Looking beyond colonial-style wars, the US Air Force is considering a reduced-signature jet-powered drone with sensors and internal weapons. It has purchased for evaluation one example of the General Atomics Avenger, formerly Predator-C. (General Atomics).
Full Spectrum Dominance The United States has established a massive lead in unmanned aircraft, and (despite budgetary cuts) is pressing ahead with new designs that will fly indoors like an insect, or perch on a roof and stare like a bird, or deliver supplies to frontline troops, or remain in the air virtually indefinitely. Most significantly, America is expanding its lead in stealthy strike drones.
Eric H. Biass & Roy Braybrook
G
ROWTH IN the monetary value of the military drone business, although not repeating its meteoric ascent of the last decade, is expected to remain positive for the next several years, possibly peaking around 2018. A study by the Teal Group predicts that global expenditure on drone procurement and R&D (but excluding operation and maintenance) will rise from
approximately $ 6.0 billion in 2011 to more than $ 11.3 billion in 2020. A study by Forecast International (FI) indicates that spending on drone R&Dis almost as great as that on drone procurement. Drone procurement spending can be broken down (FI estimates) as approximately 43% on sensors, 38% on air vehicles, and 19% on ground control stations (GCS). I UNITED STATES
The Teal study predicts that throughout the
next decade the United States will account for almost 70% of worldwide spending on drone procurement. America is clearly allocating an unusually large amount to unmanned systems, as it accounts for only 38% of global acquisition spending on defence equipment overall. America’s current lead in drones will naturally lead to it winning a large share of global sales in the near term. FI estimates that over the next decade General Atomics sales will account for almost one third of the worldwide total, and Northrop
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The most successful of hand-launched drones is the AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven, shown here in Royal Netherlands Army form. The Raven serves with all the US armed forces, and has been exported to over a dozen nations. (Netherland MoD)
Grumman around one quarter.
“…in FY2000 the Department of Defense spent a modest $284 million… but the Pentagon’s FY2013 budget request includes $ 3.8 billion” Illustrating the phenomenal rise of American drones in the last decade, in FY2000 the Department of Defense spent a modest $ 284 million (the equivalent of around ten lightweight fighters) on unmanned aircraft systems, but the Pentagon’s FY2013 budget request includes $ 3.8 billion for the acquisition of drones.
Shown landing back at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, this US Air Force General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper is armed with two laser-guided bombs and four Hellfire air-ground laser-homing missiles. In the Saddam era, Balad was known as Al-Bakr air base. (US Air Force).
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In 2002 the US armed forces had a combined total of only 167 drones, but this number has soared to over 7500, the largest single element being the hand-launched AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven. In the last 25 years, annual US military drone flight time has grown from around 1000 to over 500,000 hours. The Pentagon has recently been buying around 1400 drones each year, but cutbacks may halve this number in FY2013. Following the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq in December 2011 and the planned withdrawal (of combat troops at least) from Afghanistan in 2014, it might have been expected that America’s military
drone needs would decline. However, the Pentagon actually plans to increase its fleet of armed drones by 30%. The US Air Force currently operates 61 unmanned Caps (combat air patrols) on a 24/7 basis, each requiring three or four 1022-kg General Atomics MQ-1B Predators or 4763-kg MQ9 Reapers. It plans to have sufficient drones by 2016 to operate 65 Caps routinely, with the ability to surge to 85 for limited periods. To make this possible, the US Air Force earlier planned to buy 48 MQ-9s each year from FY2011 to FY2016 (toward an objective force of 319 aircraft), at which stage it would phase out the MQ-1 (objective force 185 aircraft). However, the FY2013 budget request has been cut to 24 MQ-9s, presumably delaying completion of the programme. The final MQ-1 for the US Air Force (the 268th built) was delivered in March 2011. Fears over the vulnerability of oil supplies through the Persian Gulf will justify new assets to grow the US Navy’s capability in littoral warfare. The US Navy now plans to buy 28 2720-kg Northrop Grumman MQ8C Fire Scouts, having terminated the more capable follow-on Mrmuas (Medium-Range Maritime Unmanned Air System)
The US Navy’s Fire Scout programme was to have led to a more capable Mrmuas (Medium-Range Maritime Unmanned Air System), but this was recently terminated as an economy measure. This design was proposed by AVX Aircraft and supported by BAE Systems. (AVX)
programme. Cargo drones will later support amphibious and heliborne assaults by sea-based special forces. In addition, considerable growth will be required in land-based long-endurance drones to provide surveillance over the newly emphasised Asia-Pacific region. The US inventory of large drones was planned to
grow from 340 in FY2012 to around 650 by FY2021, but these figures will have been modified by the cancellation of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 in favour of retaining the manned Lockheed Martin U-2. The US Navy plans to buy 68 MQ-4C Bams (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) drones to complement its 177 manned Boeing P-8As in replacing the Lockheed Martin P-3C maritime patrol aircraft. The MQ-4C is due to fly in mid-2012 and enter
service around 2015. Additional Global Hawks may be required to replace some of the Navy’s 16 EP-3E Aries II electronic intelligence aircraft and an unspecified number of P-3based “special projects” aircraft, all of which are due for retirement in 2019-2020. In essence, their role will be taken over by a combination of Bams, Fire Scout and Uclass (discussed below). The current Ucas-D (Unmanned Combat Air System – Demonstration) trials with the 20,685-kg Northrop Grumman X47B will pave the way for the Navy’s Uclass (Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike) system, due to enter service around FY2020. The Navy plans to spend around $ 2.5 billion on Uclass procurement, compared to $ 3.9 billion on Bams and at least $ 1.1 billion on Fire Scout (which could be increased, following cancellation of Mrmuas). Since 2004 Boeing/Insitu teams have provided tactical ISR services for the US Navy and Marine Corps with the ScanEagle. In 2010 the same company’s Integrator was selected as the development basis for the two services’ RQ-21A Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (Stuas), to replace ScanEagle. Two four-aircraft Integrator systems have been purchased for the Marines, and deliveries began in January 2012. The US
This General Atomics Predator is shown in Italian Air Force form. When upgraded with longspan wings, improved software and Lynx radar, this drone is locally designated Predator A+ or MQ-1C, although the latter is the US Army designation for the Gray Eagle. (General Atomics)
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Due to US Navy requirements for increased payloads and flight duration, Northrop Grumman has been forced to switch from the Schweizer 333 to the Bell 407 as the basis for its MQ-8 Fire Scout programme. The MQ-8C will be based on this Fire-X, adapted from a Bell 407. (Northrop Grumman)
Navy plans two similar systems for its special warfare forces. It is envisioned that at least 56 Stuas systems will be acquired.
“The US Air Force, the leading operator of drones, is well aware that the growth in their use has taken place in a generally benign air defence environment”
America is establishing a lead in stealthy strike drones with the Northrop Grumman X-47B Ucas-D (unmanned combat air system – demonstrator). The two X-47Bs will start carrier trials in 2013, followed by autonomous in-flight refuelling with the probe-and-drogue system in 2014. (Northrop Grumman)
The US Air Force, the leading operator of drones, is well aware that the growth in their use has taken place in a generally benign air defence environment. It is now working on stealthy jet-powered Hale (high altitude, long endurance) drones to expand on the work currently performed by the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel. The US Air Force has ordered one General Atomics Avenger (Predator-C) under a sole-source contract, and is considering funding development of a larger derivative. The service appears to have abandoned its plan to replace the MQ-9 from FY2020 with a stealthy, medium-size, multirole drone (MQ-M). Instead it is considering a reduced-signature, reasonably fast drone that can penetrate defences by jamming radars and firing anti-radiation missiles.
