Armada 2006-3 - Shift in Service Attitudes

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armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2006

Shift in Service AttitudesOne of the most significant military developments of recent times has been theparadigm shift in service attitudes toward drone aircraft. Multi-national opera-tions in Southwest Asia have demonstrated that such systems form part of theinventories of many major powers. It is also now clear that drones can performusefully across a broad spectrum of missions, from over-the-hill scouting for aplatoon of troops to wide-area ocean surveillance. Of particular interest is thefact that drones have been employed effectively in precision attacks on groundtargets. The Teal Group has recently forecast a global market for almost 18,000drones valued at over $ 12 billion in the period 2006 to 2015.

A General Atomics MQ-1 Predator-Acarrying Hellfires is positioned manuallyat Balad AB in Iraq

Eric H. Biassand Roy Braybrook

T he Pentagon’s «Unmanned AircraftSystems Roadmap 2005–2030» statesthat since late 2001 some 20 differ-

ent types of coalition unmanned aircrafthave accumulated a total of more than100,000 flight hours in the course of Op-eration Enduring Freedom (overAfghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Free-dom. Taking a global view, the roadmaprecords 32 nations currently developingand/or manufacturing over 32 designs,and 41 countries operating 80 differentdrones, primarily for reconnaissance.What a few years ago represented only aniche market is evidently now growingexponentially.

In-flight RefuellingOne of the current challenges is to devel-op a system that will allow one drone toautonomously refuel another, in order toextend the endurance of a sensor plat-form or to increase the strike radius of anunmanned combat air vehicle (Ucav).The US Air Force is reportedly attractedby the idea of a Ucav combining long ra-dius and a persistence of 50 to 100 hours,far beyond the limits of human en-durance. Such a drone could act either as

a defensive shield or as a strike-capabledeterrent during the build-up to war.

Both contenders for America’s re-cently terminated J-Ucas (Joint Un-manned Combat Air System) werescheduled to have an air refuelling capa-bility tested in the course of their pro-grammes. Boeing has been contracted to develop an autonomous system to befirst tested on a manned surrogate air-craft in 2007. The US Air Force also has a requirement to demonstrate in-flightrefuelling of a drone from a boom-equipped manned aircraft by 2008. Thiswill probably be accomplished with aBoeing X-45C and a KC-135.

In 2005 the Maryland-based UAV Re-fuelling unveiled a design for a weaponsbay-housed drogue refuelling unit, withan optical sensor and drogue-mountedreaction controls to provide engagementwith the probe of the receiver.

EA and DEOne of the spinoffs of the J-Ucas pro-gramme was expected to be an electron-ic attack (EA) drone, which could oper-ate closer to the target and thus requireless power than a manned jamming air-craft. In the meantime it was proposedto begin a Joint Electronic Attack Un-manned Vehicle (Jeauv) advanced con-cept technology demonstration

(ACTD) programme, using a maturedrone as the platform.

One possible Jeauv mission payload isthe 32-kg Rockwell Collins Rubicon IIelectronic warfare suite, which is de-signed to detect and jam frequencies inthe 20 to 2500 MHz range. Conceived tomeet a US Marine Corps requirement forcommunication jamming, it is to be fur-ther developed to counter improvised explosive devices (IED).

Drones may well dominate the marketas platforms for directed energy weapons,soon to appear as high-power microwave(HPM) devices, lasers and Aesa (activeelectronically-scanned array) jammingradars. Such weapons offer the attractionof disrupting the enemy’s computer andcommunication systems, and renderinguseless his missiles and radars, withoutcausing structural damage that would beexpensive for the victor to reconstruct inthe post-war period.

T his dramatic anticipation viewof a Fire Scout from NorthropGrumman illustrates the future

capabilities of the rotary-wing air-craft. Some ofthese already ma-terialised in 2005when such an air-craft flew a testmission that in-volved deliveringitems to someonein a simulatedbattlefield afterflying a multiplewaypoint course. Upon retrievingwhat had been delivered, the recipi-ent punched a button upon whichthe helicopter took off again andreturned home.

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In the case of a manned platform, di-rected energy weapons would requireheavy screening for safe operation. It isanticipated that these drones may wellneed fly-by-light controls to eliminate in-puts from the power spikes produced bythe side- and back-lobes of directed ener-gy weapons.

AirshipsThe ability of a drone to provide persist-ent surveillance is taken to the extremein the case of unmanned airships, whichare attracting increasing attention, al-though their employment is restricted bytheir limited mobility and vulnerabilityto inclement weather.

One of the leaders in tethered lighter-than-air aircraft (aerostats) is North Car-olina-based Tcom, which markets a rangeof four such products. An example of thecompany’s truck-mounted 17M was de-livered to the United Arab Emirates inAugust 2005. The 17M is normally oper-ated at around 1000 ft. In the precedingmonth the US Army placed an order for16 examples of the 71M for use in Iraq, tosafeguard camp perimeters against in-truders. Tcom also supplies the balloonfor the SAIC Marine Airborne Re-Trans-mission System (Marts) communicationsrelay, which carries a 225 kg payload, andoperates at 3000 ft for up to 15 days at atime. One system has been delivered andsix more are planned.

In Afghanistan the US Army has em-ployed radars mounted on high towersand in aerostats, with Raytheon acting asprime contractor for this Rapid AerostatInitial Deployment (Raid) programme.The Tcom-produced aerostat, which is farless expensive to operate than a fixed-wingdrone, is flown for five days at heights of350 to 900 ft, compared to the 110 ft of thetower. It carries a 90 kg payload, normallyconsisting of a Flir Systems Safire IIIEO/IR sensor. Three systems have beendelivered and three more are planned.

In Iraq the US Army also employs themuch smaller Lockheed Martin Rapidly

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e with Tcom providing the aerostats. AJlens system consists of two aerostats;one with a surveillance radar and the oth-er with a precision track illuminationradar. Both aerostats are attached to mo-bile mooring stations and are linked to aprocessing station by a fibre optic/powertether. It is planned to acquire twelveJlens systems.

Tcom also supplies the aerostat forthe Israeli Airstar system, which has anElta phased array radar in a ventral fair-ing. The drone will operate at around3500 ft, providing airborne early warningof incursions by low flying objects, suchas drones and cruise missiles.

Aerostats are already active in watch-ing over America’s southern border. In2002 the US Air Force placed a contractwith Lockheed Martin to provide L-88(V)3 radars for Air Combat Com-mand’s Tethered Aerostat Radar System(Tars), which employs 420K aerostats de-veloped by the same company.The Tars isdescribed as supporting aerospace sover-eignty, border monitoring, counter-drugand psychological operations; the latterreferring to beaming TV Marti to Cuba.It carries a 545-kg payload and remainsat 15,000 ft for up to 30 days. At least tensystems have been delivered and tenmore are planned.

Turning to free-flying unmanned air-ships, the US Navy plans to use a type pro-duced by American Blimp as an AdvancedAirship Flying Laboratory (AAFL) to testrelevant avionics, heavy fuel engines anddevices such as bow thrusters for lowspeed control.The AAFL is to carry a 450-kg payload to 20,000 ft and have an en-durance of 48 hours.

In early 2006 the security contractorBlackwater USA, which is heavily in-volved in Iraq, announced the intentionto develop a small remotely piloted sur-veillance airship.This is intended to oper-ate between 5000 and 15,000 ft, stayingairborne for up to four days, and carryinga 135- to 180-kg payload.

The Composite Hull High AltitudePowered Platform (Chhapp) programmeis a collaborative effort by the US Armyand US Air Force, the Southwest Re-search Institute and Aerostar Interna-tional. Under this programme it is hopedto develop a family of long-endurancestratospheric airships, powered by batter-ies and solar panels, and able to lift pay-

Elevated Aerostat Platform (Reap),which is deployed from the back of aHummer. It carries a 16-kg payload withRaytheon day/night cameras and oper-ates at 300 ft, giving a horizon at 33 km.Two have been deployed to Iraq and twomore are planned.

The way ahead? Future combat drones will require in-flight refuelling. In this impression,a receptacle-equipped J-Ucas can be seen taking fuel from the boom of a KC-10A. (Northrop Grumman)

The NorthropGrumman RQ-4Global Hawkcurrently dominatesthe high altitudelong endurance(Hale) market.(NorthropGrumman)

America’s southern approaches arewatched by Lockheed Martin/US AirForce Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems(Tars), with tethered balloons carryingradars and beaming propaganda atCuba. (Lockheed Martin)

The Raid programme is seen as layingthe foundations for the US Army-ledJoint Land-Attack Elevated Netted Sen-sor (Jlens) for cruise missile defence.Thiswill carry a 2270-kg payload to a height ofup to 15,000 ft, and remain on station for30 days. Raytheon is prime contractor,


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loads of 44 to 440 kg to ‘near-space’ alti-tudes for over 30 days at a time.

The first product of Chhapp is theAerostar International HiSentinel,which on 8 November 2005 reached analtitude of 74,000 ft in the course of afive-hour flight and whilst carrying a 27.2 kg payload.

At the top of the military scale,Lockheed Martin is being funded by the US Missile Defense Agency to de-velop a High Altitude Airship (HAA).The sub-scale prototype, now beingbuilt under a $ 149.2 million contractawarded in December 2005, is to carry a 220-kg payload to a height of 60,000 ftfor a 30-day mission. Solar cells will produce 3.5 kW to power four 7.6-metrepropellers. First flight is scheduled for 2009.

1350 kg, but endurance is reduced from36 to 28 hours. Both versions have a singleRolls-Royce AE3007H of 34-kN thrust.The first of 44 production RQ-4Bs isscheduled to fly in November 2006 andthe new-generation Raytheon MP-Rtip(Multi-Platform Radar Technology In-sertion Program) sensor will be availablefrom July 2007.

In January 2006 the RQ-4A receivedmilitary airworthiness certification,which – in combination with its FederalAviation Administration Certificate ofAuthorization – allows it to routinely flywithin US airspace. Also in early 2006,the US Air Force deployed the first twoproduction RQ-4As to an airbase in theUnited Arab Emirates (joining one of theACTD aircraft), this to support opera-tions in Iraq.

The Global Hawk is under considera-tion for acquisition by US Southern

The Predator-B is easily distinguishedby its tail configuration. The centrelineventral fin of the –A is retained but themain surfaces are moved above thefuselage. (General Atomics)

While lacking thestealth to penetratedefences, theGlobal Hawk hasan assured future inmaritimesurveillance, asevidenced byinterest fromAustralia, Germany,Japan and theUnited Kingdom.(NorthropGrumman)

which will cruise at 100,000 ft for weeksat a time, providing civilian contractorswith persistent surveillance and commu-nications. Flying higher will almost dou-ble the distance to the radar horizon, butinvolves operating in higher winds, whichrequire greater manoeuvrability. TheMaXflyer will be transported to the the-atre of operations in a container that canthen be positioned by a CH-47. For de-velopment to go ahead the two compa-nies need a well-heeled partner; one convinced of its commercial potential intelevision applications and cell phonecommunications.

