DarkStar Completes First Flight

PALMDALE, Calif., March 29, 1996 -- DarkStar, the Tier III Minus high-altitude endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), successfully completed its first flight today.

DarkStar took off from runway 040 at the Air Force Test Flight Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., at 6:25 a.m. (PST). During the 20-minute flight, DarkStar reached an altitude of 5,000 feet and completed basic flight maneuvers. The DarkStar system successfully executed a fully automated flight from takeoff to landing utilizing the differential Global Positioning System (GPS).

DarkStar is a high-altitude, endurance UAV optimized for reconnaissance in highly defended areas. It will operate within the current military force structure and with existing command, control, communications, computer and intelligence equipment. It can operate at ranges greater than 500 nautical miles and stay on station for more than eight hours at altitudes greater than 45,000 feet.

Rich Alldredge, Boeing DarkStar program manager, attributed the successful flight to the unprecedented level of cooperation and the excellent performance of the DarkStar team, comprising Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The DarkStar team used rapid prototyping processes and streamlined contracting under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)/Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO) contract.

Today's flight marks the start of a flight-test program to evaluate basic system performance, including the high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and electro-optical payloads. The team expects to review the data from this flight and proceed to higher altitude flights in the near future.

At the completion of this work, DarkStar will be prepared for a series of technical demonstrations with the U.S. armed forces, including possible participation in the large-scale military exercise "Roving Sands `97" to be held in May 1997.

The prime contractor team consists of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Palmdale, Calif.; Boeing Defense & Space Group, Military Airplanes Division, Seattle, Wash.; and Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Sunnyvale, Calif.