Distinguished from the US Air Force’s Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk by the new ventral radome with 360-degree field of view, the US Navy MQ-4C Bams (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) will complement the manned Boeing P-8A in replacing the Lockheed Martin P-3C. (Northrop Grumman)
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The second Avenger (stretched by 1.2 metres) flew in January 2012, and two more will be flying by early 2013. Three of the four are being funded by the company. The “US Air Force Flight Plan 20092047” envisioned a large multi-role drone (MQ-L) entering service beyond 2020, initially acting as a sensor platform, replacing Awacs and JStars, and serving as a complement to Global Hawk. It would later perform transport and tanker missions. The US Army is currently ‘surging’ 180 extra Raven and 129 additional Puma systems to Afghanistan. Looking further ahead, the service plans a ‘RucksackPortable UAS’, ideally with perch-and-stare capability, to replace the hand-launched 0.34-kg Wasp III, 1.9-kg Raven-B and 6.35kg Puma-AE, all AeroVironment products. The service is meanwhile expanding its 1450-kg General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle inventory, acquiring 78 more between FY2012 and FY2018. The MQ-1C is to be replaced by an RQ-X project from around FY2026. The US Army also plans to buy 20 more 170-kg AAI RQ-7 Shadow 200 systems. The US Army is testing in Afghanistan the 2950-kg Boeing YMQ-18A (A160T Hummingbird) equipped with a BAE Systems Argus-1 wide area surveillance payload and Sigint equipment. The Army
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The Boeing/Insitu Integrator has been selected as the development basis for the US Navy/Marine Corps RQ-21A Stuas, to replace the contractor-operated ScanEagle. This Integrator is shown during a test launch at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at TwentyNine Palms, California. (US Marine Corps)
is also showing interest in the optionallymanned Lockheed Martin/Kaman K-Max cargo drones being tested by the US Marine Corps, and is developing its own longerterm requirement. The US Army now expects that by 2020 a quarter of cargo resupply missions will be conducted by drones, including optionallymanned conversions of existing helicopters such as the 10,660-kg Sikorsky UH-60. America has an increasing interest in Africa, as evidenced by recent drone strikes against Al Shabab terrorist targets in Somalia (and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula targets in Yemen), and the provision of small drones for Uganda. The US Air Force is flying drones on behalf of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) in counter-terrorism missions from bases in Djibouti, Ethiopia and the Seychelles (the last relating to counter-piracy operations). More drone bases are reportedly
being constructed in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. The growing threat of Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb could well lead to new drone facilities in the West. I EUROPE
In February 2012 the North Atlantic Council (NAC) finally gave the go-ahead for the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme, which has been whittled down to five 14,630-kg Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 40s. The acquisition of AGS is expected to cost around $ 1.5 billion, with the US providing 40% of that cost, plus a 20year support package costing approximately twice that amount. The AGS programme is to be funded by only 12 of the 28 Nato nations. Those opting out include Britain and France, which will instead make “national contributions in kind” with the on-board pilot Raytheon Systems Sentinel R1 and (according to Nato) the 4650kg IAI Heron TP. The AGS squadron will be based at Sigonella AB in Sicily, and is expected to be operational by 2017. The European leaders in the use of drones are Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Germany has been the first to acquire large hale (high altitude long endurance) assets with the Euro Hawk version of the
RQ-4 Block 20, equipped with an Eads sigint payload in four underwing pods. Prime contractor is EuroHawk, a joint venture by Northrop Grumman and Eads/Cassidian. Euro Hawk is sometimes referred to as the RQ-4E. The first Euro Hawk self-deployed in a 22-hour flight from California to Germany in July 2011. It is anticipated that it will be handed over formally in 2012, and that (subject to satisfactory tests) four more will be ordered, with delivery in 2015-2017. In the longer term four RQ-4 Block 40s may be purchased by Germany to augment Nato’s AGS, when necessary. In the male (medium-altitude, long endurance) category, the German Air Force requested five MQ-9s in 2008, but did not proceed with this purchase. Instead it is using 1250-kg IAI Herons as an interim measure for Afghanistan. Rheinmetall Defence operates the drones, which it leases from IAI. (Australia and Canada likewise have Herons in Afghanistan operated by MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates). In the longer term, Germany plans to acquire up to 16 turboprop male systems.
Eads had clearly hoped that this programme would eventuate as the Cassidian Talarion, jointly developed with Alenia Aermacchi, but work on this project has recently been halted. The German Army operates smaller drones, notably the 161-kg Rheinmetall KZO and the EMT 40-kg Luna and 3.0-kg Aladin. Operations in Afghanistan have led to some changes in operating procedures. Rather than using a parachute, the raillaunched Luna now employs GPS-guided recovery into a net. The hand-launched Aladin has been equipped with infrared light-emitting diodes to allow operators with night vision goggles to track this small drone at night. At present, the French Army uses the 250-kg Sagem Sperwer as its SDTI (Système de Drone Tactique Intérimaire) and the twin-fuselage, hand-launched 7.5-kg Cassidian Tracker as its Drac (Drone de Reconnaissance Au Contact). The French Air Force has been using the Cassidian Harfang (Snowy Owl), a leased, modified version of the IAI Heron as its SIDM (Système Intérimaire de Drones de Male). The Dassault-promoted 4650-kg IAI
The manned Kaman K-Max has been used for years in logging operations, and provides a sound basis for a drone to carry external loads. The Lockheed Martin/Kaman Unmanned K-Max began US Marine Corps evaluation in Afghanistan in December 2011. (USMC)
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The conflict in Afghanistan has been a proving ground for drones, especially the IAI Heron, which has been used by Australia, Canada, France and Germany. Illustrated is a Royal Australian Air Force Heron at Kandahar. (Australian Defence Force)
Heron TP was selected as its replacement in July 2011, despite costing 30% more (according to Defence Minister Gerard Longuet) than the Eads-promoted MQ-9. However, while the contract was being negotiated, the French Senate objected to this choice. Whichever drone is finally adopted by France, it is expected to enter service in late 2014 and remain in service until 2020, when a joint Anglo-French male project – the BAE Systems/Dassault Telemos – reportedly derived from the former’s Mantis, should be available. Britain, having grounded its HSA Nimrod MR2 and cancelled the BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 in 2010, might be seen as a logical customer for the MQ-4C
Employed in southwest Asia since 2007, the Honeywell RQ-16A T-Hawk weighs 9.0 kg, has an endurance of 45 minutes, and can transition at up to 80 km/hr. It is typically used to search for IEDs ahead of a patrol. (US Army)
Global Hawk. However, priority has been given to growing the Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reaper fleet to ten units, to expand its use in armed reconnaissance over Afghanistan, where it began operations in 2007. Control of RAF
In Afghanistan the British Army relies heavily on intelligence provided by a ten-aircraft fleet of contractor-operated Elbit Hermes 450s, which are due to be replaced before the end of 2012 by this Watchkeeper derivative, built by an Elbit/Thales joint venture. (Thales UK)
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MQ-9 missions is being switched from Creech AFB, Nevada, to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, England. The safe fatigue life of RAF MQ-9s is 9500 flight hours, and the current high utilisation rate suggests that they may start running out of life from 2015. Further purchases may be necessary to bridge the gap until its replacement, the Scavenger project, aimed at deep, persistent ISR missions is available in 2020. Scavenger will now presumably take the form of the AngloFrench Telemos. Complementing the RAF MQ-9 in Afghanistan, the British Army has ten 550kg Elbit Hermes 450s, operated on its behalf by Thales UK. The Royal Artillery’s 32 Regiment also operates the 8.4-kg Honeywell RQ-16A T-Hawk and Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III. Britain’s use of the Hermes 450 is an interim system, pending availability of the Thales UK Watchkeeper, a derivative that should be in Afghanistan before the end of 2012. Some 54 Watchkeepers are being built
