Army Technology Accelerates Helicopter & Drone Attacks

Emerging Army technology now enables drones and helicopters to track, identify and attack targets much more
quickly – by allowing a single operator to simultaneously manage multiple real-time helicopter and drone video feeds at
one time.

Linking real-time ISR, such as drone feeds and helicopter targeting sensors more seamlessly, allows the Army to further expand upon its manned unmanned teaming connectivity.

This technology, which has been operational in combat for several years now, allows attack helicopter pilots to view video feeds from nearby drone from their cockpits. In addition, helicopter crews – such as those flying Kiowas and Apaches in Afghanistan – are able to control both the flight path and sensor payload of the drones.

The current technical effort, aimed at accomplishing expedited synergy, is in development with the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center; the idea is to better enable manned-unmanned teaming to progress to a new level of information sharing and rapid targeting technology.

The technical progress, currently showing promise according to Army developers, results from the integration of new interfaces aimed at advancing sensor-to-shooter time for both drones and helicopter attack missions.

The new system, called Supervisory Controller for Optimal Role Allocation for Cueing of Human Operators (SCORCH), takes technology a step further by giving in-flight helicopter crews an ability to view multiple drone feeds simultaneously.

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