Tests of a light UAV for naval surveillance

The present paper describes the current state of the ongoing project of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) intended for surveillance of territorial waters. The UAV will operate from the Portuguese Navy Argos and Centauro class fast patrol boats (FPB), which implies the capability of taking-off and landing in 27 m length, 5.9 m breadth vessels with a small and irregular landing zone at the boat´s stern, with an area around 5times6 m. In the final version, the UAV will have a 12 nm range, and the ability to perform GPS supported autonomous flight, automatic take-off and landing, as well as georeferenced imaging with realtime radio transmission to the FPB.