MQ-1C, despite the latter being the US Army designation of the very different Gray Eagle. The Aeronautica’s Reapers have the Lynx II radar and none of its drones is so far armed (General Atomics actually emphasises that the Reaper designation does not imply “armed”; for our foreign readers, reaping means harvesting, but reaper also evokes a skeleton armed with a scythe, also known as the Angel of Death, or la Grande Faucheuse in French). Turkey has leased four Predators, which are operated by a joint US-Turkish unit at Incirlik and are reportedly flying mainly over Iraq (and probably Syria). It is anticipated that, once good relations with Israel are renewed, Turkey will be allowed to purchase six MQ-1s via FMS (Foreign Military Sales). I REST OF THE WORLD
The Skylark 1-LE features a gyro-stabilised payload and a three hour endurance. Elbit Systems of America is promoting the further enhanced Skylark Block Two, and is developing a version with a hydrogen fuel cell, giving seven hours endurance. (Elbit Systems)
in the UK by an Elbit/Thales joint venture called U-Tacs. The Watchkeeper, which is to be evaluated by France under the new agreement with Britain on defence cooperation, may be armed at a later stage. The Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) has six Predators (which have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan) and six
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Reapers (which have been used over Libya). Although General Atomics refers to Italian Predators as Predator-A or RQ-1Bs, the service designated the initial build standard the Predator-A or MQ-1B and named the current upgraded aircraft (with extended wings, software upgrades and General Atomics Lynx I radars) the Predator-A+ or
Israel pioneered the use of drones, partly motivated by heavy losses of conventional aircraft in the 1973 Middle East (Yom Kippur) War. The IAI Scout and Tadiran Mastiff were introduced in 1981, in time for the invasion of the Lebanon in the following year. The Israeli Air Force received the IAI Searcher in 1992 and the Searcher II in 1998. The IAI Heron (‘Shoval’) followed in 2005, and the much more capable Heron TP (‘Eitan’) in 2010. The Elbit Hermes 450 (‘Zik’) is believed to be used in an armed reconnaissance role, with two Hellfire or Rafael Spike missiles. Three 970-kg Elbit Hermes 900 systems are to be purchased soon. At the opposite end of the scale, the service has selected the 6.5-kg Aeronautics (formerly ADS) Orbiter as its small drone. The Israeli Army selected the 5.5-kg Elbit Skylark 1LE in 2009 as its battalion level drone, and the 43-kg Skylark II in 2010 for brigade level operation. The Israeli Navy employs the Aeronautics Orbiter-2 and the IAI Heron (‘Mahatz’), the latter reportedly operated by Air Force crews and equipped with an Elta EL/M-2022U radar. There is interest in developing in-flight refuelling for the Heron.
“Israel’s leading role in drone development has been rewarded by large-scale international sales” Israel’s leading role in drone development has been rewarded by largescale international sales. The IAI Heron has been sold to 18 customers and is known to be
Providing fresh evidence that the leaders in drone development are studying extremely lightweight devices, including bionically-inspired flapping-wing designs, Israel Aerospace Industries has released images of its new Butterfly project. (IAI)
in service in Azerbaijan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Turkey and the US. The IAI Searcher II/III and Elbit Hermes 450 have each been exported to at least ten countries. The Aeronautics Orbiter series is in
service with “more than a dozen” customers, including the Israeli Air Force and Navy, Azerbaijan, Chile, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Mexico, an unspecified Nato operator, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Uganda and the US. In 2010 an IAI spokesman stated that
Israel had sold over 1000 drones to 42 countries, representing around $ 350 million in annual sales. The new Heron TP and Hermes 900 are already arousing substantial interest, suggesting that international sales will continue to increase. The 12.0-kg IAI Mini-Panther is a technology demonstrator for the company’s full-scale 60-kg Panther. The series uses two tilt-prop units in the wing leading edges and a fixed unit at the rear of the fuselage for pitch trim and control at the hover and during transition. (IAI). Israel is hoping to consolidate its market position by developing several novel concepts, including vtol drones, ranging from IAI’s flapping-wing Butterfly and the 60-kg Panther tilt-prop series to the ductedfan Urban Aeronautics AirMule for casualty evacuation. Following the concept of Canada’s Mmist
The 12.0-kg IAI Mini-Panther is a technology demonstrator for the company’s full-scale 60-kg Panther. The series uses two tilt-prop units in the wing leading edges and a fixed unit at the rear of the fuselage for pitch trim and control at the hover and during transition. (IAI)
Powered Sherpa, the Elbit ‘Flying Elephant’ is a load-carrying parafoil with a propeller engine, designed to carry a one-tonne payload over a distance of 30 km, release the load on a parachute and return to base. Israel is also applying fuel cells to its electrically-powered drone series. The 11.0kg IAI BirdEye 650 achieves a remarkable six hours endurance, and the 28-kg Aeronautics Orbiter 3 no less than seven hours. The solar-powered IAI Harlim is intended to stay airborne for the duration of a conflict. However, drone sales by Israel are restricted both by Washington and its own MoD. The latter has recently stopped the sale of ISR sensors to Turkey and of the Aeronautics Dominator XP to Abu Dhabi. In 2005, Washington prevented IAI from upgrading the Harpy loiter-attack drone supplied to China. I RUSSIA’S WANDERINGS
Despite having developed jet-powered reconnaissance drones (notably the Tupolev Tu-141/143/243 series) in the Soviet era, Russia subsequently neglected unmanned platforms until 2008. Then came a rude awakening in the conflict with Georgia, when the Russian Air Force lost a Tupolev Tu-22M3 during a reconnaissance mission (the US Navy went through a similar experience in 1983, when losses were sustained in escorting Grumman F-14 reconnaissance missions over the Lebanon). In a $ 53 million deal in late 2008, Russia purchased from IAI two Searcher II systems
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and ten BirdEye 400 systems. In the following year it spent $ 3.0 million on three Aeronautics Orbiter systems. In 2010 Russia signed an agreement with IAI under which the Ural Works of Civil Aviation (UWCA) would assemble 17 Searcher II systems, renamed Forpost (Outpost) and an unspecified number of Bird Eye 400 systems, renamed Zastava (Picket). Reports in the same year of a $ 300-400 million deal for a batch of IAI Herons to be assembled in Russia appear to have been premature. Gorizont in Rostov-on-Don plans to assemble under licence Austria’s Schiebel Camcopter S-100, aimed at potential customers such as the Border Guard Service of the FSB (Federal Security Service), the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the
Ministry of the Interior. It will be marketed as the Gorizont Air S-100. At present, the Russian Army operates the 138-kg Yakovlev Pchela and 50-kg Vega Tipchak, while the Navy is evaluating the 12-kg Enics Eleron-10 and 2.1-kg Izhmash Grusha. The Border Guard Service is believed to operate the 3.8-kg Enics Eleron3 and 85-kg Transas Dozor-85 (formerly Dozor-4), and the Ministry of the Interior operates the 2.3-kg Zala 421-08. The Russian Ministry of Defence has decided to concentrate development funding for two classes of ISR drones on two entities: the Kazan-based OKB Sokol for work on drones between four and five tonnes, and St Petersburg-based Transas for drones weighing 600-800 kg. Each will initially receive two billion rubles (about $
Although India is a heavy user of imported drones, its DRDO produced a small number of Nishants. The type first took to the air in 1995. (Armada/RB)
67 million) from MoD funds. Sukhoi is believed to be developing a Ucav weighing up to 20 tonnes, with RACMiG as principal subcontractor. Tupolev is working on a large drone, while Myasishchev is believed to be using its 24,000-kg M-55 reconnaissance aircraft as a testbed for an optionally-manned project. India is one of the largest users of Israeli drones, with around 100 Searcher IIs and 50 Herons, both of which types are reportedly operated by all three services. The Indian Army also employs the 380-kg DRDO (Defence R&D Organisation) Nishant tactical drone, and all three services use the jet-powered 705-kg DRDO Lakshya (Target). The Indian Navy had planned to operate an unmanned version of the HAL-built 2200-kg Chetak (Alouette III) helicopter, but in 2011 IAI left this Nruav (Naval Rotary-wing Uav) project, feeling that its performance would not be competitive. I CHINA
