photo Eurofighter - source flightglobal.com

Sep 14, 2011 By Robert Wall aerospace daily and defense report

LONDON – With two flagship programs in the balance, EADS is awaiting formal government endorsement of both its Eurofighter Typhoon active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and Talarion unmanned aircraft endeavors.

The outlook for the two is slightly split, though. For the Typhoon AESA – deemed critical for the Indian Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft program, which is considering the Typhoon and Dassault’s Rafale – the prospects are internally seen as positive. “We are almost there,” says Cassidian chief executive Stefan Zoller. Since Typhoon buyers endorsed the effort, Zoller says it is “no concern anymore.” The money is being finalized and is expected to materialize.

For the Talarion program, EADS is trying to sustain a similarly positive outlook. But reality is more complex.

Spain and Turkey have signaled their willingness to participate, but the support of Germany and France is crucial to see the program gain traction. Neither country has signed on yet.

Furthermore, EADS is reaching the end of the time it will self-fund Talarion development efforts.

The focus now is securing €300 million to €400 million ($409 million - $545 million) for prototyping work. Zoller notes that spread over several countries, that is a small sum. But he refuses to discuss how long EADS will sustain self-funded activities, noting merely that “there is no deadline,” while conceding “we can’t be going on forever.”

Zoller believes Talarion still has a chance at survival, though, even if France and the U.K. are discussing the Telemos bilateral medium-altitude long-endurance drone effort. Two countries cannot sustain such an initiative, he argues, which is why a broader effort is needed.

When a German funding decision may materialize is uncertain. And any commitment from Paris – even if the government were favorably disposed to Talarion – could be caught up in electoral politics, slowing decision cycles.

photo by IMI - source jpost.com

14 septembre 2011 Guysen International News

Les Industries militaires israéliennes ont testé avec succès, mercredi, dans le sud du pays, le nouveau missile "Javelot magique", rapporte le site IsraelDefense. Le missile "Javelot magique" a une portée de 40 kilomètres, une précision au mètre près et peut porter des têtes de toute nature. Il est prévu pour la destruction de cibles ennemies sensibles comme un poste de commandement ou des batteries de missiles.

September 12, 2011 Beth Stevenson,SHEPARD GROUP

London - Thales has demonstrated advancements in its ISR capabilities through a series of new products and platform upgrades.

At a pre-DSEi briefing on 13 July, Thales introduced the new Orion stabilised panoramic sight, and Video Eyesafe Laser Transceiver (VELT), as well as upgrades to its Catherine and Sophie systems.

The Orion is a new armoured vehicle sighting system, fitted with Thales’ Catherine MP IR camera, David Low, head of the vehicles optronics group at Thales said at the briefing.

In response to soldier demand for multiple functions to be delivered from one fighting vehicle, it has a gigabit ethernet data and video interface that is ‘easily upgradable and easily integrated’, and the company believes this is a market first in terms of being an all-digital sighting system.

‘It is an enhanced capability in terms of its panoramic capability. It is a fully stabilised sighting system, so you have got stabilised line of sight. It provides a full 360o continuous azimuth rotation capability, and is qualified for both tracked and wheeled vehicles,’ Low explained.

‘We have developed a number of fairly sophisticated algorithms and processing units that allow us to do automatic target tracking, automatic target detection, and wide area surveillance.’ The system was selected on 8 July as the primary sight for the Scout SV programme.

‘It provides what we believe to be one of the longest range surveillance and target acquisition capabilities within the vehicle market,’ Low added.

Fitted on the Orion is the new VELT eyesafe laser rangefinder (LRF), which comes in two variants, direct (VELT-D) and indirect (VELT-I).

‘We’ve introduced two variants, one for the other sights, the direct view, which has a direct view optical channel, and also a second colour TV,’ Richard French, head of the sensors product group at Thales, explained.

‘We have two cameras, both wide and narrow, for wide area surveillance and high performance identification.’

Features that distinguish it include: the expansion port for adding other capabilities; the reticle and symbology that is now software generated; the ‘industry leading’ athermal boresight stability; and the high-resolution digital colour video.

French said the system has received ‘significant interest from the US marketplace’.

The Catherine mega pixel (MP) medium wave (MW) IR camera is a ‘fully configurable’ medium wave and lighter addition to the Catherine MP family.

The original Catherine MP long wave camera was launched at DSEi in 2005, and ‘since then we’ve taken the fields of view of that camera from 5o down to 3.5 o in the long wave, and have two long wave cameras on the marketplace’, French commented.

‘We’ve introduced three fields of view to give 10o for wide area surveillance, dropping down to 2.3 degrees, to give us class-leading identification.