HalesThe leader in the High Altitude, LongEndurance (Hale) category is theNorthrop Grumman RQ-4 GlobalHawk. In a series of deployments toSoutheast Asia following the 9/11 event,three RQ-4A technology demonstra-tors have accumulated over 5000 com-bat flight hours in more than 250 mis-sions. The Global Hawk family has nowexceeded 8000 flight hours. The US AirForce plans to acquire 51 productionRQ-4A/Bs, which follow seven ACTDaircraft. The FY2007 budget request is for six aircraft and three ground stations.

In November 2005 Northrop Grum-man was awarded a contract to startmanufacturing the next five RQ-4Bs,following an earlier order for five.The stretched RQ-4B, which is the mainproduction version, is heavier than theRQ-4A, grossing 14,628 kg instead of12,111 kg.Payload is increased from 900 to

Command (Southcom) in its operationsagainst Latin American drug smugglers.The US Navy’s two RQ-4As, using newsurface search radar modes and aNorthrop Grumman (formerly Litton)LR100 signals intelligence sensor, are al-ready being used in exercises to provideinput to the service’s Broad Area Mar-itime Surveillance (Bams) project.

The RQ-4 has been selected (along-side the Airbus A321) as a preferred plat-form for the Nato AGS (AllianceGround Surveillance) programme. Addi-tional RQ-4s are expected to be pur-chased for conversion by Eads to ‘Euro-Hawk’ standard for the German Navy,to replace its Atlantics in the signals

The principalalternative to thePredator is the IAIHeron, which is ina similar weightand powercategory. It is nowin service with theIsraeli Air Forceand the IndianNavy.(Armada/RB)

The US Air Force has a long-standingrequirement for a stealthy penetrationdrone. Lockheed Martin’s DarkStarhad the necessary low observablecharacteristics, but was too small.(Lockheed Martin)

The full-scale ‘objective HAA’ versionwill be designed for a 180-day mission at65,000 ft or more, carrying sensors to detect and track cruise and ballistic mis-siles. It is anticipated that the 1800-kgradar will employ an array of transmit-ter/receiver modules wrapped aroundthe hull of the airship. It is planned to ac-quire up to twelve HAAs, which wouldself-deploy worldwide from the Conti-nental US and remain on station for up to a year.

Aiming even higher, two small compa-nies named CollaborX and Multimaxhave joined forces to develop a circularaerofoil-section airship, the MaXflyer,


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e intelligence mission. The Eurohawk joint venture was established by Eads andNorthrop Grumman in November 2005.

Several other countries, includingAustralia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and SouthKorea, are interested in acquiring GlobalHawks, but exports will be limited by theMTCR (Missile Technology ControlRegime) agreement. Under MTCR rules,a Category I vehicle is defined as able tocarry a 500-kg payload over a range of300 km, which clearly applies to theGlobal Hawk and General AtomicsPredator.

Encouraged by the potential value ofthe Hale market, the high unit cost ofthe Global Hawk, and the likely restric-tions on US exports, other manufactur-ers are considering projects in this cate-gory. In its simplest form, the basic air-frame-engine combination of a usefulHale drone represents only a poweredglider. The more cerebrally challengingparts of the system are the sensor pack-age and the processing of the data that it generates.

In late 2005 Grob proposed the G 600Hale manned/unmanned derivative of itsG 180 business jet, which is powered bytwo Williams FJ44 turbofans. Grossing7750 kg, the G 600 would carry a 1200-kgpayload to 65,000 ft for up to 17 hours.

Singapore Technologies Aerospace(ST Aero) is working with some Frenchassistance on a twin-jet optionally-pilot-

established in flight with the satellite linkoperational – control is handed to NellisAFB, Nevada. The Predator is flown by aqualified pilot but the EO/IR sensors andlaser ranger/designator are controlled byan enlisted airman. An improved GCSwill shortly allow one pilot to controlfour MQ-1s simultaneously.

Britain’s Royal Air Force has a per-sonnel detachment (No 1115 Flight) as-signed to one of the US squadrons inNevada, assisting in operating Predatorsover Afghanistan and Iraq as part of theCombined Joint Predator Task Force.Under a special MTCR concession sixunarmed Predators have been sold toItaly and five more have been ordered.Home-based at Amendola, three ItalianAir Force Predators have been deployedto Tallil in Iraq since January 2005.

The MQ-1 is a 1043 kg drone with an86 kW Rotax 914F engine and a 204-kgpayload. It has a ceiling of 25,000 ft andan endurance of over 40 hours clean, or14 hours with external stores. Each Hell-fire carried reduces the time of flight byaround 150 minutes; hence there is astrong motive to develop lighter preci-sion weapons such as the APKWS-II(laser-guided Hydra-70 rocket).

The poor economics of current opera-tions were illustrated by a mission inMarch 2006 in which a $ 96,500 Hellfirewas used to kill three insurgents caughtsetting an improvised explosive device(IED).

In August 2005 the US Army an-nounced that the General Atomics War-rior, a derivative of the Predator-A, hadbeen selected as its new ExtendedRange/Multi-Purpose drone. The serviceplans to acquire eleven squadrons, eachwith twelve air vehicles and five groundstations, implying the purchase of at least132 aircraft. The first 17 are due to be

GO-1 would combine a 160-kg payloadand a seven-day endurance, while the4100 kg GO-2 would increase these fig-ures to 450 kg and eight days. Unit pricesfor the basic air vehicles are estimated as$ 14.2 and $ 18.5 million respectively.AeroVironment has US approval tomarket this drone family in Australia,Japan and Saudi Arabia.

MalesIn the same way that the Global Hawkdominates the potential Hale market, theGeneral Atomics Aeronautical SystemsPredator is the clear leader in the medi-um-altitude long endurance (Male) sec-tor. Launched as the RQ-1 ACTD in1994, the Predator-A transitioned to aUS Air Force programme in 1997.The se-ries has been used operationally overBosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan,and was used as a Hellfire platform (des-ignation MQ-1) from 2001. All US AirForce Predator-As are now designatedMQ-1. The MQ-1 passed the 100,000flight-hour mark in October 2004, andformally attained initial operational ca-pability (IOC) status in March 2005.

The US Air Force currently operatestwelve Predator systems as threesquadrons, all based at Creech AFB,formerly Indian Springs Auxiliary Air-field, Nevada. In exercises it has provenpossible for a single pilot to control up tofour of these drones. More than 120RQ/MQ-1s have been delivered and afurther 77 are planned for procurement.The FY2007 budget request includes 24 MQ-1s.

In Iraq, MQ-1s are operated by the46th Expeditionary ReconnaissanceSquadron at Balad Air Force Base. Thedrones are launched (and later recov-ered) by the GCS at Balad but – once

IAI Heron in multi-sensor configuration,with maritimesearch radar, asmall side-lookingradar array, twojammer pods, amultiplicity of elintantennas, an EO/IRball and satcomtower. (IAI)

ed Lalee (Low Altitude Long EnduringEndurance) project for AEW andground/surface surveillance duties. Inthis case ‘Low’ appears to mean in com-parison with satellites, as the aircraftwould cruise at up to 65,000 ft.

As the years pass, progressive reduc-tions in payload weights are encouragingsome designers to think in terms of amuch lighter Hale drone than the GlobalHawk, which costs around $ 30 million.For example, General Atomics has forseveral years been planning a jet-pow-ered Predator-C, which was due to fly inlate 2005.

In early 2006 AeroVironment pro-posed a pair of Hale drones, which wouldnot only be lighter than the RQ-4, but al-so offer much longer endurance byvirtue of liquid hydrogen-powered fuelcells powering electric motors. The 1800-kg AeroVironment Global Observer

The baseline twin-engined NorthropGrumman RQ-5AHunter traces itsorigins back to theIAI Impact project.At least 56 havebeen purchased by the US Army.(NorthropGrumman)

On current plans Eads Military Aircraftwill be the prime contractor for theEuroMale project, which clearly owesa great deal in configuration terms toits Heron heritage. (Eads)

delivered by mid-2009. The Pentagon ispressing the US Air Force and US Armyto economise by rationalising their speci-fications for Predator-A and Warrior.

The Warrior is a 1360-kg aircraft witha 100-kW Thielert engine burning dieselor turbine fuel, a 260-kg internal pay-load and a 227-kg external warload; typ-ically consisting of four Hellfire on fourpylons. It will have a General AtomicsLynx synthetic aperture radar (Sar), aceiling of 29,000 ft and an endurance ofover 30 hours.

The current SDD (systems develop-ment and demonstration) phase of theWarrior programme is due to run until2009 and includes the delivery and test-ing of 17 drones produced by GA-ASI,seven One System ground control sta-tions (GCS) by AAI and logistics supportby Sparta.

The turboprop-powered 4536-kg MQ-9 Predator-B was developed as ahunter-killer drone with a much heavierload-carrying capability. It first flew inFebruary 2001. Equipped with a 670-kWHoneywell TPE331-10T engine, the MQ-9 can carry a 340-kg sensor payloadand up to 1360 kg of stores on underwingpylons. Typical store configurations willbe four 227-kg or up to ten 115-kgbombs, but a model of the Predator-B hasbeen shown with a Sidewinder missileand four Hellfires on each of two under-

wing pylons. It has an endurance of 30hours clean, falling to 16 to 20 hours withexternal stores.

The US Air Force has received six MQ-9s and plans to buy 60 more. In Ja-nuary 2006 General Atomics received a $ 41.6 million order for five MQ-9s andtwo more were included in the FY2007budget request. The service plans nine

tions. It first flew in March 2004. Lock-heed Martin is partnered with GeneralAtomics on the development and promo-tion of the Mariner. Like NorthropGrumman (promoting the Global Hawk),this team is under contract to performthe second phase of the US Navy’s Per-sistent Unmanned Maritime AirborneSurveillance (Pumas) study, which is expected to lead to selection for theBams programme (to operate alongsidethe manned Boeing P-8A) by the end of 2007.

Analysis of AlternativesThe principal rival to the MQ-1 is the1100-kg Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)Heron, which has been tested with a 134-kW Volkswagen diesel in place of thestandard 73.5 kW Rotax engine. Deliver-ies of Herons to the Israeli Air Force be-gan in late 2005 under a $ 50 million con-tract, and a follow-up order is expected.In its first operational sortie in January2006 the Heron (dubbed Machatz-1)achieved an endurance of 25 hours. Alsoin January, the Indian Navy commis-sioned its first drone squadron (Inas 342‘Flying Sentinels’) with four Herons andeight 425-kg IAI Searcher IIs.