China has in recent years shown models and mock-ups of many drone projects, the status of which has generally not been revealed. What is known is that 90% of Chinese drones in service were supplied by the Xi’an ASN Technology Group, which is linked to the Northeast Polytechnic University. This group has delivered over 1500 drones, mostly for the PLA Ground Force. The first Chinese drone to have seen large-scale service was the ASN-206, which was followed by the 222-kg ASN-207, and the 320-kg ASN-209. The latest and largest of this twin-boom tactical ISR series appears
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The feasibility of the US Army’s HAA (High Altitude Airship) is to be tested with the Lockheed Martin Hale-D (High Altitude Long Endurance – Demonstrator), which is designed to achieve an endurance of two weeks. (Lockheed Martin)
to be the 800-kg ASN-229A, which is used for communications-relay. China has imported the 135-kg IAI Harpy loiter-attack drone (and reportedly developed its own version) and South Africa’s 100-kg ATE Vulture artillerysupport drone. Some observers feel that the PLA may skip the Predator/Reaper generation as being unsuitable for a major war, although Chinese organisations may develop such drones for export. This would exploit US restrictions on international sales, based on MTCR guidelines, and the fact that some nations will not deal with the US or Israel as a matter of principle. Of the many current Chinese drone projects, two notable propeller-driven examples are the AVIC Wing Loong (Pterodactyl), which flew in 2007, and the 630-kg China Aerospace and Technology Corporation (CASC) CH-3, both of which can be armed. The former is reported to have been acquired by Uzbekistan, and the latter has (according to Chinese claims) been selected by Pakistan. At the top of the scale, China clearly needs a large, stealthy high altitude drone to keep watch over Taiwan and US Navy carrier movements. Apparently designed to fulfil that need are Chengdu’s Tian Yi and
the joined-wing Xian Long (Soar Dragon). The latter was rolled out in mid-2011. The China Aviation Industry Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) WJ-600 looks like a strike drone in the form of a fixed-wing Raytheon Tomahawk with underwing weapon pylons. The remainder of this report reviews recent progress by reference to some leading examples in the various drone categories, broadly in order of decreasing size. Rotarywing drones are discussed in the final section. I EXTREME ENDURANCE
The best way to achieve extreme flight endurance has traditionally been lighterthan-air (LTA) aircraft. However, LTAs were widely regarded as having fallen from grace with the Zeppelins, surviving mainly in the form of US Navy Goodyear ‘blimps’ and tethered balloons. There has recently been a revival of military interest in airships, due to the need for better persistence, high-resolution surveillance and improved communications in counter-insurgency and maritime operations. On the commercial side there is also interest, stemming from a desire for a less expensive substitute for satellites and to exploit natural resources in remote areas. It sometimes appears that military interests are waiting for their civil counterparts to take the lead in this field, and vice-versa, rather than cooperating to jointly fund the development of a new generation of large airships. Advances across a wide range of
A relatively conventional approach to extreme persistence, the MAV6 M1400 or Blue Devil 2 is based on the TCOM Polar 100 airship, and is designed for a flight endurance of over nine days with multiple sensors. (MAV6)
platform with special reference to remote mountainous areas. This concept is to be explored with the Lockheed Martin Hale-D (High Altitude Long Endurance – Demonstrator), an 82metre reusable airship designed for sorties of at least two weeks with a 23-kg, 500-Watt payload. Hale-D has solar arrays on the upper hull surface, and lithium-ion batteries to power the aircraft at night. Funded by the US Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), HaleD had its maiden flight on 27 July 2011, aiming to reach 60,000 ft and stay in the air for several days. However, at 32,000 ft a problem arose (presumably helium leakage) and the aircraft was brought back down, sustaining some damage when it landed in a wooded area. It is arguable that a hybrid airship, shaped to provide some aerodynamic lift to augment its natural buoyancy, would cruise faster and be easier to handle in the launch and recovery phases, where most accidents occur. In June 2010 SMDC awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman (teamed with others, including the UK’s Hybrid Air Vehicles) to produce such an aircraft under the LEMV (Long-Endurance Multiintelligence Vehicle) programme. The LEMV is to be optionally piloted to
technologies are making airships increasingly practical, but doubts remain on the military side, regarding the ease with which an airship can be deployed to a distant theatre of operations and its vulnerability to attack, even in a basic post-conflict occupation scenario. The sheer size of an airship makes it an easy target, but it also offers a platform for a large radar antenna, giving outstanding range and resolution. The large surface area of an airship also makes it a natural application for solar regenerative propulsion, at least in the context of long summer days and the absence of strong winds. The US Army’s solar-powered HAA (High Altitude Airship) project is intended to carry a 900-1800-kg sensor payload to 65,000 ft and stay there for months at a time, acting as a telecommunications relay
Designed for flights of three weeks duration, the LEMV (Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle) is a joint project by Northrop Grumman and Hybrid Air Vehicles. If successful, it will be evaluated over Afghanistan. (Northrop Grumman)
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facilitate deployment. It is designed to carry an 1135-kg, 16-kW off-the-shelf payload and remain airborne for over 21 days. The plan is to evaluate LEMV in Afghanistan this year, and the contractor has submitted a proposal to follow the trials by building five similar aircraft. The definitive LEMV would carry a 3175-kg, 73-kW payload, and be controlled from the US via satellite. A less radical alternative to LEMV is the US Air Force’s MAV6 M1400 or Blue Devil 2, an optionally-manned 113-metre airship derived from the TCOM Polar 100. Blue Devil 2 is designed to carry multiple payloads, including the BAE Systems Argus1S and Sierra Nevada Gorgon Stare, and to stay aloft for over nine days. The remarkable cruise speed of 148 km/hr is claimed. Blue Devil 2 was due to fly in late 2011 and be deployed to Afghanistan in February 2012, but the programme is evidently running late. The airship is now reportedly to be taken from the US to south-west Asia by ship, inside a specially built hangar. One alternative approach to the ISR role is the Argus One segmented airship developed by World Surveillance Group (WSGI, formerly Sanswire). Consisting of a series of independently-controlled body modules, Argus One carried out initial demonstrations for US-DoD in Nevada in 2011. Although this section of the survey is primarily concerned with mobile airships,
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it is relevant to recall that advanced aerostats may play a role in the future defence of the US and its assets. Cruise missile attacks are regarded as a serious threat, and could be launched from (for example) the container ships of a non-peer nation. The US Army’s Raytheon Jlens (Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Elevated Netted Sensor) system employs two 74-metre tethered air vehicles manufactured by TCOM and elevated at 10,000 ft. One carries a surveillance radar and the other a fire control radar, which can be linked to US Army and Navy air and missile defence systems. The aerostats are intended to stay in the air for up to 30 days at a time. Jlens has been under test at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, but in January 2012 it was announced that the Department of Defense had decided to curtail the programme due to concerns over its cost and the operational mobility. However, it is difficult to believe that development of Jlens will not be completed when more defence funding is available, if only in the context of homeland defence.