‘This medium wave megapixel camera adds to the already established 5o and 15o and 3.5o and 10o degree variants that we have on the marketplace.’

The camera has an extended range, is carried under armour, and has periscopic sight applications.

The Sophie UF2 is a long wave, dismounted soldier, handheld, thermal imaging target locator based on the Sophie UF released some three years ago, with Thales having sold some 10,000 of this type of system worldwide.

The ‘highly successful’ Sophie UF uncooled target locator has been bought by the British Army and is ‘highly successful’, French said, although soldiers still come back to the issue of how to make it lighter and smaller.

‘The message that comes back from the user every time we launch a target locator is “when can I have a smaller and lighter one?”’ French explained.

The new platform has the same functionality as the original system, but has dropped from 3.4kg to 2.4kg through better integration.

It is used for accurate infantry indirect fire control, ISR, enhanced force protection, and day/night operation.

All the Thales systems are at production standard and are available to order.

photo David Monniaux

September 9, 2011 W. Alibrandi, Forecast International - defpro.com

NEWTOWN, Conn. | Microturbo's TRI 40 and TRI 60 engines power several missiles and one target drone.

MBDA's SCALP EG and SCALP Navale are in production, and exports are playing a large role in the company's future. Saudi Arabia has purchased the Storm Shadow for its Tornado fighters, and the sales of Rafale fighters and FREMM frigates should boost demand for this missile.

MBDA is planning to upgrade the SCALP EG with an enhanced version to meet France's and the U.K.'s requirements for long-range and strike missiles. The new missile's range could exceed 1,000 kilometers.

France's Exocet anti-ship missile is one of MBDA's most popular products. The Block 3 Exocet has greater range than the solid-fuel-propelled Block 2 and can also engage land-based targets. Sales to Middle East countries have been a large source of business for MBDA.

Saab Bofors' RBS15 is an anti-ship missile that has been purchased by Sweden, Germany, Poland and Thailand. Several other navies are considering the missile, which may provide a near-constant stream of contracts from 2011-2020.

Composite Engineering's BQM-167 Skeeter drone is powered by the TRI 60, and has been purchased by the U.S. Air Force and Navy. The USAF is replacing its legacy BQM-34 and MQM-107 drones with the Skeeter.

8 Sep 2011 By PIERRE TRAN DefenseNews

PARIS - The Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) has ordered a further 200 small armored vehicles from Panhard, boosting a previous contract for 933 units, the procurement office said in Sept. 8 statement.

"The Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) ordered from Panhard General Defense Sept. 6, 2011, 200 PVP for the Army," the procurement office said.

The PVP is the Petit Véhicule Protegé, an armored four-wheel-drive vehicle that can be fitted with a 7.62mm machine gun on a remote-operated turret.

The new batch of vehicles will be delivered in 2012. The last of the 933 units ordered in 2004 will be produced in December of this year, the DGA said.

No financial details were available.

The PVP has been deployed in Lebanon and Afghanistan.

Production of the PVP at two Panhard sites has so far generated 1 million hours of work, the DGA said.

The Nimrod MRA4 project was axed photo BAE Systems

07/09/11 By Craig Hoyle SOURCE:Flight International

Late last year, the UK armed forces were rocked by the effects of a Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) process overseen by a new coalition government determined to tackle a massive budget deficit head-on.

Almost 12 months later, the defence industry will gather for its largest post-SDSR coming-together at the Defence & Security Equipment International show, or DSEi, which will be held in London's Docklands on 13-16 September.

Since the event was last held two years ago, the UK has lost its fixed-wing carrier strike capability with the early retirement of its BAE Systems Harrier GR7/9s, and seen its replacement maritime patrol aircraft, BAE's Nimrod MRA4, axed after a programme investment of over £3 billion ($4.8 billion).

Also gone are two of the Royal Navy's three Invincible-class aircraft carriers and the Royal Air Force's last Panavia Tornado F3 fighters and Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft. Two squadrons equipped with the Tornado GR4 strike aircraft have also recently been disbanded, with the move having also trimmed a fleet that is expected to remain in use until around 2020.

Dramatic in nature, these cuts were adopted against a backdrop of the UK's recent withdrawal of forces from Iraq, and with plans in place for the country to end its combat commitment in Afghanistan around 2015, following the progressive transfer of control to local authorities. But the rise of the "Arab Spring" movement in nations across the Middle East and North Africa throughout this year has provided an unexpected test for a military hard-hit by the spending cuts introduced by UK defence secretary Dr Liam Fox.

In announcing the recommendations of the SDSR last October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said his country's coalition government was seeking to tackle an investment "black hole" inherited from the previous Labour administration, which it valued at £38 billion. Failure to tackle this shortfall now could result in a more "severe recalibration in the future", Fox told the Royal United Services Institute's Air Power conference in London in mid-July.