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Unlike earlier Hunters, the Hunter II is single-engined. It makes extensive use ofstructural components from the IAI Heron for enhanced endurance and ceiling.(Northrop Grumman)

The RQ-5B differsfrom the originalRQ-5A in havingmore fuel capacity,an increased grossweight, a Mercedes-Benz heavy fuelengine andclearance for a 120-kg warload.(NorthropGrumman)

The Sagem Sperwer has been one ofEurope’s few successes in dronemarketing. Some Danish aircraft maybe sold to Canada for use inAfghanistan. (Sagem)

squadrons but in the longer term hopes toincrease its force to 15 squadrons, some ofwhich would be Air National Guard andReserve units. However, this plan is cur-rently being frustrated by a shortage ofsuitably restricted airspace.

Two prototype US Air Force YQM-9As have already been deployed toSoutheast Asia, with provisions for two225-kg GBU-12 laser-guided bombs.From 2007 MQ-9s will also be cleared for225-kg GBU-38 Jdams and 45 kg Hellfiremissiles. Britain is hoping to extend itsparticipation in US Predator operationsto include the MQ-9, which (some re-ports indicate) Britain may attempt topurchase for use over Afghanistan. InFebruary 2006 GA-ASI announced anagreement with General DynamicsCanada to jointly offer the Predator-B tomeet Canadian surveillance needs.

The 4990-kg General AtomicsMariner or Predator-B-ER is a furtherdevelopment with increased fuel and a360-degree radar, and is aimed at USNavy and Homeland Security applica-

The considerably heavier 1496-kg ElbitHermes 1500 has two 75 kW Rotax 914 en-gines, and is reportedly the subject of aturnkey services contract with the Israelidefence ministry involving highly classi-

Compared with the Sperwer and inspite of a similar configuration, theSperwer B currently under finaldevelopment shows more muscle. Itspayload is doubled to 100 kg andcould be a warrior, armed with ground-attack missiles like the Spike.(Sagem)

fied sensors. Another manufacturer inter-ested in the Male market is South Africa’sDenel, which in 2004 unveiled its 1000-kgBateleur; named after a local bird of prey.The engine choice between the Rotax 914and Subaru EA-82T has not been made,but it appears that the car engine adaptedby Denel is the more likely candidate.

ing ahead independently to make surethat the reconnaissance capability that itneeds is available in time. Germany is de-manding the ability to track small targetssuch as infantry platoons, even below for-est canopies, but it also wants a modularpayload to be able to switch rapidly toelectronic warfare or chemical, biologicaland radiological detection.

Eads Military Aircraft is proposing twoMale projects: the Eagle-1 based on theIAI Heron, and the follow-on turboprop-powered EuroMale. The Eagle-1 wasscheduled to be formally handed over tothe French Air Force at the end of 2005.

The € 300 million EuroMale pro-gramme was ‘launched’ by France in June2005, subject to other countries such asGermany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spainand Switzerland joining in.This would al-low the French contribution to be limitedto 25% (€ 75 million), covering the costof the demonstrator programme. It wasdecided by the French Defence Ministrythat Eads would be prime contractor,with Dassault providing the drone andThales systems integration, although it

launched by France’s DGA (DélégationGénérale pour l’Armement), whose rolewould later be taken over by the six-na-tion Occar (Organisation Conjointe deCoopération en matière d’ARmement)or the newly-formed European DefenceAgency, which is part of the EuropeanUnion organisation.

The EuroMale demonstrator wasoriginally due to be rolled out in 2008, tomake possible full operational capabilitywith a new European mission system by2011.The drone is envisaged as a 3900-kgvehicle with a 500-kg payload and an en-durance of twelve hours at 1575 km ra-dius.

Silver MedallersThe drone that came second in the USArmy ER/MP contest was the 998-kgNorthrop Grumman RQ-5C Hunter II,which flew in prototype form on 17March 2005. Using the extended wingand tail surfaces of the IAI Heron theHunter II has an endurance of 30 hoursand a ceiling of 25,000 ft.

The ER/MP General Atomics Warrior(discussed above) will replace the USArmy’s Northrop Grumman RQ-5Hunter, which has been employed in sup-porting Nato operations in the Balkansand US actions in Iraq. The Hunter fleethas accumulated almost 40,000 flighthours, of which approximately 10,000have been over Iraq.

The 735 kg baseline RQ-5A has two42.5-kW Moto Guzzi engines burningmogas. It carries an EO/IR sensor relay-ing real-time video to the ground via a C-band line-of-sight datalink.The RQ-5Ahas an endurance of 11.6 hours and a ceil-ing of 15,000 ft. Seven RQ-5A systems,each with eight drones, have been ac-quired by the US Army.

An additional 18 Hunters were or-dered in FY2004 as weaponised MQ-5Bs,with provisions for Viper Strike andBLU-108 submunitions. The MQ-5B hasa gross weight of 885 kg, and is stressedfor external stores of 60 kg per wing. Itfirst flew on 8 July 2005. Powered by twoMercedes-Benz heavy fuel engines burn-ing JP-8 fuel, and fitted with a ‘wet’ wing


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Turkey’s Tusas Aerospace Industries(formed in April 2005) is scheduled to flya Male project in 2008. The Abu Dhabi-based Adcom is due to fly a 1300-kg Maleprototype, the Yabhon Excellency, de-rived from its Yabhon-R tactical drone,around mid-2006. Powered by an 85 kWpiston engine, it will have a maximumpayload of 500 kg and an endurance of upto 70 hours. Korea Aerospace Industrieshas begun work on a Male drone to satis-fy a requirement generated by the SouthKorean Air Force.

The 3500-kg IAI Heron TP with an (un-specified) 895-kW turboprop engine firstflew in late 2004 and reportedly has halfthe endurance of the basic Heron, but a45,000 ft ceiling (up from 30,000 ft).

Several countries have requirementsfor Male surveillance drones. Canadawants to introduce such a system by 2010and will be looking at proposals fromGeneral Atomics, IAI, Elbit and Eads.Nato is reportedly developing a Male re-quirement, but Germany is said to be go-

The German Army’s KZO is producedby Rheinmetall Defence Electronics and is designed for stealthy day/nightall-weather operation, with de-icingprovisions. (Rheinmetall)

has recently been suggested that Thalesmight become prime.

It currently appears that the EuroMa-le programme will have to be formally

The Denel Aerospace Systems Seeker has the distinction of being cleared for operationin South African airspace, allowing Air Force drones to assist the police on a routinebasis. (Denel)

O ne of the latest newcomers on the unmanned aircraft scene is the NorthropGrumman family of KillerBees, the 2.74-metre wingspan version of which(KB-3) has been demonstrated to the US Air Force in March 2006. The

major aim of blended wing design is to provide video streaming and act as a relayfor communications.The design offers space and volume for a variety of payloadsthat include electro-optical, infraredand synthetic aperture radar sensors.According to the manufacturer, itsground station will be able to handlefour aircraft simultaneously. The air-craft are pneumatic catapult-launchedand can be recovered by conventionallanding on skids or by net. The Killer-Bee is still under development but mayenter initial operational service thisyear (continued next page).

Killer Bee

centre section, the MQ-5B has a nominalendurance of 18 hours (although flightsof 21 hours have been demonstrated),and a ceiling of 22,000 ft. Take-off andlanding are automated. An MQ-5B sys-tem will consist of six drones and threeOne System GCS’.

The principal French company thatfailed to benefit from the EuroMaleawards was Sagem, now part of theSafran group. Sagem has been highly suc-cessful in marketing its 250-kg Sperwer,which has been sold to Canada, Den-mark, Greece, the Netherlands and Swe-den. Over 100 of the series are in servicein Europe and Sagem has recently re-ceived a repeat order from Canada for itsoperations in Afghanistan. A completesystem with four drones and two GCS’costs in the region of Euro 100 million.Production has now switched to the long-span 350-kg Sperwer-B, which has an en-durance of twelve hours (increased fromeight). At the 2005 Paris air show Safranexhibited a Sperwer armed with RafaelSpike anti-armour missiles.

The Canadian Forces rushed the Sper-wer into operational service in Afghanis-tan in 2003 and flew 107 sorties with sixdrones in eight months, but lost two inlanding accidents, due at least in part to themountainous terrain. Canada plans to re-deploy to that theatre before the end of2006. In the meantime, Mmist is develop-ing a precision recovery system for the

Sperwer, presumably derived from that ofthe company’s 635 kg CQ-10A Snow Goose,and using a GPS-guided parafoil. The aimis to allow Sperwers to be used from smallsites surrounded by minefields.

Another system heading for Afghanis-tan is the German Army’s RheinmetallDefense Electronics KZO (Kleinflugge-

III air vehicle. The service expects to buy192 Class III drones, which are requiredto have a six-hour endurance and mustbe operable without a conventional air-field. The Class III will provide commu-nication relay, NBC detection and mete-orological data. The KZO has an en-durance of more than 3.5 hours, is rocket-boosted from a vehicle-mounted con-tainer and is recovered with a parachuteand two airbags.

The AAI RQ-7A/B Shadow 200 is em-ployed by the US Army as a lighter com-plement to the twin-engined Hunter.TheRQ-7B, which entered service in 2004,has a higher bandwidth tactical commondatalink and increased wingspan. TheRQ-7B has a gross weight of 170 kg, andis powered by a 28.3 kW UEL engineburning mogas. It has an endurance ofseven hours and a ceiling at 15,000 ft.TheRQ-7 uses multiple launch and recoverymethods.

The US Army is funded to acquire 63RQ-7 systems, each with four drones, butits longer-term objective is 88 systems.Over 30 systems have already been deliv-ered. The Shadow has been deployed toIraq and South Korea and has accumu-


Com

ple

te G

uid

e

KB-2 KB-3 KB-XWing Span 2 metres 2.74 metres 5.2 metresMax Endurance 12 to 24 hrs 12 to 24 hrs 12 to 24 hrsPayload 3.2 to 6.8 kg 7 to 14 kg 27 to 54 kgGTOW 20 kg 39 kg 163 kgCeiling 18,000 ft 19,200 ft 20,000 ftMax Speed 201 km/hr 193 km/hr 195 km/hrCruise Speed 109 km/hr 108 km/hr 113 km/hrAvailability 2nd qtr 2006 3rd qtr 2006 4th qtr 2006

Killer BeeSpecifications

Although cancelledby the US Navy in2001, the NorthropGrumman RQ-8AFire Scout providedthe basis for theimproved RQ-8B,now adopted forthe US Navy andArmy. (Armada/RB)

rät Zielortung). The first KZO system,consisting of ten drones and two groundcontrol stations,was handed over at the endof November 2005. Five more systems aredue to be delivered by the end of 2007.