Pictured during taxi trials at Edwards AFB, California, during March 2012, the Boeing Phantom Eye is shown strapped to its launch dolly. The tests were conducted in co-operation with Nasa Dryden Flight Research Center. (Nasa)
I FIXED-WING
Whereas LTAs can provide an endurance of several weeks, heavier-than-air aircraft offer the prospect of unrefuelled flights of several days. One example is the Boeing Phantom Eye, which currently has a 45.7-metre wingspan and two 2.3-litre triple-turbocharged Ford engines that burn hydrogen. This two-thirds scale demonstrator has been shipped from the Phantom Works in St Louis, Missouri, to Edwards AFB, California, and is expected to fly shortly. It is designed to remain in the air for four days at up to 65,000 ft. In a similar size category, but with a different powerplant, the AeroVironment Global Observer GO-1 has a wingspan of 40 metres. It also uses liquid hydrogen fuel, but in this case the internal combustion engine powers a generator that runs four electric motors in the wing leading edges, each turning its own propeller. The GO-1 was launched as a Joint Capability Technology Demonstration programme to provide the basis for the fullscale Global Observer with a wingspan of 79 metres. The contract was awarded by the US Special Operations Command in 2007, the aim being to achieve an altitude of 65,000 ft and a flight endurance of five days by the end of the first quarter of 2011. The GO-1 was designed to carry a 170-kg, 2.8kW payload, and to be transportable in a Lockheed Martin C-130.
Paving the way for the Darpa Vulture that is to employ solar arrays and advanced fuel cells to stay in the air for up to five years, the Boeing Solar Eagle is scheduled to fly in 2014 and is intended to attain an endurance of 30 days. (Boeing)
The GO-1 flew on battery power in August 2010, and in January 2011 with the hybrid powerplant. However, it crashed in April 2011, terminating its ninth flight after around 18 hours. AeroVironment has almost completed a second Global Observer, but further flight trials are subject to securing additional customer funding. The Aurora Flight Sciences Orion is described by the company as a Hall (High Altitude, Long Loiter) drone, although some observers regard it as a potential low altitude complement for the MQ-9 Reaper. Orion has a 40.2-metre wingspan and a gross weight of 3175 kg with a 181 kg payload. It is designed to achieve an endurance of 100 hours at 65,000 ft, or 45 hours at 45,000 ft. Orion is powered by a single Austro diesel engine. Originating as a demonstrator for the Air Force Research Laboratory (and later the Big Safari project office), Orion is funded by the US Army’s SMDC. Although it was unveiled in November 2010, progress was stalled for several months due to the wellknown Congressional FY2011 fiasco. Aurora hopes to achieve first flight by September 2012, and to perform the specified five-day endurance demonstration in the first quarter of 2013. A production Orion would have a retractable undercarriage and a de-icing system. Solar power offers the possibility of virtually indefinitive endurance at high altitude. The 929-kg, 75.3-metre wingspan AeroVironment Helios reached an altitude of 96,863 ft in 2001, and in July 2010 the 53kg, 22.5-metre wingspan QinetiiQ Zephyr Seven officially demonstrated an endurance of over 14 days (336 hr 22 min), reaching 70,740 ft. Zephyr uses solar arrays by United Solar Ovonic and lithium-sulphur batteries. In 2009 Navair awarded QinetiQ a $ 45 million contract for seven Zephyrs and a ground station. The Darpa Vulture programme, combining solar arrays and advanced fuel cells, is aimed at an endurance of up to five years, carrying a 450-kg, 5.0-kW payload at between 65,000 and 90,000 ft. The programme began in 2007 and appeared to
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be overly ambitious and unlikely to be funded. However, there are now reports of US Navy interest in this concept, which is seen as a means to maintain communications with a carrier strike group when satellites are unavailable. In September 2010 Boeing was awarded a $ 89 million Darpa contract to develop and fly the SolarEagle under the Vulture II demonstration programme. The SolarEagle has a wingspan of 122 metres. It is due to fly in 2014, and to achieve an endurance of 30 days at above 60,000 ft. Boeing is teamed with QinetiQ and Versa Power Systems. I GLOBAL HAWK
The 14,628-kg Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, powered by a Rolls-Royce F137-RR-100 turbofan and with a wingspan of 39.8 metres, is the largest, most capable and most expensive drone in the US Air Force inventory. It is capable of an endurance of 35 hours, orbiting at 65,000 ft. However, the growing cost of the system has twice resulted in Nunn-McCurdy legislation breaches. The three RQ-4s
purchased by the US Air Force in FY2012 cost an average of $ 161.5 million. The RQ-4B Block 30 is equipped with the Raytheon EISS (Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite), including an EO/IR sensor and sar (synthetic aperture radar). It achieved IOC in August 2011, but was amazingly judged less effective and more expensive to operate than the 1950s vintage U-2 to operate by the Administration, whose FY2013 budget request simply cancelled the programme. However, the House Armed Services Committee soon after published a statement to halt the mothballing and a few days later gave the US Air Force orders and funds to operate the 18 aircraft ordered from Northrop Grumman. The RQ-4B Block 30 followed seven Darpa-funded technology demonstrators, seven RQ-4A Block 10s (plus two built for the US Navy) and six stretched RQ-4B Block 20s. The Block 10 aircraft were retired in FY2011. The Block 20s were initially fielded with only an Imint payload, but four are being converted to EQ-4B communicationsrelay configuration, with Bacn (Battlefield
Airborne Communications Node) payloads. The US Air Force will also operate the RQ4B Block 40, of which eleven are already under contract, with the last two to be delivered in 2013. The Block 40 is equipped with the Northrop Grumman/Raytheon ZPY-2 Aesa radar, formerly known as the MPRtip (Multi-Platform – Radar Technology Insertion Program). This provides synthetic aperture imagery, ground MTI (moving target indication) and air MTI for cruise missile defence. Distinguished visually by the long ventral radome of the ZPY-2, the Block 40 had its maiden flight on 16 November 2009, and flew with the new radar in July 2011. This aircraft, AF-18, is the first of ten planned for the new 348th Reconnaissance Squadron at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota. (Older RQ-4s are with the 12th RS at Beale AFB, California). IOC for the Block 40 is scheduled for FY2014. The Darpa KQ-X programme aims to demonstrate aerial refuelling between two Global Hawks. Cobham Mission Equipment is acting as a major subcontractor to Northrop Grumman in KQ-X.