The SDSR has received much criticism for the swift nature of its completion and the severity of its cuts. Speaking at the same event, one analyst described the process as having been "four years in anticipation, but only four months in gestation".

Sir Brian Burridge, Finmeccanica UK's vice-president, strategic marketing, and formerly one of the RAF's most senior ranking officers, drew a different analogy when referring to the loss of key capabilities. "The concern is that this government might come out of the supermarket without a balanced meal, and that the next time it goes the shelves will be empty," he said.

© SAC Simon Armstrong/Crown Copyright Tornado GR4s will serve until around 2020

DSEi will provide a focus for the UK's defence contractors to pursue already planned deals and fresh business, both at home and on the international stage. It will also highlight the security opportunities available, with London preparing to host the Olympic Games in mid-2012.

Speaking at a pre-show media briefing on 6 September, minister for international security strategy Gerald Howarth identified the role that global defence and security sales could play in helping to repair the UK's economic prospects. "Exports are critical to a sustainable recovery," he said. "The UK defence industry is proving itself to be well-placed to weather the storm."

With UK defence exports having totalled around £6 billion in 2010 - when it was second only to the USA in terms of total exports - and security systems around £2 billion more, selling on the global stage is a vital requirement at a time of domestic squeeze. Current targets include closing a proposed government-to-government deal to supply Eurofighter Typhoons to Oman, and a campaign to offer the same type for India's medium multi-role combat aircraft deal.

The Typhoon made its combat debut for the UK as a multi-role platform earlier this year, with the RAF employing the type's air-to-surface weapons against regime targets in Libya. Perhaps crucially for the European type, the fighter also looks set to receive an active electronically scanned array radar enhancement, while MBDA's Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile also should be available for operational use from around 2015.

But more attention at DSEi will be given to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), which will be on display as a full-scale mock-up. However, reflecting the UK's last-minute decision to swap to the C-model carrier variant, the design on show will be in the short take-off and vertical landing guise.

To meet the Joint Combat Aircraft requirement from late this decade, the F-35C will be flown from the Royal Navy's (RN's) two future aircraft carriers, with the combination to reintroduce a big-deck operating model last employed by the UK in the late 1970s.

© BAE Systems F-35Cs will fly from the UK's future carriers

One source previously involved with the JSF programme describes the SDSR's surprise variant switch as potentially "one of the most catastrophic procurement decisions ever made". Abandoning years of experience in flying vertical/short take-off and landing Harriers could end up costing UK taxpayers billions of pounds extra, the source claims, as a result of the additional training needed to ensure pilots maintain proficiency. Regaining this skill is already a focus of attention, with the RN looking to train a new cadre of Fleet Air Arm officers on US Navy Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

The UK's exact requirements for the F-35 have yet to be set, but the Ministry of Defence has previously identified a need for up to 138 of the aircraft. An initial three F-35Bs were ordered to participate alongside the US military during initial operational test and evaluation of the new aircraft, but the allies are working out the details of a deal to exchange the last example for an F-35C.

The new type could achieve initial operating capability as a land-based asset from roughly 2018, before launching embarked operations around 2020. Its introduction must be balanced with the planned draw-down of the Tornado GR4 force: an activity that Fox says will be "particularly challenging".

Some level of funding commitment will be required next year, to cover the order of long-lead items for an initial batch of around 16 aircraft to be built during the programme's low-rate initial production phase.

"We are still in the midst of the post-defence review figuring our conversion from -35B to -35C, and there's an awful lot of work still in that rescheduling process," says Air Marshal Kevin Leeson, the UK's chief of materiel (air).

For now, while the UK's carrier strike capability lapses, the strong performance of the Army Air Corps' Westland/Boeing Apache AH1 attack helicopters over Libya in May 2011 from HMS Ocean has highlighted one likely means by which the nation could respond to other such contingencies until its future aircraft carriers and F-35Cs enter use.

Plans to buy the JSF were safeguarded in July, when the government announced a planned £3 billion increase in defence spending for the five-year period starting 2015-16. This sum will help to cover initial spending on the F-35C, as well as the costs of converting both Queen Elizabeth-class carriers with catapults and arrestor gear.

The commitment also enabled the MoD last month to sign a £1 billion order for 14 Boeing CH-47 Chinook HC6 transport helicopters and to complete the acquisition of three Air Seeker (RC-135 Rivet Joint) surveillance aircraft. A memorandum of understanding covering logistics support activities and capability updates for the latter fleet until 2025 was also recently signed, with this valued at more than $850 million. The aircraft will replace the retired Nimrod R1s from 2014.

