AMY DT-1
| Drone Tactique mle 1 | |
|---|---|
| |
| DT-1 on wagon | |
| Role | Reconnaissance aircraft/UAV |
| Manufacturer | AMY |
| Designer | AMY |
| First flight | 1999 |
| Retired | 2003 |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Primary users | N/A Yonderian Defence Force (Trials)
|
The AMY DT-1, short for Atelier de Mécanique de Yonderre Drone Tactique mle 1, "Tactical Drone model 1 of AMY" was a series of prototype UAVs built by the Yonderian industry conglomerate AMY prior to the project's cancellation in 2003. The DT-1 was piloted remotely and able to cruise at altitudes of over 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) for as long as five hours while transmitting images of targets from up to 150 kilometres (93 mi) away from its ground control station. Originally started as a private venture by the Atelier de Mécanique de Somua in 1996, it began receiving funding from the Yonderian Defence Force in 1998 and subsequently fell under general AMY developmental control. First flying as a prototype in 1999, the scope of missions for the DT-1 to carry out quickly expanded from purely reconnaissance into armed missions firing guided missiles for precision strikes. The design undervent several major overhauls prior to cancellation, with the 2003 model weighing almost three times as much as the original 1999 prototype.
Designed with low delta-wings, the DT-1 was designed to be launched via rails on a compressed air aircraft catapult. Having no undercarriage of its own, the DT-1 would land by wing-mounted airbags. A two-cylinder engine powered the DT-1's rear-mounted propeller to a combat pace of 162 kilometres per hour (101 mph) (top speed 240 kilometres per hour (150 mph)) while a gyro-stabilized camera capable of infrared and daylight vision provided the operator vision. Beginning in 1999, attempts were made to arm the DT-1 with several weapons systems including guided bombs, unguided bombs, a guided missile system based on the MAS-72 and unguided rocket systems.
Development of the DT-1 was ultimately cancelled in 2003 due to mounting development costs and the project failing to deliver on promises. Further attempts by AMY to seek foreign funding proved unsuccesful and development of the DT-1 was thus cancelled. Neither the Yonderian Defence Force nor Atelier de Mécanique de Yonderre has ever publically admitted the final cost of the DT-1 development process, but estimates run into several billion Talers. At the time of its cancellation, the Collinebourg Gazette referred to the DT-1 as "the most advanced piece of kit ever discontinued by the YDF"[1]
The cancellation of the development of the DT-1 caused a scandal in Yonderre, becoming a major news topic over the Summer of 2003 that even spread to foreign news media. Yonderian Workers' Party newspaper Le Travailleuer called the cancellation "Yonderian chauvinism on display for the world to see",[2] while the Levantine Times Union called it a "flying fiasco".[3] The failure of the DT-1 ultimately caused the resignation of the head of the Yonderian Army of the Air Peter Doppelmühle.
See also
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