Four RQ-4Bs were purchased by the US Air Force in FY2011 and three in FY2012. The Pentagon’s FY2013 request is limited to three Block 40s for the Nato AGS programme, and three MQ-4Cs for the US Navy Bams programme. Funded under the RDT&E budget, the MQ-4Cs currently cost $ 219 million each. The Bams programme began with two RQ-4A Block 10s for the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration (GMHD) programme. In 2011 these were augmented by three Block 10s that were transferred from the US Air Force. The MQ-4C will be equipped with an MFAS (Multi-Function Active Sensor) Aesa radar with a new ventral 360-degree radome, Raytheon MTS-B EO/IR sensor, ZLQ-1 ESM, AIS (Automatic Identification System), a basic communications relay capability and Link-16. The MQ-4C is credited with an endurance of 28 hours, a maximum speed of 613 km/hr, the ability to self-deploy over 15,000 km (the RQ-4 has flown 13,220 km from California to South Australia), and to reach a height of 56,500 ft. As mentioned
The US Air Force’s decision to retire its brand-new fleet of 18 Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Block 30 Global Hawks for budgetary reasons was recently swung 180° by the House Armed Forces Committee, which included $260 million in the FY2013 National Defense Authorisation Act to keep them operational. (Northrop Grumman)
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earlier, the US Navy aims to acquire 68 MQ4Cs to ensure the capability to maintain five continuous orbits. Bams is to be based at NAS Jacksonville in Florida, Diego Garcia, Hawaii, NAS Kadena on Okinawa, and Sigonella in Sicily. Regarding export prospects, the RQ-4 is expected to be ordered by South Korea, but (at the right price) it could also be attractive to nations such as Australia, Canada, Japan and Britain. The MQ-4C has already been offered to the Indian Navy. Being unarmed, the Global Hawk should relatively easily gain exemption from MTCR (Missile Technology Control regime) restrictions. Since the U-2 is to be retired around 2023, the US Air Force presumably expects to have a new stealthy Hale drone available before that time. One interim system is the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, a relatively small (13-metre span) reducedsignature sensor platform, which entered US Air Force service in 2005. It was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 and to South Korea in 2009. The RQ-170 is
The US Army’s General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle has been employed in the Triclops programme, in which the standard nosemounted sensor turret is augmented by two sensor pods under the wings, providing multiple video streams for the warfighter on the ground. (General Atomics)
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rumoured to have been used in the surveillance of Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan in April 2011. One was lost over Iran in December 2011. I ATTACK MALES
In contrast to the Global Hawk, the male (medium altitude, long endurance) General Atomics Predator-B, US Air Force designation MQ-9 Reaper, was designed from the outset for both surveillance and the armed engagement of fleeting targets. This is the aircraft that is carrying out the targeted killings of terrorist leaders in Waziristan. In a preview of a possible future role, MQ-9s have been used by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in tests to track ballistic missiles from launch, to provide data that may be used for boost phase intercepts. The MQ-9 has so far been exported to Britain (ten) and Italy (six), and has been offered to France and Germany. If the economic recession forces America to relax its attitude to MTCR rules, then the Predator-B family will win much larger international sales. The ‘Guardian’ version of the PredatorB, as flown by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is equipped with a Raytheon SeaVue maritime surveillance radar in addition to its MTS-B EO/IR sensor, and is being evaluated by the US Coast Guard. The Guardian could find a
substantial international market as a less expensive substitute for Global Hawk. In FY2012 the US Air Force bought 48 Reapers at an average cost of $ 19.7 million, but the FY2013 cut to 24 aircraft boosted this figure to $ 36.9 million. A modification to its main landing gear has recently increased the maximum permissible weight of the MQ-9 from 4763 to 5310 kg. The US Air Force is implementing a series of improvements to Reaper operations, including multi-aircraft control (Mac) ground control stations, its use as a platform for small drones, and the introduction of an airborne sense-andavoid (Absaa) system. The Sierra Nevada Gorgon Stare Waas (Wide-Area Airborne Surveillance) system was introduced on the Reaper in Afghanistan at the end of 2010 in the form of two underwing pods. Trials with the Goodrich DB-110 reconnaissance pod have been funded. Automatic take-off and landing is to be developed for Reaper, as is
Despite its name, the Denel Dynamics Seeker 400 is an all-new design with a composite structure, dual-sensor payload and 16-hour endurance. It is shown armed with the same company’s Mokopa long-range laser-homing missiles. First flight is due before the end of 2012. (Denel Dynamics)
an electronic attack capability. The General Atomics Sky Warrior has the US Army designation MQ-1C Gray Eagle. A derivative of the Predator-A (US Air Force MQ-1B Predator), it has a smaller warload, but already has automatic take-off and landing. The MQ-1C also has a Thielert Centurion 1.7 heavy fuel engine, increasing endurance from 24 to 36 hours. It was introduced into Afghanistan in June 2010. In 2011 the MQ-1C was tested in the US Army Triclops programme, with the standard AAS-53 Common Sensor Payload (CSP) under the nose and two DAS-2 sensor pods under the wings, the latter being operated directly by soldiers on the ground.
For its size, the Gray Eagle is a relatively expensive product. The 43 MQ-1Cs purchased in FY2012 each cost $ 12.8 million, but the cut to 19 aircraft in the FY2013 request pushed the unit price to $ 27.3 million. As a signatory of the MTCR agreement, the United States restricts sales of armed drones such as the MQ-9 and MQ-1B/C to Nato members. However, General Atomics is now promoting the Predator-XP, which has no weapon hardpoints and is restricted (presumably by means of smaller fuel tanks) to the ability to carry a 500 kg payload over a 300 km distance. The Predator-XP is expected to be exportable to areas such as the Middle East (especially the United Arab Emirates) and North Africa, although there is so far no rush of takers. I UCAV
The US is thus currently determined not to export outside Nato anything that could be
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employed as a cruise missile, but the demand for such systems is growing, and in financially difficult times other nations will inevitably feel subject to less rigid rules. America is in the Ucav lead, with the 20,215-kg Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrator and the follow-on Uclass for the US Navy. As mentioned earlier, the US Air Force is to use a General Atomics Avenger to explore the concept of a reducedsignature strike drone. Meanwhile, France has teamed with Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland on development of the Dassault-led Neuron Ucav demonstrator, which is to fly around mid-2012. By the end of the year, BAE Systems is scheduled to fly the Taranis Ucav demonstrator, funded by the British Government. Benefiting from Neuron and Taranis technology, BAE Systems and Dassault are to co-operate on a new stealthy Ucav, which is to be ready for service in 2030. RAC-MiG, Sukhoi and Yakovlev are believed to be working on Ucav projects, but Russia (like Britain and France) is a member of the MTCR group. Two key nations that are not MTCR members are China and India. China has exhibited models of its AVIC Warrior Eagle and Shenyang An Jian (Dark Sword) stealthy Ucav projects, but their current status is unknown. In 2010 the Indian Air Force announced its support for the indigenous Aura project,
which is officially described as a “highspeed self-defending reconnaissance UAV with strike capabilities”. Various entities in Britain, France, Israel, Russia and Sweden have offered to join the programme, either as consultants or partners. Aura is expected to be powered by the GTRE Kaveri engine, and to be developed in secrecy. I TACTICAL ISR
The plethora of tactical drones allows discussion of only a few examples. The Northrop Grumman MQ-5B Hunter II had the distinction of being the US Army’s first armed drone, and it is the only Department of Defense drone with an integrated communications-relay capability.
“The Northrop Grumman MQ-5B Hunter II had the distinction of being the US Army’s first armed drone” Originally planned as a US Navy-led triservice short-range drone, of which 52 eight-aircraft systems were to be built for the US Army alone, the RQ-5A suffered fullrate production termination in 1996. The eight systems already produced were placed in service, and the Army added 18 improved MQ-5Bs in FY2004, at which stage a complete system cost $ 26.5 million. Around 50 Hunter air vehicles are still in service with the US Army and contractor-
The Dassault-led five-nation Neuron Ucav demonstrator is due to fly by the end of 2012. Together with the BAE Systems Taranis, this is expected to provide the technology base for a multi-nation stealthy Ucav that will enter service around 2030. (Dassault Aviation)
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operated units. Some are equipped to use the Northrop Grumman Viper Strike and Textron BLU-108 munitions. It is proposed to replace the current Hunter wing with that of the IAI Heron, increasing span from 10.4 to 16.4 metres. The US Army plans to begin retiring the MQ-5 in 2022. Whereas the 885-kg Hunter is flown from conventional runways, the 170-kg AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 Tactical Uav (Tuav) is rail-launched and recovered automatically into an arrester gear, requiring only a semiprepared airstrip. The US Army and Marine Corps maintain an inventory of 364 Shadows, and in FY2012 the Army requested $ 25 million for 20 air vehicles to replace combat losses. The US Army is considering expanding the RQ-7 role to include medical resupply, delivering crucial items to forward troops by parachute. The US Marine Corps plans to arm its RQ-7s with the new generation of lightweight air-ground weapons. AAI is now developing the Shadow MkII (M2), with increased fuel, a blended wing of extended span, a new Lycoming heavy-fuel engine turning a five-blade propeller, a repositioned semi-retractable nose gear, and twin payload bays. Endurance will be extended from nine to 15 hours. The company is working with Phoenix Global Support to develop a modular underwing pod that can carry a range of payloads. The M2 is expected to fly in the late summer of 2012. The Shadow 200 has been exported to Australia, Italy, Pakistan, and Sweden, and the larger Shadow 600 to Romania and Turkey. Although, as seen above, the Italian armed forces operate Predators, the Italian industry, notably through Selex Galileo, has entered the so-called tactical drone market a few years ago
The AAI Shadow MkII or M2 is a further development of the US Army’s Tactical Uav (Tuav), with two payload bays, a new Lycoming heavy-fuel engine, a blended long-span wing, redesigned nose gear, and increased fuel. (AAI)
with the Falco (Hawk in Italian), which is assembled under licence in Pakistan. Announced over a year ago by Armada, an evolution of this drone made its début at the last Paris Air Show. Appropriately named Falco Evo, it boasts substantial improvements in terms of endurance and payload capacity thanks to wings stretched to 12.5 metres and extended tail booms (see data table herewith). The extra 30-kg payload allowance enables it to carry a synthetic aperture radar (like the company’s Picosar) as well as electronic warfare and sigint gear in the wingtips. Endurance took a boost too, yet no changes were required to neither the fuselage per se nor to the engine. The aircraft was expected to make its maiden flight at time of writing (April). Further downscale, two former stablemates are continuing to be developed by their own manufacturers, namely Northrop Grumman with the Bat and Raytheon with the Killer Bee. Both airframes find their origins in a company called Swift Engineering that was originally taken over by Northrop Grumman 2009. Before then, however, Raytheon had bought the rights on one of the Killer Bee designs (Swift had created a range of different sizes) after Northrop Grumman had dropped its partnership with Swift on the Killer Bee (indeed, only to eventually buy off the company in 2009). At any rate, both were originally intended to compete in various US
Army and Marine Corps programmes (one of them won by the Boeing Integrator) and have since seemingly been kept on the back burner, but not quite, since both manufacturers have continued development work, and even carrying out substantial modifications. Raytheon recently told Armada that it had carried out some substantial modifications to the airframe structure to improve the way its internal volume could be occupied and bring a 40% improvement by working on lift over drag factor, leading to the current ceiling of 15,000 feet and 12-hour endurance. Hence the bird’s current designation – Killer Bee Block II (see data in the fold-out chart herewith).
