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24 mai 2013 5 24 /05 /mai /2013 16:30
Elbit Hermes 450 UAV – photo Elbit Systems

Elbit Hermes 450 UAV – photo Elbit Systems

20/05/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

 

According to newly-published data, Israel has been the world's number one UAVs exporter since the mid-2000s.

 

Released by business consultants Frost & Sullivan, the study notes that, among Israel's arms exports over the past eight years, UAVs constitute almost ten per cent. In 2008 alone, the country supplied $150m worth of drones to foreign customers while, in the following year, no less than $650m worth were delivered overseas. Then, in 2010, Israeli UAV exports reached an all-time high of $979 million.

 

Since then, they've decreased to reach last year's $260 million total but that doesn't account for upgrade contracts, like that signed with India in 2012. Incorporating upgrades into the mix would boost Israel's annual UAV export figures by approximately $100m, the Frost & Sullivan study suggests.

 

Israel's UAV Exports

 

Between 2005 and 2012, Israel's UAV exports were strongly regional in nature. Approximately 50 per cent of them went to customers in Europe, while a further third went to customers in the Asia-Pacific region. Of the remainder, South American customers accounted for circa 11 per cent, while the United States' Israeli UAV imports made up less than four per cent of the exports total.

 

Thanks to continued foreign interest and some major deals-in-waiting, Israel's UAV exports are forecast to grow in years ahead, Frost & Sullivan's researchers conclude.

 

Some of the best-known Israeli UAV designs are the Hermes 450 and the huge Eitan. Manufactured by Elbit Systems, the Hermes 450 was introduced in 1998 and can carry out reconnaissance and surveillance missions lasting some 20 hours. It's in service with many armed forces including the Brazilian Air Force, the Mexican Air Force and the British Army. Meantime, the Israeli Air Force has taken the Hermes 450's role further, adding a pair of missiles to convert it into an armed unmanned weapon.

 

Israel Aerospace Industries' Eitan MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) UAV is as big as a commercial airliner, weighs around a tonne and also has about a 20 hour endurance. Developed from the IAI Heron, the Eitan first flew in 2004 and was formally commissioned into Israeli Air Force service in 2010.

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24 mai 2013 5 24 /05 /mai /2013 16:20
MQ-4C Triton UAV photo Northrop Grumman

MQ-4C Triton UAV photo Northrop Grumman

 

 

23/05/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

 

First unveiled in mid-2012, Northrop Grumman's MQ-4C Triton UAV has now made its first flight. Carried out on 22 May 2013, the first Triton UAV flight lasted approximately 90 minutes and serve to validate the drone's autonomous flight control systems.

 

Triton is a specialised surveillance UAV with a 24 hour endurance and a 2,000 nautical mile field of coverage. Equipped with an array of state-of-the-art sensors, it can spot and identify ships whilst loitering ten miles above the surface of the Earth.

 

Triton has a 130 foot wingspan, making it wider than some commercial airliners. Thanks to its high-performance engine technology, supplemented by other aerodynamic elements, Triton can undertake 11,500 mile sorties without the need to refuel.

 

Triton First Flight

 

"Triton is the most advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aircraft system ever designed for use across vast ocean areas and coastal regions", deputy Triton programme director at Northrop Grumman, Mike Mackey, explained in a company press release on the UAV's first flight. "Through a cooperative effort with the Navy and our industry partners, we successfully demonstrated the flight control systems that allow Triton to operate autonomously. We couldn't be prouder of the entire team for this achievement."

 

"First flight represents a critical step in maturing Triton's systems before operationally supporting the Navy's maritime surveillance mission around the world", added Naval Air Systems Command's Triton programme manager, Captain James Hoke. "Replacing our aging surveillance aircraft with a system like Triton will allow us to monitor ocean areas significantly larger with greater persistence."

 

MQ-4C Triton Naval UAV

 

Further MQ-4C Triton naval UAV test flights will now be undertaken in coming weeks before the prototype is delivered to NAS Patuxent River in late 2013 to begin a new series of trials.

 

Just last week, Australia emerged as a potential Triton purchaser, with the country's Defence Minister Stephen Smith announcing a desire to acquire "unmanned aircraft capable of undertaking broad-area maritime surveillance and fleet overwatch."

 

In Royal Australian Air Force service, the Triton would partner up with the Boeing P-8A Poseidon to create a double-edged maritime patrol capability.

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24 mai 2013 5 24 /05 /mai /2013 16:20
Triton's First Flight

5/22/2013 Strategy Page

 

PALMDALE, Calif. (May 22, 2013) The Northrop Grumman-built Triton unmanned aircraft system completed its first flight from the company's manufacturing facility in Palmdale, Calif. The one an a half hour flight successfully demonstrated control systems that allow Triton to operate autonomously. Triton is specially designed to fly surveillance missions up to 24 hours at altitudes of more than 10 miles, allowing coverage out to 2,000 nautical miles. The system's advanced suite of sensors can detect and automatically classify different types of ships. U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman by Bob Brown

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24 mai 2013 5 24 /05 /mai /2013 11:45
Kenya to get UAVs to monitor small arms trafficking as insecurity worsens

22 May 2013 by Oscar Nkala - defenceWeb

 

The United States and Japan have agreed to fund Kenya to purchase unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for border patrol duties as the country steps up efforts to crack down on small arms trafficking.

 

Patrick Ochieng, director of the Kenya Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons, said that the two countries would help fund the purchase of UAVs, which would cut down on crime in Kenya.

 

The move followed shortly after the government announced plans to acquire firearms detectors to be deployed at border posts to search for firearms and other ordnance in cars, luggage and bulk haulage vehicles.

 

According to a recent survey conduct by the Kenya Action Network on Small Arms, the country is awash with more than 600 000 illegal firearms while the capital Nairobi is one of the biggest open markets for illegal small arms after Mogadishu.

 

Addressing journalists during a tour of the restive northern town of Garissa late last week, Ochieng said Kenya urgently needed the UAVs to monitor porous borders and track the movement of illegal weapons which are flowing freely from the wars in neighbouring Ethiopia and Somalia into Kenya and Tanzania.

