NAVMAR APPLIED SCIENCE

RQ-23 TIGERSHARK

The NAVMAR Tigershark was a workhorse during the global war on terror. With over 200 aircraft deployed world wide, we had our work cut out for us making sure these vehicles could launch and recover safely any time, anywhere. To do this we had to ensure reliable operation in a wide range of conditions including

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- high cross winds

- blowing dust

- sloping runways

- GPS outage

- sensor failures

- snow

- busy airspace

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One of the most interesting issues we encountered was, of all places, landing on the largest runways in the world. What we found was the tire tread left behind by thousands of large cargo aircraft was absorbing the signal from the laser altimeter. This was an unexpected finding to say the least! A clever fix and few test flights later, this issue was solved and Tigershark was a common sight operating amongst the C-17's and F-16's.

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With tens of thousands of takeoffs and landings, this aircraft ultimately went on to become the benchmark of fixed wing auto landing reliability.

 

Many thanks to the fantastic team at NAVAIR for letting us do our small part in building such an accomplished vehicle.