One glaring capability shortfall created by the SDSR has yet to be addressed, however. The cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 has left the MoD having to improvise on the provision of long-range maritime patrol aircraft cover by using RAF Lockheed C-130J transports and RN AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin HM1 shipborne helicopters.

Proposals have been made by industry to adapt some C-130Js to assume the role on a more formal basis, but other contractors are looking at any potential demand to field a smaller aircraft, possibly using an airframe such as the Alenia Aeronautica C-27J or Hawker Beechcraft King Air. With money to remain tight for some years to come, the idea of acquiring a more dedicated type - such as Boeing's 737-based P-8, now in development for the US Navy - seems fanciful.

© Crown Copyright The Apache/Ocean pairing could sail again

Importantly, the costs associated with supporting NATO's Libyan operation since March have been covered from the Treasury reserve, and not the over-stretched defence budget.

The Libyan campaign has underlined the importance of the pending introduction of 14 Airbus A330-200-based Voyager tanker/transports from late this year, and of past investments in weapons systems such as MBDA's Storm Shadow cruise missile and dual-mode Brimstone air-to-surface missile, and Raytheon Systems' Paveway IV precision-guided bomb. It has also highlighted the value of the Bombardier Global Express-based Sentinel R1 surveillance aircraft's synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indication sensor, months after it was identified in the SDSR for disposal after the needs of Afghanistan.

The jury is still out as to whether the government's cuts to date and commitment for a future spending increase will cover the armed forces' procurement plans. Answers could be quick in coming, however, with an independent body having been tasked with conducting an "affordability audit" late this year on the MoD's top projects.

Looking at the likely equipment spending bill out to 2018-19 in his Defence Analysis publication, military analyst Francis Tusa says: "The spend curve looks far from balanced, and [SDSR] could well cause as many troubles as it resolved." He adds: "The extra 1% annual defence budget rise is only kicking in after 2015, so one has to ask how the books have been balanced prior to that time, when some £3 billion in funding will be needed."

06-09-11 à 19:40 par Vincent Lamigeon – challenges.fr

Challenges était à l'université de la Défense organisée à Rennes. On y a beaucoup parlé de coopération européenne. Mais en la matière, tout est dans les non-dits. Reportage.

Rennes n’est pas Marseille ou la Rochelle. On en a eu confirmation avec l’université de la Défense, organisée en Bretagne quelques jours après la grand-messe du PS en Charente-Maritime et celle de l’UMP sur les bords de la Méditerrannée. Ici, pas de pulls autour du cou, encore moins de polos multicolores, mais une flopée d’uniformes et une impressionnante armada de gradés et de patrons de groupes de défense, de Louis Gallois (EADS) à Charles Edelstenne (Dassault Aviation), en passant par Luc Vigneron (Thales), Antoine Bouvier (MBDA), Lutz Bertling (Eurocopter) ou Jean-Paul Herteman (Safran).

Le tout dans le cadre impressionnant de l’installation "Solange", cathédrale de béton de 58 mètres de diamètre sur le site de la DGA (délégation générale de l’armement) de Bruz (près de Rennes), où chasseurs et missiles sont suspendus à trente mètres du sol pour analyser leur signature radar.

Débats sur la coopération européenne...

De quoi aura-t-on causé durant ces deux jours d’échanges feutrés? Des relations Etat-industrie bien sûr, de défense anti-missiles également, du retour d’expérience en Libye ou en Afghanistan, des 200 millions d’euros à trouver pour compenser les petits désagréments financiers liés à l’affaire des frégates de Taiwan. La visite du site de Bruz a aussi été l’occasion de cerner le rôle de la DGA dans la cyberdéfense, la guerre électronique (brouillage, leurres etc) ou le développement des missiles qui ont fait leurs preuves en Libye, comme le Scalp ou le AASM.

Mais l’essentiel des débats a porté sur le serpent de mer de l’industrie de défense: la coopération européenne. "L’Europe est en train de passer sous le seuil critique des budgets de défense, il faut absolument relancer les collaborations européennes", assurait ainsi Louis Gallois.

... que personne ne voit en réalité

Le problème, c’est que la coopération européenne est un peu à la défense ce que le monstre du Loch Ness est aux passionnés de créatures fantasmagoriques: tout le monde en parle, personne ne le voit. Bien sûr, les traités franco-britanniques de novembre 2010, qui prévoient quelques collaborations sur les essais nucléaires, les porte-avions ou le partage de matériels, ont été largement évoqués. Mais c’était aussi pour souligner la difficulté de l’étendre à l’Allemagne, l’Italie, l’Espagne ou la Pologne, aux stratégies de défense pas forcément convergentes, voire carrément opposées.

