Killerbee UAV Flies At Camp Pendleton

Swift Engineering has demonstrated its blended-wing KillerBee 3 (KB3) on February 17th at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in California. Flying in support of Northrop-Grumman's Electronic Systems' Beyond Line-of-Sight Tactical UAV Communications Relay (BTCR) program in an Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored demonstration. Simultaneously an EPLAR and Motorola's Meshnet network relays were demonstrated. With the payload capacity of the KB3 crossbanding of these two networks was also demonstrated in the plane. Validating a tactical KB UAS can be used to enable over-the-horizon communications connectivity between troops on the move and their commanders within in a multiple network environment. The KB3 flights at Camp Pendleton marked the first time that a KillerBee UAS has flown at the historic home of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and 1st Marine Division. Looking forward, the slightly-larger blended-wing KillerBee4 (KB4) UAS will be Swift's entry in the Navy/USMC Small Tactical UAS/Tier II competition. The KB4 will provide tailored and more cost-effective support to Navy and Marine units prosecuting missions at sea and ashore.