Tactical Automated Landing System
Hello my name is PV2 Kinsley and I’m going to explain how and why the Tactical Automated Landing System (TALS) is so important to the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Aerial Vehicle (TUAS AV).
The TALS is made up of 4 key components: The Track Control Unit (TCU), the Interrogator unit, Track Subsystem (TS)/radome antenna, and the pedestal.
The Track Control Unit (TCU) is an all-weather, convection cooled unit. Its primary function is to provide power and control for the other Track Subsystem hardware. The TCU also includes computing resources and flight data storage memory for the Track Subsystem Program (TSP) and is the interface for bidirectional TS-422 data transfers among the TS, GCS/PGCS, and GDT/PGDT.
The Interrogator unit is the Track Subsystem (TS) radio frequency transmitter and receiver. It provides radio frequency signal processing necessary to track the Airborne Subsystem (AS). Interrogator gaskets provide both weather sealing and EMI shielding. The solar shield on top of the interrogator provides heat reduction in sunny locations. Also the desiccator plug with visual indicator is provided to monitor the interrogator internal moisture level.
The Track Subsystem (TS) antenna/Radome is a 35 GHz, high gain tracking antenna with radome. The Track Subsystem (TS) antenna/radome consists of an 18 inch parabolic reflector dish, four part wave guide antenna feed with support arms, and a composite radome. Capable of moving +/- 130 degrees in azimuth and from -10 degrees to +70 degrees in elevation. Also equipped with a desiccator plug to monitor its internal moisture level.
The Pedestal is a two axis gimbal system with a high gain parabolic dish tracking antenna mounted to its gimbal.
The TALS subsystems provide precise position information required for automatic AV recovery. The subsystems provide near-all weather, day and night, position sensing capability. The Airborne Subsystem (AS) provides a unique point of reference on the AV,
The TALS is made up of 4 key components: The Track Control Unit (TCU), the Interrogator unit, Track Subsystem (TS)/radome antenna, and the pedestal.
The Track Control Unit (TCU) is an all-weather, convection cooled unit. Its primary function is to provide power and control for the other Track Subsystem hardware. The TCU also includes computing resources and flight data storage memory for the Track Subsystem Program (TSP) and is the interface for bidirectional TS-422 data transfers among the TS, GCS/PGCS, and GDT/PGDT.
The Interrogator unit is the Track Subsystem (TS) radio frequency transmitter and receiver. It provides radio frequency signal processing necessary to track the Airborne Subsystem (AS). Interrogator gaskets provide both weather sealing and EMI shielding. The solar shield on top of the interrogator provides heat reduction in sunny locations. Also the desiccator plug with visual indicator is provided to monitor the interrogator internal moisture level.
The Track Subsystem (TS) antenna/Radome is a 35 GHz, high gain tracking antenna with radome. The Track Subsystem (TS) antenna/radome consists of an 18 inch parabolic reflector dish, four part wave guide antenna feed with support arms, and a composite radome. Capable of moving +/- 130 degrees in azimuth and from -10 degrees to +70 degrees in elevation. Also equipped with a desiccator plug to monitor its internal moisture level.
The Pedestal is a two axis gimbal system with a high gain parabolic dish tracking antenna mounted to its gimbal.
The TALS subsystems provide precise position information required for automatic AV recovery. The subsystems provide near-all weather, day and night, position sensing capability. The Airborne Subsystem (AS) provides a unique point of reference on the AV,