The KZO has a very advanced design,with stealth materials and de-icing provi-sions. However, there is some concernthat it will probably need modificationsto suit operations in Afghanistan, since itwas designed specifically for a Europeanwar, to generate target co-ordinates forartillery and transmit them back to afixed ground station using a highly direc-tional aerial. It was also designed for anominal maximum operating altitude of11,500 ft, rather than mountainous condi-tions. The need in Afghanistan is morefor a drone to relay ground imagery to avariety of receivers. In the longer term,the German Army wants to link the KZOto its Tiger helicopter, for the latter tocontrol the drone’s sensor payload.

In the United States the KZO is beingmarketed by Rheinmetall in co-opera-tion with Teledyne Brown Engineeringunder the name Prospector. This hasbeen offered as a follow-on to the AAIRQ-7B Shadow 200, which has been se-lected as the US Army’s baseline Class

lated 50,000 flight hours, of which around40,000 hours were over Iraq. AAI alsomarkets the 201 kg Shadow 400, report-edly sold to the South Korea Navy, andthe 265-kg Shadow 600, which has an en-durance of 12 to 14 hours and has beensold to Romania and Turkey.

Tactical DevelopmentsThe latest important tactical drone selec-tion is that of the 165 kg IAI I-View 250by the Australian Army in late 2005 tomeet its JP129 requirement. The princi-pal reason given for its adoption was itsfully automated take-off and landing sys-tem, with a catapult launch and a pow-ered guided parafoil recovery. Comingroughly halfway between the RQ-5 andRQ-7 series, Britain’s WatchkeeperWK450 is based on the 550-kg Elbit Her-mes 450 drone. The prime contractor isThales UK, but in late 2005 that companyand Elbit Systems formed a joint ventureto manage the programme. Based inLeicester and named UAV Tactical Sys-tems (U-Tacs), the company received a317 million pound (Sterling) subcontractfrom Thales in October 2005, coveringdevelopment, production and eight years

The Thales Watchkeeper WK450 isbasically an Elbit Hermes 450 droneequipped with a Thales I-Master radarand an Elop Compas IV EO/IR sensor.(Armada/RB)

Changhong IC

People’s Republic of China acft/para2450

na

0.75

1x WP6

CL-289 Piver

Bombardier/Eads rato/para240

2.00

125

1xBMW

RR T117+s/b

CL-327 Guardian

Bombardier vtol349

18

6.5

1xWilliams

WTS117-5

Aerostar

Aeronautics conv/conv200

18.0

14.0

Zanzottera2-piston490ia38 hp

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation25.0

na

4.00

QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

Apid 55

Cybaero105

9.00

6.00

2-stroke2-piston55 hp

Eagle 1

Eads/IAI Malat conv/conv

1150

25.0

24.0

1x Rotax914

Eagle 2

Eads/IAI Malat conv/conv3600

45.0

24.0

1xP+WCPT6A tp

E-Hunter

IAI Malat conv/conv953

20.0

25.0

2x 64 hpdual

Eagle Eye

Bell Helicopter Textron stovl1290

20.0

8.00

1x PW200-55

A160 Hummingbird

Frontier Systems/Boeing vtol1950

30

7.30

Piston engine388 hp

Aerosky

Israel Aircraft Industries conv/conv

70.31

15

5.0+

(typeundis-closed)

Aerosonde Mk 1

Aerosonde hand/belly13.61

21

30

H-Type

Aladin

EMT hand/belly~3.0

low

0.75

1xelectric

Altair

General Atomics conv/conv3175

52

32

1 x AseTPE331-

10T

Altus 2


65

n/a

1x Rotaxtwinturbo

ASN-206

Catic cat/para

222

5.50

8.00

1 x37.3kwHS-700

Bateleur

Denel conv/conv1000

25.0

24.0

1x Rotax914 orSubaruEA-82T

Aerolight

Aeronautics cat/parafoil40

10

4.00

8 hp(typeundis-closed)

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel vtol200

18.0

6.00

1x 55 hpDiamond

Carolo P50

Mavionics/Eads hand/belly0.53

na

0.30

1xelectric

Complete Guide 2006


n/a4.48n/a

1.712.90n/a

0.601.46n/a

11.0319.511.13

7.1916.860.76

3.346.04

-

~10.015.0~0.80

2.564.00

~0.50

3.093.40~0.80

0.470.49n/a

3.511.370.40

8.477.530.58

1.834.050.88

4.506.50~0.50

1.753.28n/a

3.203.3 dia

n/a

4.0016.3n/a

13.022.0n/a

5.464.630.76

7.5315.39n/a

BQM-145A

Northrop Grumman/Ryan Aero cat/para

980

40

2.00

1x tele-dyneCAEF480-CA

100tf

Bekas

Granit - NPO Mash. conv/conv+para~250

~15.0

5.00

not yetdefined

10.6710.97n/a

5.493.20n/a

2.973.20n/a

vtol

Carapas

Eads-Galileo cat+rato/para750

40.0

0.90

16 daNMicroturboTRS 18-1

tf

4.072.300.40

Sar, EO/IR

8 kg Hi-resolution

CCD orNight camera

Cots EO(manufacturer

not determined)

Various(FSI,various)

200 kg

stabilised electro-optical

Day or IR

880 lbvariousEM/EO

Scientific (various manu-

facturers)

Stabilisedelectro-optical

Day/nightTV/IR

Denel Argos orGoshawk/

Avitronics elintor Sar, 200 kg

Project for target recce

(imaginginfrared) andRF jamming

Programmable(TRA)

Day/IR/elint/comint

60 kg

Eads passiveesm-elint,

stabilised e-oand infrared

Day

R/C (NAI)

Infrared linescanner

Various(FSI,various)

-1A recon orweather sample

-1D geophys.survey

250 kg EO or EW

600 kg EO,EW or Sar

Flir Safire III +TelephonicsRDR-1700B

radar

TV & IR, custom

(IAI Tamam)

car-top/conv

Exdrone

L-3 BAI Aerosystems cat/skid-para41.3

na

2.50

1x 8 hp2-stroke

Eyeview 1/2


5.00

6+

1x 25 hp

17

Drone specifications

turbineor t-propengine

pistonengine

Wankelengine

1.862.47n/a

2.933.96n/a

2-s 2-strokehp horsepowertp turbopropRx Rotax engine

elec electric enginegas gasoline engines/b solid booster-cyl -cylinder

tf turbo fantj turbo jetpj pulse jet

Launch/Recovery abbreviationsPowerplant abbreviationsconv conventionalcat catapultpara parachutebelly belly landing

rato rocket-assisted take offhand hand launchedvtol vertical take-off and landingstovl short T/O vertical landing

Where no information is given,either the information was notmade available or it has not beendecided for that specific portionof the system. Dem signifies thedrone is a demonstrator.

Hermes 180

Elbit195

15.0

10.0

1x UEL38 hp

Hermes 450

Elbit conv/conv449

20.0

20.0

1x UELAR-80-101052 hp

Heron


30.0

50.0

1x Rotax914

115 hp

Heron TP


45.0

24.0

1x tp(typeundis-closed)

1200 hp

Hunter


15.0

12.0

2x 64 hpdual

I-Gnat


40.0

23.0

1x Rotax914

I-See

IAI Malat cat/belly

7.50

10.0

1.00

1xelectric

I-View

IAI Malat cat/para165

22.0

~5

(type undis-closed)

Ka-137

Kamov Design Bureau279

16.4

4.00

1x Hirth2706P05

65 hp

Falco

Galileo conv-cat/conv350

na

14.0

75 hpAR682

Fantail

ST Aerospace stovl5.50

na

na

3.5 hp

Fire Scout (RQ-8B)

Northrop Grumman vtol1430

20.0

8.00

1x R-R250-

C20W

Global Hawk (RQ-4A Tier II plus)

Northrop Grumman conv/conv

65.0

36.0

1x R-RAE3007

H tf

Global Hawk RQ-4B

Northrop Grumman/Eads conv/conv14628

65.0

28.0

1x R-RAE3007

Gnat-750 (Tier I)

General Atomics conv/conv

513

20.0

40.0

1x Rotax582

GoldenEye 100

Aurora Flight Sciences vtol70.0

10.0

4.00

n/a

Hermes 1500

Elbit conv/conv1496

25.0

24.0

2x Rotax914,

100 hp

Drone Name

Manufacturer launch/recovery

***

**

*

Electric engine

Sensor packages, inmany casesmaximum

sensor payloadweight

GoldenEye 50

Aurora Flight Sciences11.0

5.00

1.00

n/a

0.76n/a0.29

5.207.200.74

7.018.22n/a

13.4135.351.46

14.5339.901.46

5.4910.670.76

1.682.74n/a

0.701.40n/a

9.3915.0~1.00

Lengthwingspan

payloadbay

all sizes in meters

6.1010.520.52

4.436.00

~0.50

8.6016.610.85

12.0123.01n/a

6.898.90n/a

6.3412.860.76

1.822.90n/a

4.105.70~0.25

5.30n/a1.19

endurance

max altitude

take-off weight

[hours]

[feet x 1000]

[kilograms]


Dem

RangefinderTV,

IR (variousmanufacturers)

Day/nightimager (various

manufacturers)

Flir, colour TVlaser

rangefinder

Day/nightcamera, chemical sensors

EO/IR, laserdesignator,Sar, GMTI

Satcom + Sar, EO, IR

12111

Sigint, MP Rtipplus extra

powerunit/Sar, E-O,

IR, Satcom

Day TV, flir(Wescam)

Comint, elint

Day/IR 1 kg

EO, IR, laserdesignator,

GMTI

conv, cat/para,ab,conv

Tesar Sar, DSPEO, compassflir and CCD

EM, TV, Sar(various

manufacturers)

TV and IR, cus-tom (IAITamam)

TV and IR, custom

(IAI Tamam,various)245 kg

TV and IR (IAI Tamam)

EO, IR or Sar(Wescam)