 

“We need a concerted effort internationally, regionally and nationally in order to gain ground in this fight against small arms and that is why our development partners have decided to come in and assist us,” Ochieng said.

 

Kenya says the free flow of small arms has contributed to widespread insecurity, especially among pastoralist communities where firearms have replaced traditional weapons in wars over pasture, water and cattle rustling.

 

Due to high demand, illegal arms dealing has become a highly profitable business in Kenya with illegal weapons dealers in Nairobi believed to be selling low-calibre pistols for as much as US$140 while AK-47 and other automatic assault rifles sell for up to $500.

 

Garissa County commissioner Mohamed Maalim said that weapons are being concealed in bags of sugar and imported into the country.

 

As part of the crackdown on small arms, Kenya and Tanzania have also launched the first in a series of planned security operations along their common borders with the aim of seizing all illegally held firearms.

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16 mai 2013 4 16 /05 /mai /2013 11:35
AUS: Triton unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft
16 May 2013 Pacific Sentinel
 
Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Dr Mike Kelly today announced that the Government would issue a Letter of Request (LOR) to the United States to gain access to detailed cost, capability and availability information on the United States Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned Aircraft.
 
As outlined in the 2013 Defence White Paper (the White Paper), the Government intends to replace the AP-3C fleet with P-8A Poseidon aircraft, complemented by unmanned aircraft capable of undertaking broad area maritime surveillance and fleet overwatch.
 
The goal is to provide long-range, long-endurance maritime surveillance and response and an effective anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capability.
 
The acquisition of high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft for maritime patrol and other surveillance is being developed under project AIR 7000 Phase 1B.
 

 

One of the options being considered for AIR 7000 Phase 1B is the United States Navy MQ-4C Triton Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System produced by Northrop Grumman.
 
The MQ-4C Triton is a developmental variant of the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft which is being specifically developed for maritime surveillance roles.
 
To help assess the suitability of the Triton for Australia’s requirements, the Government will establish a Foreign Military Sales Technical Services Case with the United States Navy to obtain detailed cost, capability and availability information to inform future Government consideration of Project AIR 7000 Phase 1B.
 
The release of a Letter of Request for the FMS Technical Services Case does not commit Australia to the acquisition of the MQ-4C Triton.
 
Defence will continue to investigate options for a mixed manned and unmanned aircraft fleet to inform Government consideration later in the decade.
 
As also outlined in the 2013 Defence White Paper, Defence will analyse the value of further investment in unmanned aircraft for focused area, overland intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, including for use in border security operations.
 
This will include the potential expansion of the role of these assets in the ADF to include interdiction and close air support, subject to policy development and Government consideration.
 
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26 avril 2013 5 26 /04 /avril /2013 16:35
RAF Waddington takes command of MQ-9 Reaper UAV operations in Afghanistan

 

26 April 2013 airforce-technology.com

 

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has started command and control operations of its MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in Afghanistan from a newly constructed facility at Royal Air Force (RAF) Waddington in Lincolnshire, UK.

 

Flown by the No. 13 Squadron personnel using ground control stations (GCS) earlier this week, the move marks the first time the UAVs have been operated from the UK, more than five years after their acquisition for conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan.

 

To date, the UK has been controlling the RAF's five Reaper drones from the Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, US, following launch from an airfield within Afghanistan, as it did not have the capability to control them from home bases.

 

Undisclosed military officials were cited by Guardian as saying that the 13 Squadron pilots in collaboration with the personnel in the US will now take charge of Reapers from an advanced and sophisticated UAV centre at RAF Waddington.

 

The centre, with three operating terminals, was built in 2012 under the supervision of the UK MoD, as part of the 2010 strategic defence and security review.

 

The 39 Squadron will not be disbanded and will continue operations until the end of 2014, when all Nato-led coalition forces will pull out from Afghanistan, the officials added.

 

Initially deployed unarmed in Afghanistan, the RAF Reapers have since been equipped with 500lb laser-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles by the MoD, which also ordered additional five units to tackle Taliban insurgents in October 2012.

 

Manufactured by General Atomics, the MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-to-high altitude, long-endurance (HALE) UAV designed to conduct close air support, air interdiction and intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions.

 

Announced two days before a protest organised by Drone Campaign Network outside RAF Waddington, the move has also attracted sharp criticism from the Stop the War Coalition, which says the switching of control to the UK represents "an unwelcome expansion in the country's UAV programme".

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22 avril 2013 1 22 /04 /avril /2013 13:58
Eitan (Heron TP) drone source Defense Update

Eitan (Heron TP) drone source Defense Update

22/04/2013 Par Georges Malbrunot – LeFigaro.fr

 

INFO LE FIGARO - Jusque-là prudent face au conflit syrien et après une tentative avortée de négociations avec Bachar el-Assad, le roi Abdallah II a mis deux couloirs aériens à la disposition de l'aviation israélienne.

 

À tout moment, les drones israéliens peuvent désormais pénétrer dans l'espace aérien jordanien, à l'est de l'État hébreu, avant de remonter au nord au-dessus de la Syrie observer le conflit qui ensanglante le pays depuis deux ans et menace Israël. «Le roi Abdallah a décidé d'ouvrir son espace aérien à l'armée de l'air israélienne, révèle au Figaro une source militaire occidentale au Moyen-Orient. C'est un geste fort et exceptionnel.» Connue seulement d'une poignée de services de renseignements occidentaux, la décision aurait été prise par le souverain hachémite lors de la visite en Jordanie du président Barack Obama, les 22 et 23 mars, après son étape israélienne.

 

L'État hébreu s'inquiète de plus en plus de la détérioration de la situation à sa frontière avec la Syrie, où les tirs d'artillerie se sont multipliés ces dernières semaines, alors que les djihadistes progressent en direction du plateau du Golan occupé par Israël. Pour éviter d'être repérés, «les drones israéliens volent durant la nuit», précise le militaire. «Ils font de la reconnaissance, mais ils sont aussi armés et peuvent donc frapper une cible n'importe où en Syrie». Selon cet expert, «les Syriens disposent de moyens antiaériens russes, mais les aéronefs israéliens sont difficiles à détecter et donc quasiment à l'abri d'une contre-mesure».

