ARA is working to maximize the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as critical surveillance tools. Our latest offering is the Nighthawk, a small, portable, inexpensive and instantly deployable UAV that can be used on the battlefield or for homeland security.

Initially developed to provide warfighters with a single man-portable asset to increase situational awareness, the Nighthawk is the latest generation of micro-air vehicles (MAV) developed and manufactured by ARA. It can be rolled up and stored in a small tube for portability and, when launched, its innovative avionics package allows many flight modes ranging from semi-autonomous to manual. Images detected by on-board cameras and sensors are transmitted back to the operator’s ground station, providing real-time situational awareness and targeting information for both the warfighter in the field and the first responder back home who need to know what’s on the ground or over the next hill.

ARA's Nighthawk is developed to provide warfighters with a single man-portable asset to increase situational awareness.

The Nighthawk was featured in an article in the March/April issue of Unmanned Systems magazine, which is published by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). Download a copy of the article.
* Article permission courtesy of AUVSI and Unmanned Systems magazine.

Learn More:  Applied Research Associates Robotic Programs