News

Blue Bear's SNAP Autopilot Supports First Flight of
£6million BAe Flapless Aircraft

Blue Bear engineers supplied a SNAP autopilot system in support of the BAe systems DEMON flight trials. The £6million aircraft, a collaboration between universities and industry, uses small jets of air to manipulate the flow over the aircraft to manoeuvre instead of conventional hinged control surfaces. Such an unconventional flight control system demanded an autopilot with flexibility and power and the SNAP autopilot provided that capability. Developers believe that the removal of hinged surfaces may lower aircraft through life costs and may even reduce the ability of radar to detect the aircraft. Watch a video of the aircraft.

Blue Bear Contracted as Pivotal Team Member for the Northrop Grumman Hybrid Airship Development

Blue Bear Systems Research (BBSR), has been selected as a key member of the Northrop Grumman/Hybrid Air Vehicles team to develop a hybrid airship to assist allied forces in Afghanistan. The work comes as part of an unprecedented US Department of Defence contract to develop a Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV).

The LEMV will carry state of the art sensors to gather intelligence and provide a persistent "eye-in-the-sky” over Afghanistan’s most dangerous territories. The aircraft, a ‘hybrid airship’, produces lift form buoyancy like an airship, and from forward flight like an aeroplane. This unique configuration enables intelligence gathering missions of up to 3-weeks at 20,000ft. The LEMV is set for in theatre operational trials within only 18 months.

The rapid development of such an unusual aircraft requires a novel approach to automatic flight control and systems integration. Blue Bear Systems were selected for the role based on a proven ability to innovate and rapidly provide effective solutions for demanding aerospace projects. Under contract to Hybrid Air Vehicles BBSR will deliver:

Critical vehicle management and flight control algorithms
Flight demonstrator trials to de-risk full-scale development
Aircraft modelling and flight simulation
Essential systems integration support

Blue Bear Invited to demonstrate Blackstart UAV system to Staff at the RAF's Air Warfare Centre

Blue Bear provided a successful demonstration of the Blackstart unmanned system to Major Martin Melia and his team at the RAF’s Air Warfare Centre. Major Melia had requested a demonstration of BB's Blackstart UAV for operational evaluation. It is hoped that the Blackstart system can be used to assist allied troops and help to save lives in the future. The trial demonstrated the system benefits and showcased for the first time the latest technologies being developed for this and other platforms. The operational benefits of the system were clearly demonstrated, and the aircraft was on task providing critical scenario feedback within minutes.

Blackstart UAV System Selected for Highways Agency Flight Trials Demonstration

Blue Bear provided a decisive demonstration of the Blackstart unmanned system to the UK's highways agency. The agency had requested a demonstration of the system to evaluate the effectiveness of UAV's for enhancing their current capabilities. The Blackstart system was demonstrated unobtrusively observing simulated traffic incidents. The aircraft was launched and recovered automatically and was on task in minutes providing critical situational awareness to assessors.

Blackstart UAV system Flies into the Record Books at the Waddington Air Shows

Blue Bear are proud to announce successful completion of the first ever autonomous flight of an unmanned air system at a military air show, the prestigious RAF Waddington International Air Show held on 4 and 5 July 2009. It is the first time that an unmanned air vehicle has taken part in a military flying display in the UK. The aircraft was successfully launched and recovered automatically and flew with typical airshow precision. Clearance to fly in such a safety critical arena is testimony to the confidence our customers place in the reliability of Blue Bear.

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Blue Bear Systems Winners of the Ministry of Defence Grand Challenge Competition

Blue Bear Systems were a pivotal member of the winning team for the UK MoD's Grand Challenge competition. The Grand Challenge was a competition to rapidly concentrate the efforts of UK scientists and engineers to assist allied troops. Competitors were tasked to provide autonomous vehicle solutions to safely identify threats, such as snipers, in urban environments. The vehicles were judged by military commanders at Copehill Down, the UK's urban warfare training centre. Blue Bear engineers rapidly developed a system of two co-operative air vehicles. One for wide area detection of possible threats and a second for close up observation and verification. Blue Bear in collaboration with

Read the Guardian Article about Blue Bear

Blue Bear Systems Presented with an Institution of Engineering and Technology Award for Innovation

Blue Bear is proud to have been selected to receive a prestigious award for innovative engineering. The Institution of Engineering and Technology Award is an international award Judged by engineering experts, the Innovation Awards recognise the depth and breadth of innovative work being carried out across all areas of engineering and technology. Blue Bear received the award for best team as part of the MoD Grand Challenge winning team. The award was presented by Phillipa Forrester at the finale of the competition.