 

Deux couloirs aériens auraient été mis à la disposition de l'aviation israélienne: l'un par le sud de la Jordanie à partir du désert du Néguev, l'autre plus au nord d'Amman, qui permet aux appareils israéliens ayant décollé d'une base près de Tel-Aviv de s'avancer rapidement au-dessus du territoire syrien. L'ouverture de l'axe jordanien leur évite les survols au-dessus du Sud-Liban, où les Israéliens redoutent toujours une riposte du Hezbollah chiite pro-iranien.

 

Afflux de réfugiés syriens

 

En octroyant ce privilège à son voisin israélien, le roi Abdallah II prend le risque de voir son fragile royaume entraîné dans le conflit syrien. Jusque-là, le monarque, tout en dénonçant la sanglante répression de Damas contre les manifestants, affichait une position prudente, dictée par sa faiblesse face à son puissant voisin avec lequel les liens sécuritaires ont d'ailleurs été maintenus. Mais l'afflux massif de centaines de milliers de réfugiés syriens pèse lourdement sur l'économie jordanienne, affectée déjà par un fort taux de chômage et une inflation galopante.

 

Pour desserrer l'étau, début mars, le roi a tenté une mission secrète auprès de Bachar el-Assad, qu'il est allé rencontrer à Damas. Mais il en serait revenu bredouille, selon plusieurs sources. D'où le durcissement de sa posture, deux semaines plus tard lors de la visite de Barack Obama à Amman. D'autant que le roi aurait pris seul cette initiative qui s'est soldée par un échec. Inflexible, Bachar el-Assad a rejeté toutes les propositions de son interlocuteur d'instaurer un arrêt des combats pour entamer des négociations avec l'opposition en vue d'élections supervisées par l'ONU en 2014, terme de son mandat. Abdallah II en a ensuite informé ses alliés américains et saoudiens.

 

Le basculement jordanien du côté de l'opposition syrienne est-il définitif? Le roi doit prendre au sérieux la dernière mise en garde de Bachar el-Assad. Dans un entretien télévisé diffusé mercredi, ce dernier a prévenu que «l'incendie ne s'arrêtera pas à nos frontières. Tout le monde sait que la Jordanie est aussi exposée (à la crise) que la Syrie connaît».

 

Ces dernières semaines, Assad a encore dépêché le chef de ses services de renseignements, Ali Mamlouk, auprès du roi. Mais dans le même temps, les États-Unis ont annoncé le déploiement de 200 soldats près de la frontière nord avec la Syrie.

 

Jusqu'à présent, la coopération jordano-américaine se limitait à la surveillance des armes chimiques détenues par le régime syrien et à la formation de rebelles de l'Armée syrienne libre par 150 membres des Forces spéciales US - aidés par une poignée de Britanniques et de Français - dans un camp près d'Amman. Mais devant le danger créé par l'instabilité qui gagne le sud de la Syrie, l'objectif serait désormais d'y créer une zone-tampon. Celle-ci permettrait de relâcher la pression sur la Jordanie en renvoyant des milliers de réfugiés syriens du côté syrien de la frontière, mais également de protéger Israël. Autant de sujets qui seront évoqués vendredi prochain lorsque le roi Abdallah sera reçu à la Maison-Blanche par Barack Obama.

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18 avril 2013 4 18 /04 /avril /2013 11:03
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11 avril 2013 4 11 /04 /avril /2013 23:11

MQ-4C BAMS Unmanned Aircraft

 

April 11, 2013 by Kris Osborn - defensetech.org

 

Development of the U.S. Navy’s maritime variant of the Air Force’s Global Hawk, the Triton UAS Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) , will be delayed, senior Navy officials explained when rolling out the service’s FY 14 budget proposal.

 

About $25 million was taken from production of the system in the BAMS budget for fiscal year 2014 — and moved to fiscal year 2015 due to schedule changes, service officials said.

 

“The first year of production of RQ-4 Triton UAV (previously known as BAMS) was shifted from FY14 to FY15 due to schedule changes.  Funding decreased to support transition into the test phase of the System Demonstration and Deployment (SDD) program,” said Lt. Courtney Hillson, a Navy spokeswoman.

 

While the Triton BAMS UAS is expected to bring great capability to the Navy, it may need a little longer development than initially expected, said Navy Rear. Adm. Joseph Mulloy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Budget.

 

“There are two technical issues in the airplane that are causing a delay in testing. First off, it has a unique double-tail rudder which is different on the Navy model. To get through that complex detail is taking a little longer on the design modules,” he said.

 

Secondly, integration work is still being done on the software on board the aircraft’s computer, he added.

 

“The Naval variant is designed to work with our P-8 and fly over the Pacific with a different set of sensors than the Air Force variant,” Mulloy added.

 

In short, it is taking a little longer than expected to engineer, develop and integrate the special maritime capabilities designed for the Triton. It is engineered to work in tandem with a manned fixed-wing surveillance aircraft called the P-8A Poseidon.

 

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, expressed great enthusiasm at the Air-Sea-Space Exposition regarding the establishment of the first P-8 Poseidon squadron slated to deploy to the Western Pacific.

 

The P-8A Poseidon is slated to replace the P-3C Orion as a long range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, according to the Navy.

 

Nevertheless, the Navy is gearing up for the first test-flight of its Triton UAS, a wide-spanning 47-foot long surveillance unmanned aircraft system equipped with high-tech, next-generation sensors able to conduct surveillance, reconnaissance and communications-relay missions over thousands of miles of ocean, service officials said.

 

The aircraft, which boasts a 130-foot wingspan and can reach altitudes of 60,000 feet, is engineered as a long-endurance surveillance platform, meaning it can stay in the air as long at 30 hours on a single mission, according to Navy figures.

 

The Triton’s first planned flight is part of an ongoing System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, in place since the Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $1.16 billion deal to develop the aircraft in 2008, an industry source indicated.

 

The Triton’s first planned flight is part of an ongoing System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, in place since the Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $1.16 billion deal to develop the aircraft in 2008, an industry source indicated.

 

The 89-month SDD phase, which includes initiatives to develop, test and refine the engineering of the air vehicle and integrate the sensor payload, is an acquisition phase aimed at refining requirements for the system and maturing its technologies prior to formal production, an industry source explained.