Camera 0.8 kg

30 kgMosp EO

or EL/M-2055BSar

Various types (various manu-

facturers)

vtol vtol

18

Unmanned Aircraft

Pointer

AeroVironment hand/belly3.60

0.6+

1.00

1xelectric

Predator A


25.0

40+

1x Rotax914

100 hp

Predator B


50.0

30+

1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

Prowler II


20.0

18.0

1x 65 hpRotax582

R90

Enics rato/expend

0.50

1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

Ranger

Ruag cat/conv274

14.8

5.00

1xGoebler-

Hirth 38 hp

Raven

AeroVironment hand/belly

2.00

10.0

1.30

1x Aveox 27

RemoEye 006

Ucon hand/belly6.00

na

1.5+

1x electric

RemoEye 015

Ucon conv/conv15.0

na

4.00

1x electric

Luna X-2000

EMT cat/para29.9

10.0

4.00

2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

Mariner


52.0

49+

1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

Micro-V

Elbit49.9

8.00

5.00

2x 4 hp2-stroke

Mirach 150

Galileo rato/para345

30.0

1.30

1xMicro-turbo

TRS 18-1 tj

Mirach 20


12.0

4+

1x 26 hp

Mirach 26


13.0

7.00

1x 28 hp

Model 395

Northrop Grumman/Scaled Composites conv/conv

5670

40.0

16.0

2xWilliamsFJ 44-2E

tj

Muas

Irkut conv/conv200

20.0

14.0

n/a

Nibbio

Galileo cat/para740

40

0.90

Micro-turbo

TRS18-1tf

Pchela 1

Yakovlev Design Bureau cat/conv130

8.20

2.00

1xSamana/Trud P-032 32 hp

Pioneer

IAI/AAI conv, rato/conv210

15.0

6.50

1x 27 hpSachs

SF2-350

Neptune

DRS Technologies cat/belly, para36.3

8.00

4.00

1x 15 hp2-stroke

KZO

Rheinmetall rato/para161

11.5

3.50

1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.263.410.37

10.9726.21n/a

2.264.24n/a

2.743.660.70

4.692.100.37

3.604.150.34

3.784.720.37

17.5223.77

variable

4.006.00n/a

2.131.83n/a

4.072.300.40

2.773.260.30

Orbiter

Aeronautics hand/belly650

2.00

1.50

brushless

1.002.20

~0.35

4.245.120.37

8.2314.841.22

1.802.70~0.10

10.3620.12n/a

4.247.31n/a

1.422.56~0.25

4.605.70n/a

0.921.340.01

1.552.72~0.12

1.803.20~0.20


Neuron

Neuron conv/conv~6000

35.0

n/a

1x Adour

9.3012.5n/a

Flir(Rheinmetall

DefenceElectronics)

CCD camera(various

manufacturers)

internal 363kg, external

1361 kgvarious

CCD camera,flir

(various manufacturers)

TV or flir/elint(Meteor)

TV, LLTV, flir,elint


TV, IR, EW, Sar(various

manufacturers)

Weapons orSar/elint 1360 kg

50 kg IR and TV

IR or TV or 9 kg

droppable

radar, IR+

guided bombsin 2 internal

bays

Flir, ESM, IR,TV, ECM 60 kg

cat/para

Day or IR

Day or IR

EO/IR sensor(IAI Tamam)

IR/EO

Day/IR

Eo/IR or Sar50 kg

EO, IR, Sar(NorthropGrumman,Wescam)

Eo, IR, Sar(GeneralAtomics,Wescam)

CCD cameraor IR 0.9 kg

TV and flir (IAITamam,

Versatron)

Max. 1.2 kg

Hi-resolutionCCD fromControp

TV or LLTV orelint

Dem

19armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2006

armada©

ScanEagle A-15

Boeing cat/cable18.0

16.0

15.0

1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

Scarab (Model 324)

Northrop Grumman rato/para1077

na

na

1xTeledyneCAE373

-8C

SDTI

Sagem cat/parana

17.0

8.50

1x 70 hp2-stroke

1.193.050.18

6.163.35n/a

3.514.21n/a

Sky-X

Alenia conv/conv1100

30.0

na

1 turbine

Sniper

Elbit cat/para

155

15.0

6+

1x UELAR 74138 hp

Sojka

VTULaSTV cat/pata145

7.00

2.00

2-cyl 2-stroke29.5 hp

Sperwer B

Sagem cat/para350

20.0

12.0

1x 70 hp2-stroke

Sperwer/Ugglan

Sagem250

17

8.00

1x 70 hp2-stroke

Traker

Eads hand/belly7.50

6.50

2.00

1x electric

Tu-243 (VR-3 Reys-D)

Tupolev ANTK rato/para1397

17.0

na

1xIzotovTR-3-

117 tj

Vulture

ATE cat/para

125

16.0

3.00

1x TTL-Wae342

Warrior

General Atomics conv/conv

1360

29.0

30

ThielertCenturion

Yabhon-M

ATS conv/conv

330

na

30.0

1x 60 hpME 684

Searcher II

IAI Malat conv/conv

426

19.0

16.0

1x 73 hp

Seeker II

Denel conv/conv + arrestor

280

18.0

10.0

1x 4-cyl2-stroke50 hp

Sentry

DRS Technologies conv/conv-para

150

10.0

6.00

1x 2-stroke28 hp

Shadow 200 (RQ-7A)

AAI conv-cat-rato/para

170

15.0

6+

1x UELAR 741

Shadow 400

AAI conv/conv201

12.0

5.00

1x UELAR 74138 hp

Shadow 600

AAI conv-cat-rato/para

265

17.0

12+

1x UELAR 80150 hp

Shadow (RQ-7B)

AAI rail/conv171

15.0

7+

1x UELAR 74138 hp

Silver Fox

ACR cat/para

12.2

1.00

4.00

4-cycleJP5 orFP8

Skylark

Elbit Systems hand/belly

na

6.00

2.00

1x electric

Skylite

Rafael tube/belly

6.00

low

1.0+

1x electric

Shmel Yak-61 (Bumblebee)

Yakovlev Design Bureau cat/conv

129

10.0

2.00

(typeundis-closed)

5.858.56n/a

n/a7.00n/a

2.571.90n/a

3.754.270.34

5.003.82n/a

5.187.470.46

3.404.270.34

2.773.26n/a

1.802.40n/a

2.205.50~0.15

1.101.700.12

3.785.210.52

~7.00~6.00n/a

3.814.08n/a

3.506.20n/a

3.514.21n/a

1.403.60~0.10

8.212.26n/a

3.115.210.70

10.3620.12

variable

4.305.70~0.30

Stabilised dayor IR

Program command

(TRA)

Sagem 410 TV+ IR

TV and flir (IAI Tamam)

colour camera,multi-sensor,electronic

survey

35 kgVarius

Various (various

manufacturers)

30 kgVarious

Micro-flir,CCTV (variousmanufacturers)

EO/IR, Tamam,27.3 kg

Day/nightimager (various

manufacturers)

2.7 kgcolour/CCDcameras, flir

Day or IR

CCD camera

200 kg notdefined

TV, flir (variousmanufacturers)

CCD camera,IR


100 kg EO/IR, SarSamir MWR + weapons

(Spike)

50 kgSagem Olosp

cat/para

Day or IR, 1.8 kg

TV, IR, radiationdetection

Optronic daysight (M-Tek)

In developmentLynx Sar, 8 Hellfire

Day/IR

of support. Elbit is expected to receivearound one-third of the total.The WK450has an endurance of over 16 hours and aceiling of 16,000 ft.

A British Army Watchkeeper regimentwill consist of four batteries (systems),each with three aircraft. The baselineWatchkeeper is now due to enter servicein 2010 (four years later than was plan-ned in 2004), with a payload combiningthe Thales I-Master radar and the ElopCompass IV EO/IR sensor. It is under-stood that up to 94 WK450s will be pro-cured for Britain, and Elbit and Thaleswill market the system worldwide.

The original plan for Watchkeeperwas to combine two types of drone, in thewinning (Thales) case the Hermes 450and the lighter Hermes 180. The othercombination shortlisted was the NorthropGrumman proposal to combine the RuagAerospace Ranger with its own RQ-8Fire Scout helicopter.

The Ranger is a 275-kg drone with a 38 hp engine and an endurance of six hours. The Ranger is noteworthy for its automated recovery, known asRaps (Ranger Autoland Precision Sen-sor), which monitors the drone position

US Army is not scheduled until 2011.TheRQ-8B has also been chosen for use onthe US Navy’s new Littoral CombatShips. Northrop Grumman is currentlyunder contract to deliver twelve aircraft:four for the Navy and eight for the Army.The company sees export prospects inAustralia, Japan and South Korea.

Vigilante 502, based on the 512-kg two-seat American Sportscopter Ultrasport496 powered by a turbocharged Rotax914 engine. Maximum speed is 217 km/hrand ceiling is 13,000 ft.The Model 502 hasbeen fitted with an NBC agent detectionsystem, and has been tested as a platformfor Hydra 70 rockets.The Vigilante 496 isan optionally-pilots variant with the orig-inal (larger) fuselage and consequentlyreduced performance.

Europe’s principal de-manned heli-copter is the 680-kg Vertivision, based onthe manned Hélicoptères Guimbal CabriG2, powered by a 112-kW Lycoming.Thetwo companies have formed a joint ven-ture named Vertivision to develop theOrka 1200, which is aimed at a jointFrench Army/Navy requirement. Eads,on the other hand is developing muchsmaller drone helicopters, the 13-kg Scor-pio 6 and 38-kg Scorpio 30.

Advanced TechnologiesAll the rotary-wing aircraft discussed sofar have been conventional designs,aimed at exploiting existing airframe-en-


Com

ple

te G

uid

e

There is a great deal of interest in theVtol drone sector, because such vehiclessuit navies and make armies independentof runways. Boeing is promoting the op-tionally-piloted Unmanned Little Bird(ULB) based on the MD HelicoptersMD530F, which would give commonalitywith the US Special Operations CommandAH/MH-6J.The ULB has a gross weight of1400 kg and is powered (like the RQ-8) bya 315 kW Rolls-Royce Model 250 tur-boshaft. The ULB first flew on 8 Septem-ber 2004, and is reportedly being testedwith Hellfire missiles and a 12.7 mm GAU-19/A Gatling gun. It is planned todemonstrate remote control of the ULBfrom an UH-60 and possibly an AH-64.

Boeing has a second iron in the fire,having taken over Frontier Systems whichdeveloped the 620 kg Maverick drone fromthe Robinson R22, which is powered by a108-kW Lycoming engine burning avgas.The Maverick has a seven-hour endurancewith a 180 kg payload, a ceiling of 10,800 ftand a maximum speed of 218 km/hr.

