Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical's parent company, Allegheny Teledyne of Pittsburg, has announced it will "...explore selling Ryan Aeronautical..." and that it has engaged a firm to "...conduct valuation studies and determine levels of interest in Ryan Aeronautical." Allegheny Teledyne is also divesting itself of its other Teledyne holdings, acquired in Aug 96, and reorganizing to focus exclusively on the specialty metals market.

FLIR Systems Inc. (FSI) of Portland, Oregon,, a leading supplier of EO/IR sensors for UAVs, recently acquired Inframetrics of Billerica, Massachusetts, another leading supplier of EO/IR sensors. FSI had previously (Nov 97) acquired Agema, a Swedish supplier of ground IR sensors, expanding its international market base. This leaves FSI and Versatron as the two major U.S. vendors of airborne gimbaled EO/IR sensors.

1998 saw many firsts accomplished and records set in the world of UAVs. First flights were accomplished by Teledyne Ryan's Global Hawk, General Atomics' Prowler II, Aerovironment's Centurion, and Mi-Tex's Backpack, to name a few. Records in altitude, endurance and safety were set by others. But the standout accomplishment of 1998, if not the decade, was the record setting first transoceanic flight made by an UAV, the Aerosonde "Laima," by a team led by The Insitu Group of Bingen, Washington.

First Transoceanic Flight. "Laima" took off from Bell Island (near St John's), Newfoundland, Canada, and landed at Benbecula on South Uist Island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 26 hours and 45 minutes later, having flown 1766 nm and weathered winds and rain during most of its trip, much as did its famous predecessor, Lindbergh in his Ryan Spirit of St Louis 71 years earlier. Unlike that accomplishment however, "Laima's" feat drew little media attention; even the trade journals gave it little and late notice: a single paragraph on p.11 in the 28 Sep 98 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology (5 weeks after its flight on 20-21 Aug 98) and a brief item on p.34 of the Oct 98 issue of Unmanned Vehicles; it has yet to be mentioned in Unmanned Systems (but is on its website). "Laima" was one of four Aerosondes making the attempt, with two of the others lost at sea and the third on takeoff. Detailed, firsthand accounts of its achievement can be found at www.insitugroup.com.

Record Altitude Flight. Two weeks before Aerosonde's transAtlantic flight and on the opposite side of the world, AeroVironment's solar-powered UAV, Pathfinder Plus, set a world altitude record for propeller aircraft of 80,400 ft off Kauai, Hawaii, on 6 Aug 98. Sponsored by the NASA Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, Pathfinder Plus spent nearly 15 hours airborne during its record flight, including over 3 hours above 70,000 ft, bettering its own record of 71,000 ft set in Jun 97. Mission details are available at www.aerovironment.com and on p.33 of the 17 Aug 98 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology.

Another member of the ERAST program, Aurora's Perseus B UAV, set its personal record of 60,200 ft at Edwards, California, on 27 Jun 98, showing it has fully recovered from its Mar 96 accident. Details are provided at www.hiflight.com, www.dfrc.nasa.gov, and on p.80 of the 13 Jul 98 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology.

U.S. Navy VTOL UAV Demonstration. The major military initiative of the year was the U.S. Navy's VTOL UAV land-based flight demonstration, a first step toward eventually procuring a replacement for its Pioneer UAVs. Between 6 Mar and 11 Jun 98, three VTOL UAVs flew 121.1 hours at Yuma Proving Grounds, AZ, to evaluate the maturity of three different VTOL technical approaches, each with the goal of flying 50 hours. The Bell Helicopter Eagle Eye UAV, using tilt rotor technology, flew 55.5 hours. The Bombardier CL-327 Guardian, using coaxial, contra-rotating rotors, flew 58.1 hours and concluded with a mishap. The SAIC Vigilante, converting a commercially available manned helicopter to unmanned operation, began with a mishap and flew 7.5 hours. Follow-on demonstrations will integrate the UCARS autolanding system and Tactical Control System (TCS), and culminate in shipboard operations.

28 Feb 98	Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical	RQ-4A/Global Hawk
Mar 98	Mission Technologies	Backpack
May 98	SAIC	Vigilante
04 Jun 98	General Atomics ASI	Prowler II	www.gat.com
29 jun 98	General Atomics ASI	Altus II	www.gat.com
Jun 98	USMC CWL/NASA/FBI	Hummingbird	www.mc2intl.com
10 Nov 98	AeroVironment	Centurion	www.aerovironment.com