whether a system really is combat-credible, we must test it under realistic conditions. That includes putting it up against a realistic threat,” Robert Behler, the director, operational test and evaluation said. “Right now, we lack a test platform that truly represents fifth-generation air capabilities. Filling that gap as soon as possible is absolutely essential to both testing and training.” 

Initial flight test objectives include demonstrating 5GAT flight characteristics, various subsystems’ performance and the aircraft’s auto-takeoff and auto-landing functionality. Subsequent flight tests will progressively expand the aircraft’s flight envelope in altitude, speed and greater G-force loading, according to defense.gov.

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