 

“The first MQ-4C Triton SDD aircraft, or SDD-1, will conduct taxi tests later this month at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif. Facility,” said Capt. Jim Hoke, program manager.

 

Thus far, two MQ-4C Triton’s have been built and a third is under construction at a Northrop facility in Moss Point, Miss., an industry source said.  The Navy plans to build additional aircraft and move toward an Initial Operational Test and Evaluation by 2015, a move which assessed the operational and technological readiness of the system prior to formal production.

 

The Triton UAS, part of the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance UAS developmental program, is a specially engineered maritime variant of the Air Force’s very successful RQ-4B Global Hawk platform, Navy officials explained.

 

“The modifications include anti/de-ice, bird strike and lightning protection to meet planned mission profiles and a due regard radar for safe separation from other aircraft,” Hoke added.

 

The anti/de-ice and lighting protection technologies, which include a reinforced fuselage and wing, are being engineered into the MC-4Q Triton as part of the maritime requirements for its range of anticipated mission sets, Navy and industry officials said.

 

“The Navy’s maritime variant is engineered to operate beneath the weather and have the ability to quickly be re-tasked as mission requirements dictate,” a Navy official said.

 

Since identifying ships, watercraft and coastal items are part of the Triton’s mission set, the aircraft is being engineered to ascend and descend to make identification of targets, an industry source added.

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12 mars 2013 2 12 /03 /mars /2013 12:20

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/OCPA-2005-08-11-080331.jpg/800px-OCPA-2005-08-11-080331.jpg

 

March 12, 2013: Strategy page

 

Faced with smaller budgets over the next decade the U.S. Army has halted evaluation of new UAVs and is standardizing on four existing models (Gray Eagle, Shadow 2000, Raven and Puma). All four of these were developed and purchased in large quantities over the last dozen years and will remain the primary army UAVs for the next 5-10 years.

 

The army currently has nearly 7,000 UAVs. Over 6,000 are micro-UAVs like the Raven and Puma, These tiny (under six kg/13.2 pound) reconnaissance aircraft have become very popular with the troops, anyone of which can become an operator after a few hours of training. These tiny UAVs are a radical new military aircraft technology that is took air recon to a new level. That level is low, a few hundred meters off the ground. The army has nearly 1,798 Raven and 325 Puma UAVs systems in use by ground troops. A complete system (controller, spare parts, and three UAVs) costs $250,000 for the Raven and over $400,000 for Puma. These tiny aircraft have changed how the troops fight and greatly reduced army dependence on the air force for air reconnaissance. The lightweight, hand launched Raven UAV can only stay airborne about an hour per sortie, but troops have found that this is enough time to do all sorts of useful work, even when there's no fighting going on. This is most of the time. The heavier Puma can stay up for 120 minutes.

 

rq-11b-raven-us-army-soldier-launch-lg

Raven B (RQ-11B)

 

The two kilogram (4.4 pound) RQ-11 Raven UAV aircraft is popular with combat and non-combat troops alike. The army has developed better training methods, which enables operators to get more out of Raven. Combat troops use it for finding and tracking the enemy, while non-combat troops use it for security (guarding bases or convoys). In both cases, troops have come to use the Raven for more than just getting a look over the hill or around the corner. The distinctive noise of a Raven overhead is very unpopular with the enemy below and is often used to scare the enemy away or make him move to where he can be more easily spotted.

 

The current model, the Raven B (RQ-11B), was introduced six years ago, a year after the original Raven entered service in large numbers. This UAV is inexpensive ($35,000 each). The Raven is battery powered (and largely silent unless flown close to the ground). It carries a color day vidcam or a two color infrared night camera. It can also carry a laser designator and new gimbaled camera is being bought. The cameras broadcast real time video back to the operator, who controls the Raven via a handheld controller, which uses a hood to shield the display from direct sunlight (thus allowing the operator to clearly see what is on the ground). The Raven can go as fast as 90 kilometers an hour but usually cruises at between 40 and 50 kilometers an hour. It can go as far as 15 kilometers from its controller and usually flies a preprogrammed route, using GPS for navigation.

 

The Raven is made of Kevlar, the same material used in helmets and protective vests. On average, a Raven can survive about 200 landings before it breaks something. While some Ravens have been shot down, the most common cause of loss is losing the communications link (as the aircraft flies out of range or behind something that interrupts the signal) or a software/hardware failure on the aircraft. Combat losses have been high, as nearly 20,000 have been built and most of those have been lost in training or the battlefield.

 

From the very beginning the Raven changed the way troops fight. With the bird's eye view of the battlefield, commanders can move their troops more quickly, confident that they won't be ambushed and often with certain knowledge of where the unseen enemy is. The big advantage with Raven is that it’s simple, reliable, and it just works. The UAV can be quickly taken apart and put into a backpack. It takes off by having the operator start the motor and then throwing it. This can be done from a moving vehicle and the Raven is a popular recon tool for convoys. It lands by coming in low and then turning the motor off. Special Forces troops like to use it at night because the enemy can’t see it and often can’t hear it either.

 

puma ae web

Puma AE UAV

 

Last year the U.S. Army began using the larger (5.9 kg) Puma AE UAVs. So far 325 RQ-20A systems have been ordered and most have been delivered. Adopting Puma is part of an army effort to find micro-UAVs that are more effective than current models and just as easy to use. The Puma, a 5.9 kg (13 pound) UAV with a 2.6 meter (8.5 feet) wingspan and a range of 15 kilometers from the operator, has proved to be the next big (or micro) thing the army was looking for. Combat commanders quickly realized how useful Puma is and wanted more, as quickly as possible. This is not surprising as SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has been using Puma since 2008.

 

The army wants to equip each infantry company with a Puma system. That would mean 18 Puma AE UAVs per brigade and nearly 400 for the entire army. These larger UAVs have been most useful in route clearance (scouting ahead to spot ambushes, roadside bombs, landslides, washouts, or whatever). The larger Puma is particularly useful in Afghanistan, which is windier than Iraq and thus more difficult for the tiny Raven to operate.