Du coup, le plus frappant résidait peut-être avant tout dans les non-dits de ces deux jours de débats. Rien de concret ou presque sur les grands programmes européens du futur, notamment un programme de drones MALE (moyenne altitude longue endurance) de BAE et Dassault pas encore lancé par les gouvernements, et qui semble pour l’instant exclure EADS, au risque de recréer une guerre intestine type Rafale-Eurofighter.

Rien non plus sur les discussions, évoquées par la presse, entre le groupe naval de défense DCNS et son concurrent allemand TKMS. Rien encore sur la nécessaire consolidation des sociétés françaises et européennes d’armement terrestre (Nexter, Panhard, Renault Trucks Défense, Rheinmetall...). Le délégué général pour l’armement Laurent Collet-Billon a subtilement fait comprendre que ces sujets attendraient tranquillement l’après-2012.

Ca chauffe entre les cadors de la défense européenne

En attendant, ca continue de cogner dur entre cadors de la défense européenne. Phrases assassines en off dans les couloirs entre Safran et Thales, échanges d’amabilités aéronautiques entre EADS et Dassault, mais aussi une lutte sans merci au quotidien: "Mes équipes sont ravies quand l’agressivité de nos offres oblige nos concurrents européens à vendre avec des marges négatives", déplore presque Patrick Boissier, P-DG de DCNS.

"La concurrence intra-européenne dans les drones, les sous-marins, les satellites ou les blindés est totalement destructrice", renchérit Josselin de Rohan, président de la commission défense du Sénat. De quoi motiver le cri du coeur –ironique- de Gérard Longuet dans son discours de clôture: "Vous, les industriels, rendez-nous un service: aimez-vous les uns les autres!" Dans les rangs de Dassault et EADS, le sourire ressemble étrangement à un rictus.

source rusnavyintelligence.com

2 septembre 2011 Par Rédacteur en chef. PORTAIL DES SOUS-MARINS

La Marine russe a procédé aux premiers essais d’appontage du Ka-52 dans sa version navalisé. Ces hélicoptères doivent être embarqués sur les futurs Mistrals russes.

Référence : RusNavy Intelligence

Aug 24, 2011 By Robert Wall aviation week and space technology

Moscow - Money alone cannot reinvigorate an air force after years of neglect—that is the painful lesson the Russian military is learning as it and the domestic industry work to modernize the country’s air force.

The influx of funding in the past two years has undoubtedly benefited industry, triggering a reversal of fortunes. But it also has brought to the forefront a raft of new problems, including how to meet the timetable for replenishing the air force fleet.

The size of the appetite for fighters was underscored by Russian air force chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, who says the service is looking to field five squadrons of Su-34s, or around 120 aircraft. The fighter program languished in development for years; the first operational unit was only established recently, more than a decade late. Four of the aircraft were handed over last year and six are due to be delivered this year, with 12 to follow each year thereafter.

But Zelin is concerned about fielding plans for the Su-35, Russia’s latest fighter, which is seen as an important element in the fleet renewal plan and also as a capability gap-filler until the fifth-generation T-50 arrives. The Su-35 program has suffered development delays, in part because of a ground accident with the third prototype three years ago that destroyed the aircraft, but also due to concern in the service that the Su-35 will not meet the Russian air force’s specifications. The fighter was initially designed for the export market when Russia’s industry was unable to secure funding at home.

Pressure is mounting on the Su-35 program also because of the aggressive time line that has been set for the T-50, which Zelin describes as the service’s top fighter priority. Two aircraft are in flight trials and United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) President Mikhail Pogosyan promises two more will be delivered this year. Plans call for the first preproduction T-50 to be handed over in 2013, with the production standard aircraft to become available in 2014-15.

But behind the scenes, military officials worry that the T-50 development and production milestones cannot be met, and they feel the Su-35 needs to be fielded quickly to address immediate equipment concerns.

In many respects, the Su-35 also serves as a technology pathfinder for the T-50. Both use the same Article 117S engines and their radar technology shares a heritage. The Su-35’s Irbis-E has a 350-400-km (220-250-mi.) detection range for targets with a 3-sq.-meter (33-sq.-ft.) radar signature and is both electronically and mechanically scanned. It has the ability to track up to 30 targets simultaneously and engage eight at the same time.

The Su-35’s laser targeting pod in particular could act as a trailblazer for the T-50. Plans call for the stealth fighter to use the large Article 110KS pod developed by UOMZ, although it would compromise the aircraft’s low observability. The Su-35, on the other hand, will likely use an internally mounted system, with a low radar cross section, that could migrate to the T-50.