Another drone helicopter is the Sci-ence Applications International (Saic)

The Boeing X-50Dragonfly canardrotor/wing tech-nology demonstratorwill investigate thefeasibility of a high-speed operationaldrone using thestopped-rotorconcept. (Boeing)

Tilt-rotor technology from the XV-15 and V-22 series is now being applied to drones.The first full-scale Bell TR918 Eagle Eye began hover trials in January 2006. (Bell)

Singapore Technologies Aerospace isdeveloping the Fantail ducted fan Vtoldrone. The current version is the 5.5-kgFantail 5000, which began flight trialsin May 2005. (ST Aero)

by means of a TV camera and laserranger transmitting corrective signals tothe GCS.

Rotary WingsThe Northrop Grumman RQ-8A/B FireScout, based on the Schweizer 379, is stillin the developmental stage. Five (three-blade) RQ-8As and four GCS’ are cur-rently under test. The first autonomousdeck landings on a ship at sea were car-ried out in January 2006 with the am-phibious assault ship USS Nashville offthe east coast of the USA.

In 2003 the US Army selected the1430-kg four-blade RQ-8B as its Class IVdrone for its FCS (Future Combat Sys-tem), representing a market for 1152 airvehicles. The RQ-8B is powered by a 315-kW Rolls-Royce 250-C20W turbo-shaft, and carries a 272 kg payload for a flight of six hours with a ceiling of20,000 ft. Maximum speed is 230 km/hr.

The first of two RQ-8B prototypes isdue to be delivered before the end of2006, but formal service entry with the

gine combinations. However, America isalso looking at advanced technologies toprovide major improvements in helicop-ter performance.

The Boeing X-50 Dragonfly canard ro-tor/wing (CRW) is a fresh take on the oldstopped-rotor concept, employing a rela-tively conventional straight wing as a two-blade rotor, powered by engine bleed-fedtip-jets for low-speed flight.The X-50 tech-nology demonstrator is a 675-kg aircraft,with a 3.1-kN Williams F115 turbofan, anda design maximum speed of 408 km/hr.The operational CRW would be aimed for740 km/hr. The first of two Darpa-fundedX-50s began hover tests in late 2003 butwas damaged in a hard landing in March2004, later traced to control cross coupling.The second X-50 began hovering in De-cember 2005. Two further prototypes areplanned.

Another advanced Boeing helicopterdrone is the A-160 Hummingbird, which

the company acquired on taking overFrontier Systems. A joint Darpa/Army/Navy programme, the A-160 is intendedto demonstrate a major improvement inrange and endurance through the use of apatented Optimum Speed Rotor (OSR).This is claimed to allow the rotor to oper-ate over a wide rpm range and thus

and was further developed with theBell-Boeing V-22 Osprey (1989) and the Bell/Agusta BA609 (2001), Bell isnow developing its Model TR916/918Eagle Eye tilt-rotor drone. The TR916 is specifically for the US Coast Guardand the TR918 is aimed at the broadermilitary and commercial market.A seven-eighth-scale demonstrator (TR911X)flew in March 1998. A pre-productionTR918 began hover trials on 26 January2006.

The Eagle Eye will be operated fromUS Coast Guard cutters under theDeepwater programme. The procure-ment of 45 aircraft and 33 control sta-tions is planned with service entry in2011. It will have a Flir Systems StarSafire III thermal imager and a Tele-phonics RDR-1700B radar. In addition,the US Marine Corps plans to buy eightTR918s for evaluation as an armed es-cort for the MV-22. Bell is teamed withLockheed Martin, AAI and TextronSystems on Eagle Eye development andmarketing, and with Sagem and Rhein-metall on a European version.

The Eagle Eye is a 1290-kg dronepowered by a 480 kW Pratt & WhitneyCanada PW200-55 turboshaft. It is esti-mated to have an endurance of 5.5 hours,a ceiling of 20,000 ft and a maximumspeed of 390 km/hr. It may be noted that


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makes it possible for the blades to func-tion at their optimum lift/drag ratio re-gardless of flight conditions. The first offour A-160 technology demonstratorshad its maiden flight in January 2002. It isa 1950-kg drone, currently fitted with a290-kW six-cylinder car engine providinga 7.3-hour endurance with an 18% fuelfraction. It is planned to progress to a tur-boshaft engine and ultimately a diesel, togive an endurance of over 24 hours, aceiling of 30,000 ft and a maximum speedof 260 km/hr. However, the Darpa fund-ing is due to end in 2007. Boeing is undercontract to produce eight A-160s forDarpa and ten for US Naval Air SystemsCommand.

Tilt-RotorThe feasibility of the stopped-rotor andthe OSR have yet to be demonstrated,but the tilt-rotor is known to work.Basedon the technology demonstrated withthe Bell XV-15, which first flew in 1977

Sales of the S-100 with the United Arab Emirates as launch customer (followed byanother three buying nations) being on a steep curve topping the near 200 mark haveprompted Schiebel to build new facilities on the edge of the Wiener Neustadt airfieldin Austria. (Armada/RB)

Originally developed by the US AirForce Electronic Systems Center, thebungee-launched Desert Hawk is builtunder licence by Lockheed Martin. It isshown here at Ali Air Base in Iraq. (US Air Force)

Like the DesertHawk, theAeroVironmentDragon Eye isbungee-launched.The US MarineCorps plans toprocure 342 three-drone systemsunder a five-yearprogramme. (US Navy)

the Korea Aerospace Research Institutehas recently launched development of itsSmart tilt-rotor drone.

Marine NeedsOne potential market for the Eagle Eyeis the US Marine Corps, which, asidefrom needing a drone escort for the MV-22, has a requirement for a ‘Vuas’ (Verti-cal Unmanned Aircraft System) to re-place the old RQ-2B Pioneer from 2015.The Pioneer can overcome the need for along runway by using a rocket-assistedtake-off and an arrested landing, but theservice is now looking for Vtol operationfrom all its air-capable ships. Early reports spoke of demands for a 90-kgpayload, an endurance of six to eighthours (threshold and objective figures)and a maximum cruise speed of 370 to480 km/hr.

The obvious Vuas contenders are theBell Eagle Eye and the Northrop Grum-man Fire Scout, but it is anticipated that

(in view of the relaxed timescale) Boeingmay offer not only the ULB but also theA-160 and CRW. Another helicopterdrone with maritime applications is Aus-tria’s 200-kg Schiebel Camcopter S-100,which has a dash speed of 220 km/hr.The launch customer for the S-100 ver-sion is the UAE Army, which has ordered40 systems, each with two Al Sber drones,with an option on another 40 aircraft.Al-though no longer in production, the orig-inal and smaller Camcopter is employedby the Egyptian Navy.

The Pioneer/Vuas represents the USMarine Corp’s longest-range system, theTier 3. Tier 2 evidently refers to an inter-mediate-range drone, yet to be chosen.At the lower end,Tier 1 is represented bythe bungee-launched, electrically pow-ered 2.06-kg AeroVironment DragonEye. In February 2006 it was announcedthat AeroVironment is to produce 303Dragon Eyes and 101 ground stations forthe US Marine Corps under a $ ten mil-lion contract. The marines plan to buy342 systems under a five-year pro-gramme. In the long term it is hoped theDragon Eye will be replaced with a JointSmall UAS.

Another type in broadly the same cat-egory as the Dragon Eye is the 2.26 kgLockheed Martin Desert Hawk, whichwas developed to meet a US Air Forcerequirement for overseas airbase protec-

tion.The service currently has 21 systemswith 126 aircraft, all deployed in the Mid-dle East. Other users of the Desert Hawkinclude the British Army, which has re-cently contracted Lockheed Martin toupgrade its existing systems and supplynew ones to the improved standard.

In US Marine Corps plans there isscope for a close-range sub-Tier 1 in themicro air vehicle (Mav) category. This isexemplified by the AeroVironment Wasp,which weighs only 170 grams and has aspan of only 33 cm but has demonstratedan endurance of 107 minutes. Severalcountries are experimenting with Mav-class drones. European interest is illustrat-ed by the 530-gram 49-cm span MavionicsCarolo, funded by Rheinmetall.

Ducted FansThe US Army is encouraging the devel-opment of ducted fan mini-dronesthrough its Class I requirement for abackpackable vtol weighing less than

proved drones for further evaluation bythe 25th Infantry Division.

The Class I will operate in conjunctionwith a heavier Class II Organic Air Vehi-cle, which is to have a ‘dry weight’ of lessthan 50.8 kg and an endurance of twohours. In December 2004 Darpa awardeddevelopment contracts for Class II duct-ed fan vehicles to Aurora Flight Sciences,BAE Systems and Honeywell Interna-tional. In July 2005 it was announced thatTeam GoldenEye, led by Aurora, is to de-velop the Class II. The GoldenEye-50demonstrator weighs only 8.15 kg andthe GoldenEye-100 will weigh 68 kg.

BAE Systems lost in both Class I andII, but is continuing to develop ductedfan drones. It plans to flight-test its 56.8-kg IAV2 vehicle with wings added,to increase maximum speed from 37 to 185 km/hr and extend endurance fromone to perhaps five hours. It has alsobeen demonstrated as a means to deploya ten-kg WolfPack signals intelligenceunattended ground station. The IAV2 is


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6.8 kg with an endurance of 60 minutes.The Army foresees a need for a total of624 such drones to perform ‘hover-and-stare’ duties. In 2005 Honeywell deliv-ered to the US Army for assessment a 33-cm-diameter ducted fan vehicle that hadbeen developed under Darpa funding. In2006 the company is to deliver 25 im-

being offered to the US Marine Corpsand Special Operations Command.

Other small ducted fan projects in-clude ST Aero’s Fantail-500, a 5.5-kgdrone with a 2.6-kW engine, which wasunveiled at Asian Aerospace in Singa-pore in February 2006.

Sagem, for its part, is developing anelectrically powered ducted fan drone aspart of the Felin soldier programme.Based on the HoverEye designed byBertin, it is known as the Odin. In fact,Sagem is working on two derivatives oneweighing 1.5 kg and the other 4.5 kg.Sagem had earlier envisaged a systembased on the ST Aero Fantail but theproject has been terminated.

All-electricThe pathfinder for electrically powered,hand-launched mini-drones was the 3.76-kg AeroVironment FQM-151 Point-

Sagem unveiled its Bertin-based elec-trically powered Odin at the 2005Paris Air Show. (Armada/EHB)

More than 100Aerosonde droneshave beencompleted. Work isproceeding on aprecision maritimerecovery system toautomatically guidethe drone into a neton a moving ship.(Armada/RB)

AeroVironment Pointers are used by the US Air Force, Army and Marines. Here AirForce airmen from the 22nd and 23rd Tactics Squadrons are trialling use from anOhio-class submarine. (US Navy)

er, which has been used extensively by USservices since 1989. The drone is known inthe US military as the RQ-11A Raven andis a 1.8-kg development that exploits re-cent advances in battery and electric mo-tor technologies. The US Army is buying185 three-aircraft systems for use in Iraqand Afghanistan, the US Air Force 41 two-aircraft systems and Ussocom 70 three-air-craft systems. Total Raven sales have nowreached the 3000 mark.