 

Top speed for Puma is 87 kilometers an hour and cruising speed is 37-50 kilometers an hour. Max altitude is 3,800 meters (12,500 feet). Puma has a better vidcam (providing tilt, pan, and zoom) than the smaller Raven and that provides steadier and more detailed pictures. Because it is larger than Raven, and three times as heavy, Puma is much steadier in bad weather. Both Puma and Raven are battery powered.

 

Puma has been around for a decade but never got purchased in large quantities by anyone. The latest model uses a lot of proven tech from the Raven (both UAVs are made by the same company). Like the Raven, Puma is hand launched and can be quickly snapped together or apart. Another version, using a fuel cell, has been tested and was able to stay in the air for nine hours at a time. There is also a naval version that floats and is built to withstand exposure to salt water.

 

Each combat brigade is now supposed to have 35 mini-UAV systems (each with three UAVs, most of them Raven, but at least ten of these systems are to be Pumas). That means that each combat brigade now has its own air force of over a hundred reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Shadow 200 UAV

RQ-7-Shadow

 

Then there are the larger UAVs. The Gray Eagle is replacing several other large UAVs. Most of these are the RQ-7 Shadow (over 300) and smaller numbers of MQ-5 Hunters, Sky Warrior Alpha and RQ-18 MAV (helicopter type) systems. The MQ-1C weighs 1.5 tons, carries 135.4 kg (300 pounds) of sensors internally, and up to 227.3 kg (500 pounds) of sensors or weapons externally. It has an endurance of up to 36 hours and a top speed of 270 kilometers an hour. MQ-1C has a wingspan of 18 meters (56 feet) and is 9 meters (28 feet) long. The MQ-1C can carry four Hellfire missiles (compared to two on the Predator), or a dozen smaller 70mm guided missiles. Each MQ-1C costs about $10 million. The army uses warrant officers as operators. The MQ-1C has automated takeoff and landing software and is equipped with a full array of electronics (target designators and digital communications so troops on the ground can see what the UAV sees).

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/OCPA-2005-08-11-080331.jpg/800px-OCPA-2005-08-11-080331.jpg

 

The army began sending platoons (each with four aircraft) of its new MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV to Afghanistan in 2011. The first MQ-1C aviation company was formed in 2009 and was assigned to the U.S. Army 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment), which belongs to SOCOM (Special Operations Command). The army plans to eventually equip each combat brigade with an MQ-1C company and establish over three dozen of these companies.

 

The MQ-1C is based on the MQ-1 Predator, which is a one ton aircraft and do most everything the Gray Eagle can except carry larger sensors and more weapons. The 159 kg (350 pound) Shadow 200s carry day and night cameras and laser designators but usually no weapons. Most of the new army heavy UAVs delivered over the next five years will carry missiles, and by 2015, the army wants to have over 500 MQ-1Cs and perhaps a few Shadow 200s that have not worn out.

 

The army is proceeding to spend scare cash on new sensors for existing UAVs and the old Shadow 200s have gotten other new components (engines, wings, and so on). This is because that while the army plans to buy nearly 500 Gray Eagles it has less than a hundred so far and are expensive. So money problems may halt or slow down procurement. Gray Eagle and Shadow are the key long range UAVs used by brigade and division headquarters to take in the big picture.

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27 février 2013 3 27 /02 /février /2013 18:20

MQ-4C BAMS Unmanned Aircraft

 

February 27, 2013:  Strategy Page

 

The U.S. Navy has begun gathering sailors and equipment for its first Global Hawk UAV squadron. Called VUP (Unmanned Patrol Squadron) 19 it will be in service by October on the east coast of the United States, where it will handle operations over the Atlantic. For naval service the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV is called the MQ-4C Triton and BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance). A second squadron will enter service next year on the west coast to cover the Pacific.  The navy plans to buy 68 Tritons and 117 P-8As jet aircraft to replace prop driven 250 P-3Cs. This replacement program is supposed to be complete in about a decade. The new surveillance aircraft provide more information over a wider area and do it more quickly.

 

The Triton has already been in service on an experimental basis. Last year, two years after extensive tests in the Middle East, the Triton began operating with a carrier task force at sea. Circling above the task force at 22,500 meters (70,000 feet), Triton monitored sea traffic off the Iranian coast and the Straits of Hormuz. Anything suspicious is checked out by carrier or land based aircraft, or nearby warships. The Triton aircraft fly a 24 hour sortie every three days. The first production Triton was delivered six months ago.

 

In 2009, the Triton test consisted of 60 flights and over 1,000 hours in the air. The flights were over land and sea areas, even though the UAV sensors are designed mainly to perform maritime reconnaissance. U.S. Air Force Global Hawk maintenance personnel assisted the navy in tending to the navy RQ-4 while it was on the ground, and for landings and takeoffs. The UAV was operated by navy personnel back in the United States at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. A year earlier, the navy began training four of its personnel (three P-3 pilots and one civilian) to operate RQ-4s. The four navy operator trainees were in an accelerated course (four months instead of five) and were available to help fly U.S. Air Force RQ-4s before the navy RQ-4s test model became operational in 2009.

 

The P-3 replacement, the P-8A is expected to complement Triton. Although the Boeing 737 based P-8A is a two engine jet, compared to the four engine turboprop P-3C it is replacing, it is a more capable plane. The P-8A has 23 percent more floor space than the P-3, and is larger (118 foot wingspan, versus 100 foot) and heavier (83 tons versus 61). Most other characteristics are the same. Both can stay in the air about ten hours per sortie. Speed however is different. Cruise speed for the 737 is 910 kilometers an hour, versus 590 for the propeller driven P-3. This makes it possible for the P-8A to get to a patrol area faster, which is a major advantage when chasing down subs spotted by sonar arrays or satellites. However, the P-3 can carry more weapons (9 tons, versus 5.6). This is less of a factor as the weapons (torpedoes, missiles, mines, sonobouys) are pound for pound more effective today and that trend continues. Both carry the same size crew, of 10-11 pilots and equipment operators. Both aircraft carry search radar and various other sensors.