Also helping to bolster the arsenal in the near term is a pending order for additional Su-30s. The Russian air force is expected to buy 28 Su-30SMs, the Russian version of the Su-30MKI Irkut has sold to the Indian air force. The Su-30SM would retain Western equipment from companies such as Thales and Safran in a rare departure from Russia’s emphasis on using domestic suppliers, says an industry official. The yet-to-be-announced contract for Su-30SMs also is expected to include an option for 12 aircraft, potentially to meet a not fully defined requirement from Russia’s navy aviation arm.

The concerns about fielding time lines go beyond the combat aircraft realm. Zelin notes that the Il-476 transport is due to be in service in 2013 but says,“we would like to have it earlier.” The current development activity will not allow that.

The fleet replacement worries are further illustrated by the troubles with the Tu-22M bombers belonging to the Russian navy’s air arm, which now fall under control of the air force. Obsolescence of engine parts has created a maintenance nightmare for the fleet and prompted the military to restart parts production of critical powerplant components. Zelin sees progress on this front and says that once the situation is improved the aircraft may be reassigned to the navy.

But there are limits to Russia’s appetite for new equipment. Despite the hopes of industry players such as MiG that the Russian air force will buy into a light fifth-generation fighter program, that does not look promising. Zelin suggests that more likely would be the acquisition of MiG-35s, which were initially developed for India. However, he tempers the prospect by noting that the issue is secondary to the T-50.

photo USAF

Aug 18, 2011 By Amy Butler aviation week and space technology

Washington- The General Atomics Reaper unmanned aerial system (UAS) may eventually go from hunting terrorists to hunting hostile ballistic missiles.

The U.S. Air Force’s Predator and Reaper UAS have been well-publicized workhorses providing intelligence and firepower on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arabian peninsula.

Now the Reaper may get a new mission as a frontline cueing system for the burgeoning U.S. missile defense architecture. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) officials say the Reaper and its Raytheon MTS-B sensor are showing promise. The system could plug a longtime gap by providing firing quality data to facilitate early intercept of ballistic missiles. MDA is exploring the technology and operational concepts for using electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) -equipped UAS to eventually achieve “launch-on-remote” capabilities with Aegis ship- and land-based SM-3 interceptors. This means the fidelity of UAS data would need to be high enough for commanders to launch an interceptor before Aegis radars capture the target.

Ballistic missile patrol is one of many potential missions for the large and growing Predator/Reaper fleet. As the Pentagon plans to draw down combat forces in Afghanistan—combat operations ended a year ago in Iraq—officials insist that intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets (ISR) will continue to support ongoing activities in these areas. But Pentagon planners are considering how these ISR resources can be reallocated or, if need be, modified to fill capability gaps for other missions.

UAS orbits could be placed to provide a “picket fence” of sensors if an area is expected to have hostile ballistic missile activity, says Tim Carey, vice president of intelligence for Raytheon.

MDA officials say data from early experiments show that “just a few orbits can provide substantial sensor coverage” for various regions.

Gen. Robert Kehler, who oversees U.S. Strategic Command, provides advice to the Pentagon on how to allocate ISR resources across the globe. Regional commanders in the Pacific, Africa, Europe and Central and Southern America feel the focus on U.S. Central Command and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have curbed their ability to monitor activities in their areas of operation. “Their view is that many of their ISR needs are not being met because of all the things we have placed in Centcom,” Kehler says.

A potential near-term application of UAS for missile defense is to support monitoring of North Korea. MDA plans to field the Persistent Tracking Satellite System (PTSS) as soon as fiscal 2016 to provide early launch detection and high-fidelity targeting data from space to ship- and land-based interceptors.

That plan, however, has two problems. First, even if fielded as planned, the sensor gap would not be closed until later this decade. Perhaps a larger issue is that funding for PTSS is in question.

Industry sources say MDA is struggling with a $4 billion budget gap in fiscal 2013-17, and a project as expensive as building satellites could slip or be axed altogether as Leon Panetta, the new defense secretary, searches for projects to cut in light of diminished funding and deficit reduction pressure.

The interim solution for MDA is to test and possibly field the Airborne Infrared system (ABIR), a UAS carrying the proper EO/IR sensors to support early intercept operations (a kill before a hostile missile reaches apogee), improved target discrimination and enhanced handling of the threat of missile raids (tens or more missiles fired nearly simultaneously).

Last year, MDA selected the Reaper as the platform of choice for the ABIR experimentation phase, which is ongoing. “If fielded, we envision a podded ABIR capability that could ride on a variety of unmanned or even manned platforms,” says Rick Lehner, MDA’s spokesman. Ultimately, platform decisions would be made in consultation with the Air Force and Navy if the system is fielded, as these services will be the operators.

