SAN DIEGO, 11 June 2008. BAE Systems is featuring its prototype Black Knight unmanned combat vehicle, together with the Supacat and HERO unmanned ground vehicles at this year's AUVSI North America 2008 in San Diego

Also on display is the company's Wildcat 4x4 autonomous off-road vehicle test bed, which has been used to inform technological developments in a number of BAE Systems' land based autonomy programs.

The Talisman unmanned underwater vehicle and Protector unmanned integrated naval combat system illustrate the company's autonomous capabilities above and below the water. Protector is currently in service with navies in Asia, the Persian Gulf, and the Middle East. Talisman, an underwater unmanned vehicle with an advanced mine clearance capability, was developed at BAE Systems' Waterlooville site in England, using rapid protyping techniques proven in other BAE Systems' autonomy programs.

BAE Systems' experience in unmanned air vehicles will be demonstrated through Kingfisher, an flexible experimental platform for a variety of UAV sensor and operational technologies; the Skyeye unmanned aircraft system that has been procured and operationally deployed by the U.S. Army and several international customers; the IAV2 ducted-fan unmanned aerial vehicle and HERTI, one of a new generation of UAS suitable for both military and civil operations, which has been deployed with the Royal Air Force in Afghanistan. Also featured is Taranis, a four-year technology demonstrator program which is examining the technology required for unmanned combat air vehicles for the UK MOD.

Platforms such as Supacat, Talisman, Kingfisher, HERTI, and Taranis share common systems technology and systems architecture, developed by BAE Systems.

The ICE (Image Collection and Exploitation) system that enables the autonomous collection and distribution of high quality imagery with very low bandwidth demands is demonstrated at AUVSI alongside the BAE System's Ground Control infrastructure and end-to-end mission planning capabilities for autonomous vehicles.

Further capability is shown through high performance sensor payloads and systems including the Aurora GEN IV Hyperspectral/EO system. The Aurora system is specifically designed to meet tactical needs of unmanned aircraft with its ultra-lightweight compact size and onboard processing that minimizes bandwidth requirements.

BAE Systems is at Stand 201 at AUVSI.