 

The 737 has, like the P-3, been equipped with bomb hard points on the wings for torpedoes or missiles. The B-737 is a more modern design and has been used successfully since the 1960s by commercial aviation. Navy aviators are confident that it will be as reliable as the P-3 (which was based on the Electra civilian airliner that first flew in 1954. Although only 170 were built, plus 600 P-3s, about 20 Electras are still in service). The Boeing 737 first flew in 1965 and over 5,000 have been built. The P-8A will be the first 737 designed with a bomb bay and four wing racks for weapons.

 

The U.S. Air Force and Navy are buying the B version of the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs, at a cost of over $60 million each. This version is larger (wingspan is 5 meters/15 feet larger, at 42.2 meters/131 feet, and it's nine percent longer at 15.5 meters/48 feet) than the A model, and can carry more equipment. To support that, there's a new generator that produces 150 percent more electrical power. The RQ-4 has a range of over 22,000 kilometers and a cruising speed of 650 kilometers an hour.

 

The first three RQ-4Bs entered service in 2006. At 13 tons, the Global Hawk is the size of a commuter airliner (like the Embraer ERJ 145), but costs nearly twice as much. Global Hawk can be equipped with much more powerful and expensive sensors, which more than double the cost of the aircraft. These "spy satellite quality" sensors (especially AESA radar) are usually worth the expense because they enable the UAV, flying at over 20,000 meters (62,000 feet), to get a sharp picture of all the territory it can see from that altitude. The B version is supposed to be a lot more reliable. Early A models tended to fail and crash at the rate of once every thousand flight hours.

 

The maritime RQ-4 is seen as the ultimate replacement for all manned maritime patrol aircraft. The P-8A will probably be the last manned naval search aircraft. Some countries are using satellite communications to put the sensor operators who staff manned patrol aircraft on the ground. Some nations propose sending aircraft like the P-3 or P-8 aloft with just their flight crews, having all the other gear operated from the ground. This enables the aircraft to stay in the air longer and carry more gear.

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21 février 2013 4 21 /02 /février /2013 12:45

Hungwe UAV

 

21 February 2013 defenceWeb (Reuters)

 

Global demand for drone aircraft is especially strong in Gulf Arab states worried about regional instability, industry executives said as a big U.S. manufacturer unveiled the first sale of an unarmed Predator to the Middle East.

 

Controversy over the legality of attacks by missile-firing drones will not dampen the volatile region's enthusiasm for the technology, in part because export curbs mean most equipment sold will be for use only in reconnaissance, experts say.

 

Sello Ntsihlele, executive manager for UAVs at Denel Dynamics, a division of state-owned Denel, South Africa's biggest maker of defense equipment, told Reuters this was "the best time" for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sales, Reuters reports.

 

"Demand is growing fast in developing countries, in the Middle East, the Far East and Africa. The Gulf is critical in all this," he said on the sidelines of the biennial International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

"I can't be specific but all countries in the Arabian Gulf are talking to us," he said, adding that Denel's UAV sales had risen around 20 percent in the last four years, driven mostly by the Middle East.

 

UAE DEAL

 

The company had received up to double the number of inquiries from prospective clients than at the same conference two years ago, Ntsihlele said.

 

At IDEX on Monday, the United Arab Emirates announced a deal to buy an unspecified number of Predator drones from the privately-owned U.S. firm General Atomics in a deal worth 722 million dirhams ($196.57 million).

 

Also on Monday, Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments (ADASI), a subsidiary of state-owned investment firm Tawazun Holding, said it had signed an agreement with Boeing Co for ADASI to "provide training, support and marketing services" for Boeing unmanned aircraft systems in the UAE.

 

Frank Pace, president at General Atomics Aeronautical, said his firm's sales had risen by about 120 percent over the last five years, though until now it had not been able to sell to the Middle East due to tight export restrictions.

 

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are among several states, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, that have asked U.S. officials to buy armed drones but which have been rebuffed.

 

Washington says its commitments to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), a non-binding international agreement designed to limit the spread of long-range precision weaponry, restrict drone exports.

 

Thomas Kelly, principal deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, told reporters at IDEX that "caution" was Washington's point of departure on drone sales.

 

"We're not pushing armed systems right now to other countries. We understand there's a lot of interest in UAVs internationally ... (but) in terms of armed UAVs I think the administration is going to take its time to make sure that we have a policy that we're comfortable with."

 

General Atomics' export-variant Predator will have no "hard points" to attach missiles and would be deliberately engineered to make adding new weaponry impossible, the firm said last year.

 

Pace said he hoped the company would get approval to sell to more countries, especially in the Middle Eastern market, where he saw great potential. "We are talking to all of the Gulf (Arab) countries," he said.

 

KEEPING TABS "VERY IMPORTANT"

 

Sales are growing in the Middle East because having developed surveillance systems is fast becoming a requirement for all states, said Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

 

"The region is still unstable, there are state actors and non-state actors that want to cause trouble, and being able to keep tabs on what's happening is very important."

 

The oil-rich, sparsely-populated Gulf Arab states are alarmed at the civil war in Syria, and want to ensure that popular uprisings in North Africa do not stir dissent at home.

 

The intentions of regional rival Iran, locked in a dispute with major powers over its nuclear program, are a perennial concern for the Gulf region's hereditary ruling families.

 

Controversy over the legality of drone strikes would have little impact on global appetite for UAVs, Karasik said.

 

"Don't forget the debate over UAVs is concentrated in the United States. Countries that want that capabililty over here will make their own decisions," he added.

 

The U.S. government has dramatically increased its use of drone aircraft abroad in recent years to target al Qaeda figures in far-flung places from Pakistan to Yemen. Britain and Israel have also carried out such attacks, and dozens more states are believed to possess the technology.

 

Targeted killings carried out by remotely piloted unmanned aircraft are controversial because of the risks to nearby civilians and because of their increasing frequency.

 

General Atomics' Pace said, however, that he didn't expect the controversy to have much impact on sales.

 

Missiles are "not a significant function of the aircraft and most of the people that are buying (are buying) for ISR and are going to keep buying," he said, referring to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

 

The surge in drone use has stirred debate in the United States about the transparency of lethal strikes and the powers of the president to order attacks on U.S. citizens overseas. A 2011 strike killed U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki, a recruiter and propagandist for al Qaeda's Yemen-based affiliate.