The Israel Defence Force is currentlyevaluating home-grown electric drones:the Aeronautical Defense Systems Orbiter, the Elbit Systems Skylark, theIAI I-View 50, the IMI Rainbow andthe Rafael Skylite-B. This is hoped tolead to a selection by the end of 2006.The winner will carry a Controp EOpayload.

-B version is catapulted and recovered byparachute and airbag for instant reusabil-ity.

Other electrically powered drones in-clude the hand-launched ST Aero Sky-

ic sea-skimming targets. This follows anearlier order for 20 low-rate initial produc-tion (Lrip) Coyotes. It employs a surplusStandard Missile Mk 70 tandem boosterand a ducted rocket sustainer based ontechnology developed by Atlantic Re-search under the US Air Force Variable-Flow Ducted-Rocket programme. It has arange of approximately 90 km, flying ex-tremely low at Mach 2.5.

In August 2005 the first flight tookplace of the Northrop Grumman BQM-74F, the latest version of the Navy sub-sonic drone series known in the exportmarket as the Chukar. The new avionicsfrom the –74F will be retrofitted to someNavy BQM-34 Firebees. The US AirForce is meanwhile seeking a replace-ment for its McDonnell Douglas QF-4s,which will probably lead to a drone de-velopment of the Lockheed Martin F-16.

UcavsAs indicated earlier, the future of Ucavshas been thrown into confusion by theUS Air Force and Navy zeroing the


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blade series. In early 2006 the companyhanded over the first of four Skyblade IIsto the Republic of Singapore Army, andunveiled the improved Skyblade III.

AeroVironment has revealed that itsAquaPuma, a marinised version of thePuma that was developed as a Pointer re-placement, is in limited production forthe US Navy. The AquaPuma is compet-ing for a Royal Australian Navy orderagainst the Schiebel S-100 and Australia’sown Aerosonde series, now using a netrecovery system.

Aerosonde has recently entered into astrategic alliance with Lockheed Martinon the development of small drones. Itscurrent lightweight, long-enduranceproduct (also named Aerosonde) is inbroadly the same class as the 18-kg Boe-ing ScanEagle, which is already in use inthe Iraq theatre by the US Air Force,Navy and Marine Corps.

TargetsThe current state of the art in regard totarget drones was discussed in some detailin our last review (Armada International2/2005). The most significant news in thiscontext is that in February 2006 OrbitalSciences announced receipt of the firstfull-scale production order from the USNavy for 19 GQM-163A Coyote superson-

J-Ucas programme in their FY2007 budgetrequests, although Lockheed Martin isreportedly already developing a J-Ucas-size penetrator drone. It may be note-worthy that the US Air Force estimated a$ 60 million unit cost for the J-Ucas pro-duction item, and allegedly saw it as athreat to the F-35.

According to press leaks, the Navycontinues to need a carrier-based Ucavwith design emphasis on stealth and long

The Advanced Ceramics Research Silver Fox is a 12.2-kg modular drone burningmogas or avtur fuel. It is used by the US Marine Corps in Iraq and is being evaluatedby the Canadian Forces. (US Navy)

The Boeing/Insitu ScanEagle-B is aimedat a 48-hour endurance. Recovery atsea employs a ‘Skyhook’ system, thewing snagging a cable suspendedfrom a 15-metre pole. (Insitu)

There remains astrong market fortarget drones forshort-range airdefences, asexemplified by thisMeggitt DefenceSystems Voodoo, a210-kg vehicle witha 108-kW engine.(Armada/EHB)

Northrop Grumman has manufacturedover 7500 examples of theBQM/MQM-74 target drone series.The straight-wing BQM-74E is nowbeing superseded by the swept-wingBQM-74F. (Northrop Grumman)

The Elbit Skylark is reportedly inservice with the Israel Defence Force andhas been selected by the AustralianArmy, which is buying six three-dronesystems. Four of these are to be deployedto Iraq. The original Rafael Skylite-Awas shoulder-launched from a reusablecanister, to facilitate urban use, but the

endurance. The service has requested $ 239 million in FY2007 for a Ucav carrier-suitability demonstration, presumablyusing an X-47B.

By 2018 the US Air Force wants tohave a much heavier long-range strikedrone to complement a new mannedbomber, which will take a larger warload.The service may also have ICBMs withconventional warheads.

The future for European Ucavs isequally unpredictable. Hoping to collab-orate with the US on a stealthy UcavBritain cannot co-operate with its neigh-bours and so is working on a nationaltechnology demonstration programme.Germany is again making a solo effort:photographs of the Eads Barrakuda havebeen published, though not by Eads.

Italy and Sweden have flown theirown Ucav research drones but have nevertheless joined in the multi-nationalNeuron programme, for which France’s

further human input, and monitoring thehealth of their own systems during flight.Nonetheless, they still require ground con-trol stations (which may be carried on sur-face vessels or in other aircraft) to insertmission plans for the drone and its sensors,to modify those plans during flight anddownlink and display the images generat-ed by those sensors.

One of the major concerns voiced inthe current Pentagon roadmap fordrones is the relatively high cost of oper-ation associated with the need for skilledmanpower. For example, the pilot of aNorthrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawkrequires 26 weeks of specialist training,and it takes 17 weeks even in the contextof a very basic drone such as the RQ-2 Pio-neer. There is also concern that present-day ground stations are not designed tobe used as training simulators.

One of the most important trends is to-ward greater drone autonomy, which willmake it easier for one pilot to control sev-eral drones simultaneously. In addition,more data processing will be done onboardthe drone, allowing the ground station tobe simplified and require less power, thusbecoming smaller and easier to deploy.


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DGA signed a Euro 405 million contractwith Dassault in February 2006.The Neu-ron is expected to be a six-tonne air vehi-cle, probably with a Rolls-Royce/Tur-bomeca Adour turbofan and weaponbays for two 250-kg bombs. Other com-panies involved include Alenia Aeronau-tica, Eads-Casa, Hellenic Aerospace In-dustries, Ruag Aerospace, Saab andThales. The Neuron is to fly in 2011.

Ground Control StationsGround control stations are changing asservice demands grow for ease of deploy-ment and commonality between systems,and as drones develop to provide greaterautonomy, requiring reduced manpower.

The Ryan (now Northrop Grumman)Firebees of the Vietnam era were hand-flown by professional pilots sitting in theLockheed Martin Hercules that alsoserved as their launch platforms. In con-trast, the most advanced of modern droneshave a relatively high degree of autonomy,flying pre-programmed missions fromtake-off to landing without the need for

If the J-Ucas project is to survive, it seems likely that the US Navy will have to fund itsown improved version of the Northrop Grumman X-47B, as illustrated here. (NorthropGrumman)

Drones have special attractions in suppressing air defences and the use of directedenergy weapons. The US Navy may well be the first service to field a directed-energystrike drone. (Northrop Grumman)

The planform of the Boeing X-45A is atypical configuration designed for radarstealth, with leading and trailing edgesaligned to produce two narrowresponse spikes. (Nasa)

Boeing’s contender for the production J-Ucas was the considerably enlarged X-45C, shown here as a mock-up. Thefirst of three demonstrators was to haveflown in early 2007. (Boeing)

In the longer term, quite sophisticateddrones may be controlled from laptopcomputers, possibly using some degree ofvoice control to communicate basic in-structions. Important advances are alsotaking place in communications, as illus-trated by America’s Link 16 encryptedjam-resistant digital datalink network.Like other Pentagon systems, drones areto be connected to the Department ofDefense’s own version of the Internet,the Global Information Grid.

It must be borne in mind, however, thatmission duration largely governs the sizeand sophistication of a ground control sta-tion.The longer the mission the more datais amassed and processed and severalrecorders might be required. Typically,there will be at least two operators, the pi-lot and the payload operator. In principlea single person would suffice, but the op-eration would become very risky if achange of course has to be keyed in.

The laptop may not be the end of thetrend to smaller ground stations. Elisraand several other manufacturers are of-fering wristwatch-like displays, which arebetter suited to the use of micro-dronesand urban warfare.

At the opposite end of the spectrum,the long-range Global Hawk has a two-station Launch and Recovery Element(LRE) and a separate four-station Mis-sion Control Element (MCE). The LREcontrols the drone by UHF links but has

deployed, but the MCE was located atBeale AFB, California, communicatingwith the CAOC by landline and Ku-band satcom.

In between the extremes of the lap-top and the twin-container RQ-4 system(with large satcom antenna) severalcompanies have developed GCS thatcombine capability with mobility. Oneexample is Elbit’s backpackable system,applicable to all members of the Her-mes family.

Another interesting system is avail-able for the Denel Seeker II, using a truck-mounted Tactical Ground Sta-tion, which combines the functions of the home-based Mission ControlUnit and the Tracking and Communica-tion Unit, and maintains control beyondthe UHF range of the mother station.

The multiplicity of drone systems developed for the US services have provided useful fallbacks when designshave failed, but only at high cost. There is a strong case for standardising groundcontrol stations, as is now being done by the US Army. The new General Atomics Warrior will thus employ theAAI One System, as used for the Army’s RQ-7 Shadow. It has also beenemployed to control the Army’s RQ-5Hunter, and a modified version is sched-uled to fly the US Marine Corps RQ-2 Pioneer.

Payloads and ElectronicsThe prime payload of a drone is itseye(s), but from a mere observation vehi-cle, the drone is now increasingly beingused for other operations like electronicwarfare, comint and elint missions.

what is actually been observed (whichcan be several kilometres from the air-craft) becomes mandatory then track-ing and stabilisation and have to be cou-pled to an inertial measuring unitand/or to a GPS and managed by a com-puter. This steadily leads us to the gim-balled platforms mentioned above, andto the larger tactical drones they are fit-ted to.


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Dassault is leadinga European efforton the NeuronUcav demonstrator,to fly in 2011under funding fromFrance, Greece,Italy, Spain,Sweden andSwitzerland.(Dassault)

no provisions for sensor control or the re-ception of images, which are the func-tions of the MCE. The latter employsUHF line-of-sight and UHF and Ku-band satellite links, with Inmarsat asbackup.

