GoldenEye 80 is an advanced ducted-fan unmanned aircraft developed by Aurora Flight Sciences for DARPA’s OAV-II program. It is developed by Aurora Flight Sciences in cooperation with General Dynamics Robotic Systems and Northrop Grumman. In addition to the ducted fan design, previously used in the Golden 100, the ’80 also uses free floating 9.6 ft wings which contribute lift on a forward flight, significantly extending endurance and speed. The vehicle’s design is acoustically focused to enable to GoldenEye 80 to operate effectively and remain undetected in most background noise environments. It is powered by an air-cooled rotary engine derived from the RQ-7 Shadow UAV, running on heavy fuel (Jet-A and JP8) as well as on gasoline.
GoldenEye 80 is designed autonomous vertical takeoff and landing, launched from a container or flat surface. The vehicle has a maximum takeoff weight of 180 lbs carrying an electro-optical payload and fuel for an eight hour mission. It can also be used in continuous hover mode for three hours. The whole system is packed into four containers carried on two HMMWVs and is air transportable using a single MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.
The system is designed for use by a single operator controlling a single or multiple vehicles.
A GoldenEye 80 system will comprise of three vehicles, performing fully autonomous flights, with mission controlled from standard US Army STANAG 4586 compatible One System control station. On a gimbaled payload installed over the outer fan’s rim, the vehicle carries a stabilized electro-optical payload with daylight video or infrared cameras, laser designator or rangefinder.