 

Pace said unmanned aircraft would have to be used responsibly, but that ultimately they would help to save lives compared to some of the older systems.

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20 février 2013 3 20 /02 /février /2013 12:30

Shapar UAV

A Pakistani-built Shahpar tactical UAV

 

Feb. 19, 2013 - By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS  - Defense News

 

ABU DHABI — If anything has changed in the past few years at defense trade exhibitions, it’s the explosion in the number and variety of UAVs on display.

 

Big ones, medium ones, small, smaller and still smaller ones. Multi-winged or single-wing aircraft, pusher or tractor engines to power them, vertical systems with one, two or four rotors. Man-portable systems that fit in a rucksack. Craft with wheels or skids or hooks. A plethora of often interchangeable payloads of sensors and — increasingly — weapons the machines can put in the air. Also featured are a variety of control systems and units, ranging from trucks or trailers to laptops and wrist bands.

 

All the big boys in the business are here at the IDEX defense exposition and its NavDex naval component. Lockheed Martin, General Atomics and Boeing’s Insitu from the U.S.; Denel from South Africa; and a host of European entries, including vehicles from France, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey are all vying for attention.

 

Among the UAV craft are an ever-growing number of offerings from countries not often associated with displaying home-grown military products. In South Asia, Pakistan has developed a range of UAVs, with several on display here.

 

“Most of these aircraft are in service now with the Pakistani military,” Tahir Hameed, a technical engineer with Xpert Engineering, said of four aircraft in an outdoor display area.

 

Xpert is one of seven companies that make up the Global Industrial and Defense Solutions (GIDS) group, that together makes nearly all the components in the aircraft and payload systems.

 

Standing by a large Shahpar tactical UAV, Shoaib Iqbal, an engineer with AERO, the Advanced Engineering Research Organization, proclaimed that “everything in this aircraft was made in Pakistan. Everything except the engines and tires.”

 

AERO builds sensors at its facility near Islamabad, in a region where most of the Pakistani UAV industry is located.

 

The Shahpar is the most sophisticated of the GIDS aircraft on display here. Configured with a pusher engine and canards and with a wingspan of 6.6 meters, the craft can carry a 50-kilogram payload to heights of 5,000 meters, and stay airborne more than seven hours.

 

Two flights of the Shahpar entered service in 2012, Iqbal said, one each with the Pakistani Army and Air Force, and GIDS is expanding its production facilities to answer the demand.

 

A flight, Iqbal explained, consists of five aircraft, a ground control station and a communications station.

 

Another tactical UAV, the Uqab, entered service in 2008 with the Pakistani Army, Hameed said, and has been in use with the Pakistani Navy since 2010. A wheeled vehicle that can reach an altitude of 3,000 meters and stay aloft for six hours, the Uqab is used for artillery fire correction and battle damage assessment in addition to surveillance duties.

 

The Huma, a smaller aircraft fitted with rocket boosters for takeoff and a parachute for landing, also is under development, along with the Scout mini-UAV, designed to be carried in a backpack and launched by hand.

 

Micro Vehicles Expanding

 

Another growth area is in micro-UAVs, hand-held models not unlike something available at an electronics store or hobby shop.

 

Datron, a San Diego-based company best known for producing a range of radio and communications gear, is here with its Datron Scout aerial reconnaissance system, a four-rotor, vertical takeoff-and-landing vehicle meant to be used for short-range, short-endurance missions.

 

Even fitted with its battery pack and a sensor payload, the polycarbonate-construction vehicle barely weighs as much as a laptop computer — not even 3 pounds without the sensor. The Scout is intended to fly to a range of only about three kilometers and remain airborne for about 20 minutes, depending on the payload.

 

But the craft comes with a sophisticated flight control program, said Christopher Barter, program manager for the UAV.

 

“We’ve operated this in winds up to 30 miles an hour, with gusts to 55,” he said.

 

So why did Datron, an electronics company, get into the UAV business?

 

“The value of a small unmanned aerial system you can pull out of a backpack is extremely lucrative,” he said. “And this model comes with autonomous control from a laptop, with global positioning satellite navigation.”

 

The Datron Scout, however, is remarkably similar to at least a half dozen other vehicles on display at this show and, at between $60,000 to $120,000 a copy, a bit pricier than most.

 

“Yes, but ours doesn’t break,” Barter beamed. “It’s extremely rugged.”

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19 février 2013 2 19 /02 /février /2013 13:39

rq-11b-raven-us-army-soldier-launch-lg

 

February 19, 2013: Strategy Page

 

The U.S. Army has over 6,000 micro-UAVs (Ravens and Pumas) and is still finding new ways to use these tiny (under six kg/13.2 pound) reconnaissance aircraft. The army is also evaluating tiny helicopter-type UAVs and several other models similar to the Ravens and Pumas. All this comes a century after aerial reconnaissance first revolutionized warfare. The tiny UAVs are another radical new aircraft technology that is taking air recon to a new level. That level is low, a few hundred meters off the ground. It all began in the American military during the last decade. The aircraft are the nearly 1,798 Raven and 325 Puma UAVs systems in use by ground troops. A complete system (controller, spare parts, and three UAVs) costs $250,000 for the Raven and over $400,000 for Puma. These tiny aircraft have changed how the troops fight and greatly reduced army dependence on the air force for air reconnaissance.

 

Traditional U.S. military aviators, and the 10,000 manned airplanes they operate, are somewhat disdainful of these tiny, unmanned, aircraft. But for the troops on the ground, they are a lifesaver and the key to many victories. This sort of thing has happened before. During World War I (1914-18), when aerial reconnaissance first became a major factor in military operations, it was quickly noted that regular flights over the enemy, despite the risk of getting shot down, provided invaluable information. It wasn't just what the human observer noted, but photographs of what was down there. All this was rather sudden because reasonably cheap and reliable aircraft only began to appear a few years before World War I began. This was not surprising, as the first flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft only took place in 1903. The war spurred even more aircraft innovation. But then, and now, the principal job of aircraft was to be the eyes of the ground forces. The fighters were to protect friendly recon aircraft and attack the enemy ones. Bombers were consistently oversold, and the air force partisans could never accept the fact that bombing was an adjunct to reconnaissance, not the primary mission of the air forces.  Just as the first recon aircraft a century ago changed the way armies fought, the micro-UAVs have changed the way small units of soldiers fight. A century ago the aerial observers reported to generals and their staffs. UAV video goes to platoon or company commanders, or the leader of a small Special Forces team. The lightweight, hand launched Raven UAV can only stay airborne about an hour per sortie, but troops have found that this is enough time to do all sorts of useful work, even when there's no fighting going on. This is most of the time. The heavier Puma can stay up for 120 minutes.

