Naval Research Laboratory Flyrt

The Naval Research Laboratory Flyrt, or Flying Radar Target, was a small electric-powered unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory to serve as an expendable radar decoy for the defense of United States Navy ships. Tested in the fall of 1993, it was considered successful but was not ordered into production.

Flyrt
Role Radar decoy drone
National origin United States
Manufacturer Naval Research Laboratory
First flight 9 September 1993
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 13

Design and development

Begun in 1991,[1] the Flyrt program was intended to produce an expendable decoy drone, not requiring any new aboardship infrastructure, for the defense of warships against radar-guided antiship missiles.[2] It produced a drone that was of conventional configuration, having a low-mounted, folding wing and a cruciform tail section; an electric motor was mounted in the nose of the aircraft. Launch was via a rocket booster, providing 1.6 seconds of thrust,[3] from the Mark 137 launcher of the Mark 36 SRBOC system;[2] the use of the Mark 36 launcher put a constraint on the possible size of the drone,[4] which was designed to compact into a package the size of a standard NATO Mark 36 chaff rocket.[2] The tail fins would unfold immediately on launch, while the wing would deploy and motor start after burnout as the aircraft coasted to the apogee of a ballistic trajectory. The expendable Flyrt carried a radio repeater with two antennae for spoofing enemy radar signals.[3]

Operational history

Following a series of ballistic tests to verify compatibility of the launcher,[5] the Flyrt trial program moved to full-scale tests of the vehicle, with the drone's first flight coming on 9 September 1993.[6] Thirteen drones were constructed for the program, conducted at the NRL's Chesapeake Bay Detachment, which was considered successful; however, no production was undertaken.[3]

Specifications
The Super RBOC launcher used for FLYRT

Data from Parsch 2006[3]

General characteristics

  • Crew: None
  • Capacity: 25 pounds (11 kg) payload
  • Wingspan: 8 ft (2.4 m)
  • Gross weight: 132 lb (60 kg) including booster

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 80 mph (130 km/h, 70 kn)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to FLYRT.

Citations
  1. Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1992, p.106.
  2. "Navy Develops Small". Aviation Week & Space Technology. 28 November 1994. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  3. Parsch 2006.
  4. Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1994, p.139.
  5. Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1994, p.141.
  6. "FLYRT". Tactical Electronic Warfare Division. U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Retrieved 2017-12-10.

Bibliography
  • Parsch, Andreas (7 February 2006). "Naval Research Lab Flyrt". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4: Undesignated Vehicles. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
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