TALONS: Automated Parafoil System Extends Naval Communications

DARPA's Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems (TALONS) research effort recently demonstrated a prototype of a low-cost, fully automated parafoil system designed to extend maritime vessels' long-distance communications and improve their domain awareness. Towed behind boats or ships, TALONS could carry intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and communications payloads of up to 150 pounds between 500 and 1,500 feet in altitude - many times higher than current ships' masts - and greatly extend the equipment's range and effectiveness. TALONS is part of DARPA's Phase 1 research for Tern, a joint program between DARPA and the U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research. Following successful testing, DARPA may potentially transition TALONS technology to the U.S. Navy.

Transcript

00:00:00 darpa's toad Airborne lift of Naval systems or talents research effort seeks to develop a lowcost fully automated parap foil system to extend Maritime vessels long-distance Communications and improve their domain awareness towed behind boats or ships talance could carry intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance and Communications payloads of up to 150 lb between 500 and

00:00:24 1,500 ft in altitude many times higher than current ship's masts and greatly extend the equipment's range and a Effectiveness DARPA has successfully tested a talent prototype that can be deployed by hand from smaller boats or by mast from larger ships the deck equipment consists of the base and winch enclosure telescoping Mast the paroil the bird and the

00:00:47 nest before Open Water Testing talent's rapid development began with landbased testing near Tucson Arizona in June 2014 followed by mockup testing and measurement near acet island national seore in Virginia in December of that year Talon R&D began bench testing the system in March 2015 field testing on the Water started in early May and ran through June near

00:01:11 Baltimore Maryland and Virginia Beach Virginia more than 20 Talent flights were launched over that period testing the system under various wind conditions and developing Talons for different Platforms in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore the talent team improved hand deployment techniques for smaller boats and sent the system up to 500 ft feet tuning and programming automatic launch

00:01:33 and recovery and autopilot systems the Virginia Beach demo went several miles out into the Atlantic Ocean to develop the system for larger ships that demo used a mass deployment technique and extended Talent reach to 1,000 ft Talons is the technology demonstration effort from darpa's Phase 1 research for turn a joint program between DARPA and the US Navy's Office of Naval Research once

00:01:56 testing is completed DARPA and the US Navy will consider next steps including possible transition of Talons technology to the Navy [Music]