Since 2009, MDA has conducted 10 flight tests in which ABIR was used for data collection. Six of these trials were observed using MTS-B-equipped Reapers and the remainder featured risk-reduction tests using ground-based sensors (see chart, p. 43). For these trials, at least two Reapers are needed to provide “stereo tracking.” Each EO/IR sensor provides a “flat” view, but triangulating the target provides higher-fidelity data.

A main objective in the trials has been to expose the MTS-B—which includes visible, shortwave IR and mid-wave IR sensors—to various scenarios and targets, from short-range to intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“We have been able to improve the pointing accuracy of the sensor [and] we have demonstrated automatic acquisition and tracking of the sensor required to meet system needs,” Lehner says. “Modeling indicates the agility of the sensor will substantially improve the raid-handling capability we currently have.”

Today, X-band radars—the AN/TPY‑2 and Sea-Based X-Band—are used for early tracking. Carey notes that the ABIR experiments are the first time EO/IR data have contributed to generating firing-quality data early in flight. (IR sensors typically provide only a cue to ground- and sea-based X-band radars.)

“They just never thought to look up” with the sensors, Carey says. “Everybody was surprised [by] the range at which we were able to detect the targets after burning and the accuracy with which we were able track them.”

The MDA has purchased four MTS‑Bs for ABIR experimentation, two last year and two this year, Carey adds. MDA is contributing to a larger Pentagon effort to develop the two-color MTS‑C; this will add a long-wave IR detection capability. While the short- and mid-wave bands are optimal during launch and rocket burn, a long-wave detector is better for tracking cold bodies, such as missiles after burnout, or plumes and exhaust.

Packaging short-, mid- and long-wave IR detectors on the same sensor ball, however, presents complex challenges, including design of proper cooling and meeting power requirements. One defense official suggests the MTS-C could be a year or more from being ready for work in this area. Lehner says the MTS‑C will be delivered in the summer of 2012 and begin testing shortly thereafter.

This time frame will be a key deciding point for the future of the program. Also next summer, MDA plans to conduct a launch-on-remote exercise. “To demonstrate launch on remote, we will provide real-time tracking data to [ballistic missile defense (BMD) command-and-control] nodes,” Lehner says. “The BMD command-and-control nodes then send [the data] to Aegis in a simulated engagement in the summer of 2012.”

Carey notes that in trials thus far, ABIR has generated virtual targeting data that can be compared against data from other sensors used in the tests. But he says more command-and-control and system architecture work is needed to make the system operational.

Early tests were highly manpower intensive; targets were acquired by hand and tracked by people. Software has been developed to automate that process. But officials need to develop an operational concept of how many UAS must be orbiting in what locations for an optimum chance of achieving early launch data if there is an unpredicted hostile launch. “If you put the aircraft in the right place and we know the test is coming, we turn it on and it will perform,” he says.

Through fiscal 2012, MDA has requested $178.5 million for ABIR. Depending on results of the flight trials, the agency plans to make a development and fielding decision around 2014.

10 August 2011 by defenceWeb

Denel Dynamics’ latest unmanned air vehicle (UAV), the Seeker 400, is due to make its maiden flight in the first quarter of next year. This will be followed by flight tests leading to production for an unspecified client that “operated the Seeker I tactical UAV in the early 1990s.”

Two other countries which currently operate the Seeker II are also interested in the Seeker 400 because the new aircraft can be controlled by simply using their existing Seeker II control stations, the state arsenal says in a statement. “The decision by Denel to invest in this new product was mainly based on the global requirements for this capability. Based on the business case, Denel decided to fund the development from its balance sheet,” says Tsepo Monaheng, executive for Denel UAVS.

Although the USA and Israel dominate the global market, there is scope for South Africa to use local skills to create market-leading UAVs to a broad spectrum of countries - from developing to developed. This market is estimated at US $14 billion per annum, the company says in a statement. The South African UAV industry aims to capture in excess of 20% of this end of the market, the media release adds.

Simphiwe Hamilton, chairman of the South African UAV forum and executive director of the SA Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association in September 2009 said the South African unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry was worth an estimated R400 million and is chasing annual business worth the same amount. The forum brings together SA UAV producers Denel Dynamics and ATE as well as research-and-development centres based at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and experts from the departments of Science and Technology as well as Trade and Industry. "It was estimated in 2005 that 200 full-time people employed in the wider South African industry would create a sustainable business turnover of around R200 million per year," Hamilton said.