Raytheon, who started developing a heavy fuel engine a number of years ago, is still working on this option according to a programme official, who added that other developmental efforts were looking into plug-and-play modular payloads. Raytheon has been carrying out a number of demonstrations since 2010 with a view to maturing the system, demonstrating the launch and recovery – respectively catapult and net – at what it terms “unimproved sites” and its ability to put a vehicle in the air in a very short time, and so forth. Northrop Grumman’s counterpart, in the meantime, has been renamed Bat 12 in reference to its wingspan measured in feet. Northrop Grumman would not comment further on the exact status of this programme, but has admitted that a few aircraft were deployed for testing in Afghanistan. One of the options that Northrop Grumman said it was looking into recently was a dual turret system enabling
The US Army and Marine Corps maintain an inventory of 364 AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 drones, representing 91 four-aircraft systems. It is also used by the Australian Army, the Italian Army and the Swedish Army (as the UAV04 Ornen). Three systems have been requested by Pakistan. (Australian Defence Force)
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operators on the ground to simultaneously look in opposite or different directions. I SHIP OPERATIONS
The operation of drones from a wide range of ships (including destroyers and cruisers) poses special problems in launch and recovery. In the case of the 20-kg Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle, launch is performed by a pneumatic catapult, and it is recovered by flying it to engage a vertical rope with a wingtip claw.
Displayed for the first time at the Paris Air Show last year, the Selex Galileo Falco Evo (an apocope of Evolution) features a Picosar synthetic aperture and electronically scanned radar, an Eost 46 gimballed turret and a Sage elint suite (see the wintips) – all from the same company. (Selex)
In 2005 the US Marine Corps validated an urgent operational need for a Small Tactical UAS (Stuas) or Tier II to replace the contractor-supplied ScanEagle service. In
July 2010 the Boeing/Insitu Integrator was selected to form the basis for the RQ-21A Stuas, and the company was awarded a $ 43.7 million two-year development contract, which included the construction of six air vehicles. Two four-aircraft Goco (governmentowned, contractor-operated) Integrator systems were handed over in February 2012, one to the US Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center (MCGAGCC) at Twentynine Palms, California, and the other to Navair at
I LIGHTER ATTACK DRONES Collateral damage has become an extremely sensitive subject over the past decade, which may sound strange if one measures the immense increase in achieved air-to-ground weapon accuracy during this period. The problem is that now even Hellfire-sized missiles or Aasm laser guided weapons are deemed too powerful, as demonstrated during the recent air attacks against Libya. Illustrating one of the answers to this problem by arming smaller drones with air-ground guided missiles, this 45-kg Raytheon Cobra trials vehicle (below) is shown in this Raytheon picture carrying the same company’s 5.9-kg STM (Small Tactical Munition), which is being developed for platforms such as the AAI RQ-7 Shadow 200. Another method is to actually turn the drone into a guided weapon like the Aerovironment Switchblade. This Aerovironment picture shows the a la mortar launch of the 0.9-kg backpackable, electrically-powered loiterattack drone that transmits to the operator colour or infrared video, allowing post-launch target lock-on and the accurate delivery of an ATK warhead. The Switchblade has been ordered by the US Army and Air Force.
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Patuxent River NAWC, Maryland. Deliveries of the production-standard RQ-21A Stuas are due to begin in 2013. Turning to hand-launched drones, the leader in this category is the 1.9-kg AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven, a smaller derivative of the company’s FQM-151 Pointer. In 2005 the Raven won the US Army Suas (Small Uas) contest, and in the following year entered full-scale production. The US Army has an acquisition objective of 2200 Raven systems. The Raven air vehicle now costs around $35,000 and a complete three-aircraft system approximately $250,000.
“The Raven air vehicle now costs around $35,000 and a complete three-aircraft system approximately $250,000” AeroVironment has supplied around 10,000 Raven air vehicles to customers that include the US Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Special Operations Command and National Guard, and the military forces of various friendly nations. International users are known to include Australia, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Iraq, Italy, the Lebanon, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Spain and Uganda. Orders for the Raven continue to rain in, with a last contract announced in April from the US Marine Corps worth over $3.5 million. As said above, it would be impossible to review all hand-launched drones here without ending up with a tedious
catalogue. All things considered, the success of these featherweights is more dependent on electronic miniaturisation (for both sensors and onboard electronics) and progress on electric motor and battery development than on pure airframe design and construction. In fact virtually all the aircraft in the lighter end of the spectrum are built out of Styrofoam or similar material and can be considered expendable after a few hard landings; they are in fact built in such a way as to allow one to extract the vital electronic innards and easily and quickly transplant them into a fresh airframe. Most of these have been examined in past Armada and Drone Compendium editions (with others described in the fold-out table contained in this issue), but a fairly recent model has
An undisclosed (but small) number of Northrop Grumman Bat 12s are being operated with the US service in Afghanistan. The Bat 12 is catapult-launched and recovered by flying into a net ato make it runway-independent. (Northrop Grumman)
The Raytheon Killer Bee Block II now incorporates a number of aerodynamic and internal space improvements, justifying its new Block II suffix. Plug-and-play payload modules are now being looked into. (Armada/EHB)
reappeared in the form of the Crex-B. Initially known as the Crex it was developed by Utri in Italy. This firm has since been taken over by Selex Galileo, which has matured it into the Crex-B. The Crex-B’s most interesting feature given its weight – less than two kilos – is the fact that it not only carries a stabilised panand-tilt camera but also one that capable of target tracking and data relaying to the ground via digital datalink. Now ready for production, the two-hour endurance Crex-B is currently being evaluated by the Italian Ministero della Difesa. I ROTARY-WING
Three decades of fixed-wing sensorplatform drone operations have convincingly demonstrated their value, taking terrestrial intelligence to a completely new level, while eliminating the risk to aircrews in such missions. Fixed-wing drones have also shown useful potential in delivering air-ground munitions, although there is clearly a long way to go in developing Ucavs suitable for a full-scale war. Although rotary-wing drones began operations earlier (the anti-submarine Gyrodyne QH-50C entering US Navy service in 1963, two decades before the IAI Scout), they have so far played only a minor role. However, there is now a widespread feeling that, 50 years after the Gyrodyne (which admittedly had a high accident rate),
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The Puma is Aerovironment’s second success story although its origins can be traced to the Cld War-era Pointer since its name is actually an acronym that stands for “Pointer Ugraded Mission Ability”. It has recently been adopted by both the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force. (Aerovironment)
