Development of the German Army's Taifun intelligent combat drone is on schedule with captive flight to start this month. A Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter will conduct the tests at the Federal Armed Forces Technical Centers in Manching and Greding. Development of the Taifun's millimeter wave target seeker will be completed by 2003, according to the drone's manufacturer, LFK-Lenkflugkorpersystem GmbH, a unit of the Defense and Civil Systems division of EADS. The seeker allows the drone to "see" through mist, rain, clouds and dust and track down its target autonomously. The development program includes the construction of six pre-production models and 16 prototypes.