The aircraft was displayed in mock-up form at the Africa Aerospace and Defence Show (AAD) 2010, in Cape Town in September last year. Though it utilises the Seeker II architectural design, Denel insists the Seeker 400 is a totally new aircraft. The Seeker 400 long-endurance tactical UAV (TUAV) is much larger and much more capable than the Seeker II and provides a variety of operational options, the company explains. It is deployable in most conditions, including taking off from an unprepared piece of land.

Monaheng describes the Seeker 400 as a “typical entry-level” long-endurance TUAV. It can stay in the air for 16 hours and can simultaneously operate two payloads. It currently has a maximum expected range of 250 km, the same as the Seeker II, because it will use only line-of-sight communications. This can be upgraded to satellite communications, which would allow it to operate at much greater ranges. With the use of the existing tactical ground station (TGS), the range may be extended to 750km.

The Seeker 400 flight test programme will run for most of 2012, and production should start by the end of the year.

Denel Dynamics plans, in due course, to add weapons to the Seeker 400, turning the aircraft into an armed reconnaissance platform. The prototype was recently displayed at the company’s 2011 ‘Show and Tell’ briefing in Centurion with a Mokopa precision-guided missile (PGM, also a Denel Dynamics product) under each wing. Last year, at AAD2010, Denel Dynamics exhibited a mock-up of the Impi, a 25kg hybrid of the business' existing Mokopa and Ingwe PGM. Denel Dynamics' Garsen Naidu said at the show the new missile concept “brings all our experience together”. The missile combines the Mokopa's seeker and laser guidance units with the Ingwe's multipurpose warhead and the Umkhonto short-range surface-to-air air defence missile's datalink. Like the Mokopa, the weapon has a 10km range. Impi is currently in its design phase and is a small, low-cost system designed specifically for operation on lightweight armed reconnaissance platforms, Naidu added. A number of countries have already expressed interest in an armed version of the UAV, Denel adds.

The Seeker 400 was originally conceived as an upgrade of the Seeker II but, as the project developed, the company realized that a totally new and larger aircraft would do better in the market. The retention of the name ‘Seeker’ also takes advantage of the Seeker II’s established brand.

The Seeker 400 programme schedule is on track. The medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV project, the Bateleur, has not been abandoned but is currently on hold to allow for a focused development of the Seeker 400.

Globally, UAVS are becoming ever more important and more widely used. Although costs are coming down, UAVs are not necessarily cheaper or easier to operate than crewed aircraft – some top-of- the-range UAVs are very expensive, Denel says. But the fact that they have no human on board means they can be sent into high-risk environments and they can be kept aloft much longer than a conventional aircraft.

The availability of capable and affordable South African UAVs has obvious benefits for national security as well as crime fighting, disaster management, election monitoring and search-and-rescue, Denel says. UAVs are also utilised in the agricultural, mining, health and environmental sectors. Within the next five years UAVs will be used by a diversity of industries-- from policing poachers on land and coastlines or carrying test specimens from remote clinics to laboratories for analysis, to keeping an eye on livestock on farms. “This wide range of applications will open up lucrative parallel markets for international UAV players,” Denel adds.

Foreign experience in combat zones shows that the key service that UAVs provide to ground force commanders is live video coverage. This provides them with real time surveillance, intelligence and target acquisition as well as much better situational awareness. The French Army has reported that, in Afghanistan, UAVs have saved the lives of its soldiers and some 80% of its UAV missions are to protect its troops. Indeed, it is now known that one of the operators of the Seeker II has deployed these UAVs under UN command in a foreign country.

2011-07-26 (China Military News from China-defense-mashup)

In 2010, PLAN acquired at least total of 9 Ka-31 Airborne early warning helicopters. These helicopters are expected to be stationed onboard the Russian Yaryag and indigeneous aircraft carriers which are under construction.

By the end of July 2011, these pictures of PLA Navy's Ka-31 helicopters indicate that early-warning system of Varyag aircraft carrier is in rapid development, in order to meet the future sea trial and fleet air defense training.

Based on Ka-27 ASW helicopter, Ka-31 features an E-801M solid-state early warning radar which can detect a fighter size target up to 150km away.

In 2009, some pictures which come from Chinese Internet source have provided sufficient supports that China is developing early-warning system under Z-8 AEW platform for Chinese navy's aircraft carrier project.

A bar-shape array radar is installed outside the real cabine door of this Z-8 helicopter. Some analyzers believe that this sensor can provide low-to-medium altitude early warning for task fleet or even carrier strike group. In June 2009, Richard Fisher once reported that  PLA is also known to be developing carrier combat support aircraft, that initially could focus on airborne early warning (AEW) and anti-submarine versions of the Changhe Z-8 helicopter.