Naval Research Laboratory Flyrt
{{short description|Unmanned aerial vehicle}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name = Flyrt |image = Naval Research Laboratory FLYRT.jpg |caption = }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type = Radar decoy drone |national origin = United States |manufacturer = Naval Research Laboratory |builder = |designer = |first flight = 9 September 1993 |primary user = United States Navy |produced = |number built = 13 |program cost = |unit cost = |developed from = |variants with their own articles = |developed into = }} |
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.
Design and development
Begun in 1991,Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1992, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zd9HAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Naval+Research+Laboratory%22+Flyrt p.106]. 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.{{cite web|url=http://aviationweek.com/awin/navy-develops-small|title=Navy Develops Small|website=Aviation Week & Space Technology|date=28 November 1994|accessdate=2017-12-10}} 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,Parsch 2006. from the Mark 137 launcher of the Mark 36 SRBOC system; the use of the Mark 36 launcher put a constraint on the possible size of the drone,Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1994, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LX5exkPop0QC&q=%22Naval+Research+Laboratory%22+%22Flyrt%22 p.139]. which was designed to compact into a package the size of a standard NATO Mark 36 chaff rocket. 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.
Operational history
Following a series of ballistic tests to verify compatibility of the launcher,Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1994, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LX5exkPop0QC&q=%22Naval+Research+Laboratory%22+%22Flyrt%22 p.141]. the Flyrt trial program moved to full-scale tests of the vehicle, with the drone's first flight coming on 9 September 1993.{{cite web|url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/tewd/organization/5710/5712/research/FLYRT/|title=FLYRT|website=Tactical Electronic Warfare Division|publisher=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory|access-date=2017-12-10}} Thirteen drones were constructed for the program, conducted at the NRL's Chesapeake Bay Detachment, which was considered successful; however, no production was undertaken.
Specifications
File:Mark 137 mod 1 shipbased launcher.jpg
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See also
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References
{{commons category|FLYRT}}
=Citations=
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=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/flyrt.html|title=Naval Research Lab Flyrt|last=Parsch|first=Andreas|date=7 February 2006|website=Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 4: Undesignated Vehicles|publisher=Designation-Systems|accessdate=2017-12-10}}
{{refend}}
{{Naval Aircraft Factory aircraft}}
Category:1990s United States special-purpose aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Unmanned military aircraft of the United States
Category:Decoy missiles of the United States