progress in avionics and other technologies has opened the door for two major categories of drone helicopters. Firstly, sensor-equipped, armed rotarywing drones can now operate from ships that are far too small for conventional helicopters, and thus have access to many more naval platforms. As mentioned earlier, the US Navy plans to buy 28 Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scouts, which will be cleared to use the BAE Systems Apkws laser-homing 70 mm rocket projectile. Secondly, the demand for cargo drone helicopters to resupply ground forces in Afghanistan is seen as having wider implications, and opening a valuable market sector. The US Marine Corps is conducting a six-month assessment of the Unmanned K-Max in Afghanistan, the first cargo delivery taking place on 17 December 2011. The US Army will probably follow the US Marine Corps lead, and (if the accident statistics are favourable) we may well see navies using drone helicopters routinely to resupply ships at sea. The commercial sector may follow, using drones to resupply oil rigs. Preparing the next step, the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has invited bids for the five-year Autonomous Aerial
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Selex Galileo’s Crex-B, which is being evaluated by the Italian Ministry of Defence, has a wingspan of 1.7 metres for a weight of less than two kilos, but carries pan and tilt cameras. (Selex)
Cargo/Utility System (Aacus) programme. This vehicle would be able to carry out fullyautonomous landings in austere locations, selecting its own route and landing point, and avoiding obstacles. Aacus would carry a 725 kg load over a 200 km distance at a speed of 185 km/hr, by day or night and in all weather conditions. Unlike K-Max, it will have capacity for internal payloads, allowing for casualty evacuation in the long term. Contract awards were scheduled for
April 2012, with flight demonstrations to follow in FY2014. The US Army Cargo UAS concept appears to be aimed at a larger, faster aircraft, with a 2270-3630 kg payload, a 555 km range and a 465 km/hr cruise speed. It will be designed to take off and land at a height of 12,000 ft and a temperature of 35 deg Celsius. Contractors were invited to present their ideas in January 2012. The implication may be that the US Army regards the hi-tech Boeing YMQ-18A (A160T Hummingbird) as the way ahead for drone helicopters, although the current air vehicle is only half the size of K-Max. The A160T has already achieved 263 km/hr, and Boeing claims that it will eventually be capable of a cruise speed of 300 km/hr. Meanwhile, the US Army has loaned to Sikorsky a UH-60M Black Hawk for fly-bywire tests, and the company hopes to use this aircraft to demonstrate an optionallypiloted resupply mission. The rest of the world is lagging behind, but there are several rotary-wing drone projects with serious potential. In early 2012 Russian Helicopters received $ 160 million from the federal defence budget to start development of three rotary-wing drones. All three models have co-axial rotors, indicating that Kamov will be responsible for all three designs. The heaviest is the 3000kg Albatross, which is seen as being used in either transport or strike roles, and being ready for flight trials by 2017. At around half the size of the Albatross, Mil Moscow Helicopters has for several years been promoting the 1450-kg Mi-34BP drone, based on the four-seat Mi-34C. AgustaWestland plans shortly to fly a drone version of the 1800-kg PZL-Swidnik SW-4. Further down the scale, Russian Helicopters is developing the 700-kg Ka-175
The Kaman K-Max has been operating as a cargo delivery vehicle in Afghanistan since December 2011 as part of a test programme. It is now envisaged to stretch this trial perion for another few months. (Kaman)
Korshun. A Chinese team led by Weifang Tianxiang Aviation Industry flew in May 2011 the 757kg V750 drone, based on the twoseat Brantly B-2B. Israel’s Aeronautics is developing the 720kg Picador, based on Belgium’s two-seat Dynali H2S. I BELOW THE HALF-TONNE MARK
The Russian Defence Ministry has launched development of three Kamov-designed unmanned helicopters, all with coaxial rotors. This mockup appears to represent the mid-range Ka-175 Korshun. The rear end of the lightweight Ka-135 is visible on the right. (Russian Helicopters)
In terms of experience, the lighter weight category is led by a long shot by Schiebel in Austria. The 200-kg Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is in operational service in various parts of the world and has been trialled from the ships of several navies, notably German and French, and is the first rotary-wing drone to have been allowed to fly in full drone mode at an air show. This was in Paris three years ago and has since repeated the performance. For a while now, and in cooperation with Austro Engine, Hans Schiebel embarked on the development of a heavy fuel version of the Wankel-type Austro Engine AER50R. Heavy fuel, however, does not necessarily imply diesel. On the contrary, the new version uses three spark plugs and a Flying from a Bersagliere-class frigate off the coast of la Spezia, a Camcopter S-100 became the first helicopter drone to operate from a Marina Militare ship. Carrying an L-3 Wescam MX-10 turret above sea state three and in 25 km/h winds, the Camcopter transmitted highdefinition pictures in real time for the 4.5 hours of flight time. (Schiebel)
ON THE COVER: The US Air Force’s Global Hawk Block 40 is visually distinguished from the otherwise similarly sized Block 30 and 20 by its slab-sided gondola that houses the new ZPY-2 aesa radar that also provides air moving target indication. Compendium Drone 2012 Supplement to Issue 3/2012 Volume 36, Issue No. 3, June/July 2012 INTERNATIONAL
is published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd. Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd.
The Saab Skeldar V-200 carried out a series of operation tests from an ice-breaker in Sweden in the fall of 2012. (Saab)
new electronic engine control unit (a.k.a. ECU, for acronym aficionados). Two engines are currently running and beat the feat of producing the same power – namely 50 horses – as the petrol version, and yet no modifications were required to the block or the rotary piston. One of the engines is now used in flight testing and Schiebel hopes to obtain certification this year. Incidentally, and according to Schiebel, the heavy-fuel engines will be “retrofittable” to earlier aircraft. Schiebel is now working on the S200 project, which is believed to have a maximum take-off weight of around 600-kg, but the company has declined to provide any details. On the other hand, after the German and French navies, the Camcopter S-100 has recently added another feather in its rotor by being the first rotordrone ever to operate from an Italian Navy ship. In the 300-kg category, Russian Helicopters is developing the Ka-135. At the Paris Air Show of 2011, Cassidian exhibited a mockup of a 300-kg drone derived from
the CybAero Apid 60. CybAero has now built a flying prototype. Another derivative of the Apid 60 is Spain’s 200-kg Indra Systems Pelicano. Compared with its Cyb-Aero Apic 55based Skeldar, the more recent and heavier 230-kg Skeldar V-200 is, according to a Saab official recently interviewed by Armada, an entirely new aircraft designed by Saab, having “common features with Cyb Aero”, although it retains the same 55 horsepower two stroke, twin-cylinder Hith engine. The Skeldar V-200 is still entirely a companyfunded project. The type first flew in 2010, originally aimed at the Swedish Army, but more recently the emphasis has been on a maritime version (at some time Saab used the V-200M designation, but this seems to have been dropped). The V-200 was underwent test operations from an icebreaker last autumn as part of what Saab calls a series of “maturing flights”. Saab did not comment on the number of V-200 prototypes built so far, but just said that the aircraft are closer to pre-production standards and “open to tenders”. Like Schiebel, Saab now appears to be eyeing the 600 kg class, due to demands for greater payload and endurance.
I INDEX TO ADVERTISERS ARMADA SUBSCRIPTION
22
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
ELBIT SYSTEMS
09
SAAB
13
IAI MALAT
05
SCHIEBEL
C2
ILA BERLIN
35
SELEX GALILEO
11
L-3 WESCAM
25
TEXTRON AAI
C4
36
Compendium Drone 2012
15-17
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