In the case of Afghanistan, a for-ward-deployed MCE bounced the im-agery to a collocated forward exploita-tion element or via a fibre-optic land-line to a US-based facility, which couldsend the finished product to the in-country Combined Air Operations Cen-ter (CAOC) over Ku-band satcom. Inthe case of Global Hawk operationsover Iraq, the LRE was again forward

The traditional gimballed observationplatform market is currently dominatedby Flir Systems in the United States andElbit in Israel. However, Denel, whichhad developed its own systems for SouthAfrica’s requirements, is now emergingas a world-wide supplier, and so is Sagem(who actually uses a Denel turret, but fillsit with its owns sensors). Smaller drones,due to their weight and size restrictions,use fixed miniature cameras fitted in thenose or under the fuselage, althoughsome may have a panning facility en-abling the operator to remain manuallyfocussed for a longer period of time on apoint of interest.

The EL/K-7071 unit with its verticalaerials on the left is IAI-Elta’s comintsystem that scans, analyzes andclassifies highly mobile and frequency-agile ground, airborne and navalcommunication transmissions. TheEL/M-2055 unit on the right, from thesame company, is a synthetic apertureradar. (Armada/JK)

Germany is making a solo effort in de-veloping various drone categories, inclu-ding Ucavs. Photographs have appearedof a ‘Barrakuda’ prototype similar tothis artist’s impression. (Eads)

Although shaky due to the motion ofthe aircraft pictures from such fixed orpanning payloads are good enough forshort-range reconnaissance or spyingover a hill. Such systems cannot provideposition co-ordinates other than that ofthe aircraft. If the accurate position of

The US Air Force is considering LongRange Strike (LSR) options, includingballistic missiles and large unmannedsupersonic bombers, as illustratedhere. (Northrop Grumman)

31armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2006

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These typically started life as helicop-ter-borne turrets used by police forcesand TV crews, which require dead-steadypictures of the filmed scene whatever theupward/downward and lateral movementsof the aircraft might be. This means thatthe ball (or its contents) has to be able toswerve in both the vertical and horizontalplanes and be stabilised (this is effected in very much the same way as in armouredvehicle sights).

With the advent of the drone, more so-phisticated elements have been devel-oped: television cameras were soon ac-companied by infrared sensors, laserrangefinders and even laser target point-ers or designators and ladars. What makesthe quality of such turrets is not only theirreaction time, but also the ability of theirtracking system to remain locked on thetarget, whatever its relative speed may be.All this has a cost, not only in terms ofmoney but also size and weight. This iswhere a hitherto relatively unknown com-pany – Optical Alchemy – cuts in. Thecompany explained to Armada that its aim

was to democratise the availability of in-formation and bring military units the ca-pability of using smaller reconnaissancedrones that enable them to gather the typeof information they require (including ge-olocation) at any time of the day or nightand seven days a week. With its ability toreduce the weight of a 50-kilo unit down to2.7 kilos, the term that best describes Opti-cal Alchemy’s activities in this domain isthat of ‘head shrinkers’. Alternatively, thereduced size and weight of such systemscan bring substantial savings in fuel con-sumption and, as a corollary, much extend-ed endurance. Also, if need be a singledrone could be fitted with two turrets. Ac-cording to the company, the two-axis KJ-640 unit is now entering production stage(The three-axis, 5.9-kilo KJ-800 series, onthe other hand is still under development).The KJ-640 packs day and infrared cam-

The Elisra AES-210/V elint andelectronic support measures packageweighs less than 22 kilos, operates inthe 1 to 18 GHz band and has anRS422 interface. It uses interferometerand differential Doppler to provide finedirection finding. (Elisra)

Weight: 2.7 kg plus electronicsAzimuth: 360° continuousElevation Horizon: to –75°Azimuth & elevation speed: to 60°/secIR Sensor: 8 to 12 µmResolution: 640 x 480HFOV x VFOV: 350 x 260Video Format: RS170; 12-bit digitalVisible Sensor: 455 nm to 900 nmHFOV x VFOV: 480 x 310Zoom: 18XLaser Marker/Illuminator: 830 nmPower: 100 mWBeam Divergence: 0.26 –0.30 mrBeam Diameter: 8 mm

Optical Alchemy’s KJ-640 Main Particulars

eras and a laser illuminator/marker (nightvision goggle compatible) in a six-inchball. Its inertial measuring unit and GPSprovide geo-referenced co-ordinates onthe transmitted imagery. It is suitable fordrones as light as 22 kilos on take-off.

Flir Systems has been on the market formany years and has a very comprehensiverange of gimballed sensors with approxi-mately 800 units used on 35 different typesof aircraft (manned and unmanned). Itclaims that its Safire is the world’s numberone commercially developed military-qualified airborne thermal imaging system.The latest model of the Series is the SafireIII, which can be seen under the chin of theBell Eagle Eye tilt-rotor drone.

Developed from the Safire, and like itequipped with an embedded inertialmeasurement unit, the Brite Star is amultiple sensor laser designator/rangerunit that also houses a third-generationthermal imager and a television cameraand can optionally receive an autotrack-er, a laser spot tracker and a choice of in-terfaces. This can be found on theNorthrop Grumman Fire Scout.

As suggested by its name, the SeaFlirIII is optimised for maritime applicationsand features on the DRS Sentry, the AAIShadow 400 and 600, the Schiebel Cam-copter and the Galileo Falco.

To cater to the needs of simpler require-ments, Flir Systems has developed theThermo Vision Photon, a high sensitivityuncooled long-wave thermal imager with a 320 � 240 array. It can be found on innu-merable drones, amongst which are theAerovironment Raven and the BoeingScan Eagle.


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Volume 32, No. 3, June/July 2006

ARMADA INTERNATIONALis published bimonthly in Zurich, Switzerland.Copyright 2006 by Internationale Armada AG, Aeulestrasse5, FL-9490 Vaduz,Principality of LiechtensteinHead Office: ARMADA INTERNATIONALThurgauerstrasse 39, CH-8050 Zurich/SwitzerlandPhone: (+41 44) 308 50 50, Fax: (+41 44) 308 50 55e-mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.armada.ch Publisher: Caroline SchweglerPublishing Director: Peter StierlinEditor-in-Chief: Eric H. BiassEditor: Johnny KegglerRegular Contributors: Roy Braybrook,E. R. Hooton,Marc Huntiller, Ian Kemp, Doug RichardsonAdministration: Thomas Schneider, Marie-Louise HuberAdvertising offices:Austria,Germany,Nordic Countries,SwitzerlandCornelius W. Bontje, Holzwiesstr. 35, CH-8645 Jona,Switzerland. Phone: (+41 55) 216 17 81, Cell: (+41 79) 635 26 21e-mail: [email protected]

FrancePromotion et Motivation, Odile Orbec,21, Boulevard du Parc, FR-92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine.Phone: (+33 1) 41 43 83 00, Fax: (+33 1) 47 38 63 29,e-mail: [email protected] KingdomAerospace Media, Michael Elmes, Five Oaks, Cansey Lane,Bradfield, Manningtree, Essex CO11 2XE, EnglandPhone: (+44) 1255 871070, Fax: +44 1255 871071e-mail: [email protected] of Independent States (CIS) LAGUK Co. Ltd., Yuri Laskin, Novoriazanskaya Street 31/7,App. 96, RF-107060 Moscow, Russian Federation; Phone:(+7 495) 912 1346, Fax: (+7 495) 912 1260e-mail: [email protected] – Special Reports Gene Selven & Associates, Inc., GeneSelven, Kim Newman, 7291 Coronado Drive, Suite 8, San Jose,CA 95129, Phone: (408) 996 7400, Fax: (408) 996 7871e-mail: [email protected] USA – West of the Mississippi RiverDiane Obright, 810 Val Sereno Drive, Olivenhain, CA 92024,Phone: (858) 759 3557, Fax: (858) 759 3552e-mail: [email protected]

Eastern USA – East of the Mississippi RiverMargie Brown & Associates, Margie Brown,4775 Mallard Court,Warrenton, Virginia 20187-2500 Phone: (540) 341 7581, Fax: (540) 341 7582,e-mail: [email protected] other countries: contact the Head Office.

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Index to AdvertisersBarco 31Bell Helicopter Textron C2Boeing 9DRS Technologies 7Elbit Systems 21

EMT 29General Atomics 23, C3IAI Malat 3IAI Tamam 27L-3 Wescam 29

NEAT 27Northrop Grumman 25Raytheon 13–15, C4Sagem 5Schiebel 11

ABC

The Thermo Vision Photon is approximatelyfive centimetres long, weighs about110 grams and is available withseveral lens options. (Flir Systems)

The elint package for the EuroHawk,featuring a belly omnidirectionalaerial. The direction-finding sensorsare located behind the black sideplate. (Eads)

Turning to Sagem, this company is along-standing producer of thermal cam-eras and binoculars and of stabilised sightsfor armoured vehicles and helicopters. Ha-ving put two and two together, Sagem nowproduces the Olosp payload for its owndrone system, the Sperwer, although vari-ants are used on maritime helicopters.

Pretty much the same could be said ofDenel’s experience, which has also beenproducing stabilised platforms for helicop-ters and now has the Goshawk 350 as itskey system for drone applications. Thereare too many sensor options to describethem all in detail here, but typically this 14-to 16-kilo ball system offers a stabilisationaccuracy of under 30 mradian and can typ-

The Compass family includes payloadsequipped with a third-generation Flir,eyesafe laser rangefinder/diodepumped advanced designator, andnight vision goggle-compatible lasertarget illuminator. (Elbit)

ically house a thermal imager with twofield-of-view optics or continuous zoom,colour television and laser rangefinder. Atypical carrier is the South African Seeker II.

Elbit’s current flagship is the Com-pass, a four-sensor package that has beenused for some time now by the Hermes450 flown by the United States Depart-ment of Defense as part of the ArizonaBorder Control Initiative to patrol alongthe Arizona–Mexico border. It scoredrelatively high in December 2005 by win-ning its ticket to board the British Watch-keeper, which, incidentally, also uses theHermes 450 aircraft.

Drones are also increasingly beingused for signals and communications in-telligence (sigint and comint) but formanned aircraft, it is extremely difficultto gather detailed information from manufacturers (see «Osama, Don’t PhoneHome» in the core issue).

This is the main role that will be as-signed to the EuroHawk in Germany butelectronics integrators Eads are still verydiscrete about their gear.

Unsurprisingly, however, Israel is re-putedly the first nation to see advantagesof using drones to spy on terrorist elec-tronics and communications.What is moresurprising, on the other hand, is to see thata company like Elisra has been openlyshowing its wares at international exhibi-tions for a while now. The company hasbeen producing the Emerald AES-210,which enables manned aircraft to detect,measure and identify all radars between .5and 18 GHz and provide accurate direc-tion-finding by digital interferometer.Elisra has since developed a lighter AES-210V version of this ESM/elint unit fordrones. It weighs less than 22 kilos. a

Armada 2006-3 - Shift in Service Attitudes

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