One of the Smithsonian Institution's most distinguished honors, the National Air and Space Museum Trophy, will be awarded this year to the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. team responsible for the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, and to aircraft innovator Stanley Hiller Jr. The Predator team is honored in the category of Current Achievement and Hiller in the category of Lifetime Achievement.
The 2002 winners will receive their awards at a private ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington on Nov. 14.
Established in 1985, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in scientific or technological endeavors relating to air and space technology and exploration. As in past years, trophy winners will receive a miniature version of "The Web of Space," a sculpture by artist John Safer.
The 2002 National Air and Space Museum Trophy event is made possible through the generous support of Lockheed Martin Corp.
Predator Development Team
The Predator Development Team is honored for designing, building and upgrading America's most effective unmanned aerial vehicles currently operating in combat environments around the world. Predator, modified to carry the Hellfire air-to-surface missile, was the first UAV in history to fire offensive weapons against enemy combat forces. Predator is designed and produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., which was founded in 1991 by president and CEO Thomas J. Cassidy Jr.
Predator UAVs have flown just over 25,000 combat hours and almost 50,000 total flight hours. This weapon system provides war fighters with near-real-time reconnaissance using both day and night infrared cameras as well as synthetic aperture radar. Precision attack capabilities using laser target designators coupled to IR Hellfire missiles are also possible. These capabilities have been demonstrated in the skies over Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and most recently Afghanistan. The most notable use of the Predator/Hellfire combination occurred when CIA ground forces directed multiple attacks against Al-Qaeda forces during the first week in February 2002, although other Hellfire attacks had been accomplished as early as November 2001.
The significance of the development of unmanned aerial vehicles is not yet fully understood or appreciated. In the past, obtaining reconnaissance information over enemy territory was extremely risky business. Loitering above combat zones has traditionally held even greater risks for the pilot and crew. Predator's reliability and capability have allowed the relocation of the operators to safe locations. This type of "stand-off" protection for aviators has long been sought by air generals as an added measure of protection for their aircrew. During World War II, Hap Arnold, Commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, pushed for the development of remotely piloted B-17s and glide bombs after horrible losses of aircraft during raids over Ploesti, Regensberg, and Schweinfurt, Germany. Development of the Predator and its follow-on system, the jet-powered Predator-B, are finally achieving a goal set more than 50 years ago to save lives by removing aviators from immediate danger over enemy targets.
Stanley Hiller Jr.
Stanley Hiller Jr. is honored for a lifetime of aviation innovation and entrepreneurial success.
Well before adulthood, Hiller demonstrated the traits that would make him an aviation pioneer and corporate leader of the highest order. By age 16, he had formed Hiller Industries to build model race cars. A year later, he had a million-dollar business manufacturing parts for World War II combat aircraft.
Fascinated by the success of Igor Sikorsky's helicopter and inspired by his father, a noted aviation pioneer, Hiller designed and constructed the XH-44. It was the first successful coaxial helicopter in America, and the first anywhere to fly with all-metal blades. In addition to serving as company president and chief engineer, Hiller, still a teen-ager without any prior helicopter experience, flew as chief test pilot.
Hiller became the first American manufacturer to achieve volume helicopter production without reliance on government funds with the successful UH-12. Military versions of this industry standard became familiar sights in Korea, and later, Vietnam. Civil models flew for police departments, herded cattle, and battled James Bond in the movies. More than five decades after its introduction, the UH-12 remains in production - a testimony to Hiller's robust designs.
Not content with merely becoming a top manufacturer of light helicopters, Stanley Hiller kept his company at the forefront of rotary-wing and vertical takeoff and landing technology. From the ramjet-powered Hornet to the strap-on Rotorcycle and the "magic carpet"-like Flying Platform, Hiller's company created aircraft so fantastic they would ordinarily have been dismissed as science fiction.
After overseeing the merger of his company with Fairchild, Stanley Hiller embarked on a new career, applying his business acumen to return struggling corporations to profitability. He also worked for the preservation of aviation heritage by founding the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, Calif.
Hiller's legacy is also an essential part of the National Air and Space Museum collection, which includes the XH-44, the Flying Platform prototype, a Rotorcycle, and a Hornet-all of which will be displayed in the 10-story-high aviation hangar of the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, opening next year in Northern Virginia.
For more information on the National Air and Space Museum Trophy and other awards in the Museum's collections, see http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/trophy/.