 

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the enemy did not want to confront U.S. troops directly (this tended to get you killed). So there was an unceasing effort to set up ambushes, plant mines and roadside bombs, and fire rockets or mortars at American bases. All of these activities can be messed with by using Raven. U.S. troops know to think like the enemy, and quickly figured out the best ambush positions, or places to plant mines or fire rockets. By sending Ravens over these spots periodically the enemy is put in danger of being spotted. The enemy knows that usually leads to a prompt attack from American mortars or helicopter gunships. These mind games, of sneaking around trying to get a shot off at the Americans, is more stressful and dangerous if the U.S. troops have Ravens. And most of them do.

 

The U.S. Army has over 5,000 RQ-11 Raven UAVs in service. This two kilogram (4.4 pound) aircraft is popular with combat and non-combat troops alike. The army has developed better training methods, which enables operators to get more out of Raven. Combat troops use it for finding and tracking the enemy, while non-combat troops use it for security (guarding bases or convoys). In both cases, troops have come to use the Raven for more than just getting a look over the hill or around the corner. The distinctive noise of Raven overhead is very unpopular with the enemy below and is often used to scare the enemy away, or make him move to where he can be more easily spotted.

 

The current model, the Raven B (RQ-11B), was introduced six years ago, a year after the original Raven entered service in large numbers. This UAV is inexpensive ($35,000 each) and can stay in the air for 80 minutes at a time. The Raven is battery powered (and largely silent unless flown close to the ground). It carries a color day vidcam, or a two color infrared night camera. It can also carry a laser designator. Both cameras broadcast real time video back to the operator, who controls the Raven via a handheld controller, which uses a hood to shield the display from direct sunlight (thus allowing the operator to clearly see what is down there). The Raven can go as fast as 90 kilometers an hour but usually cruises at between 40 and 50. It can go as far as 15 kilometers from its controller, and usually flies a preprogrammed route, using GPS for navigation.

 

The Raven is made of Kevlar, the same material used in helmets and protective vests. On average, Raven can survive about 200 landings before it breaks something. While some Ravens have been shot down, the most common cause of loss is losing the communications link (as the aircraft flies out of range) or a software/hardware failure on the aircraft. Combat losses have been high, as nearly 20,000 have been built and most of those have been lost in training or the battlefield.

 

From the very beginning, the Raven changed the way troops fight. With the bird's eye view of the battlefield, commanders can move their troops more quickly, confident that they won't be ambushed, and often with certain knowledge of where the unseen enemy is. The big advantage with Raven is that it’s simple, reliable, and it just works. The UAV can be quickly taken apart and put into a backpack. It takes off by having the operator start the motor, and then throwing it. This can be done from a moving vehicle and the Raven is a popular recon tool for convoys. It lands by coming in low and then turning the motor off. Special Forces troops like to use it at night, because the enemy can’t see it, and often can’t hear it either.

 

The controller allows the operator to capture video, or still pictures, and transmit them to other units or a headquarters. The operator often does this while the Raven is flying a pre-programmed pattern (using GPS). The operator can have the UAV stop and circle, in effect keeping the camera on the same piece of ground below. The operator can also fly the Raven, which is often used when pursuing hostile gunmen.

 

Last year the U.S. Army began using the larger (5.9 kg) Puma AE UAVs. So far 325 RQ-20A systems have been ordered and most have been delivered. Adopting Puma is part of an army effort to find micro-UAVs that are more effective than current models and just as easy to use. The Puma, a 5.9 kg (13 pound) UAV with a 2.6 meter (8.5 feet) wingspan and a range of 15 kilometers from the operator, has proved to be the next big (or micro) thing the army was looking for. Combat commanders quickly realized how useful Puma is and wanted more, as quickly as possible. This is not surprising as SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has been using Puma since 2008.

 

The army wants to equip each infantry company with a Puma system. That would mean 18 Puma AE UAVs per brigade and nearly 400 for the entire army. These larger UAVs have been most useful in route clearance (scouting ahead to spot ambushes, roadside bombs, landslides, washouts, or whatever). The larger Puma is particularly useful in Afghanistan, which is windier than Iraq and thus more difficult for the tiny Raven to operate.

 

Top speed for Puma is 87 kilometers an hour and cruising speed is 37-50 kilometers an hour. Max altitude is 3,800 meters (12,500 feet), and the UAV can stay in the air for 120 minutes at a time. Puma has a better vidcam (providing tilt, pan, and zoom) than the smaller Raven and that provides steadier and more detailed pictures. Because it is larger than Raven, and three times as heavy, Puma is much steadier in bad weather. Both Puma and Raven are battery powered.

 

Puma has been around for a decade but never got purchased in large quantities by anyone. The latest model uses a lot of proven tech from the Raven (both UAVs are made by the same company). Like the Raven, Puma is hand launched and can be quickly snapped together or apart. Another version, using a fuel cell, has been tested and was able to stay in the air for nine hours at a time. There is also a naval version that floats and is built to withstand exposure to salt water.

 

The army has bought over 10,000 of the 2 kg (4.4 pounds) Raven, but it is mostly used for convoy and base security and less so by troops in the field. Each combat brigade is now supposed to have 35 mini-UAV systems (each with three UAVs, most of them Raven, but at least ten of these systems are to be Pumas). That means that each combat brigade now has its own air force of over a hundred reconnaissance aircraft.

 

Raven, and a thousand slightly larger UAVs, don't get much publicity, but they have a larger impact on combat than the few hundred much larger (Shadow, Predator, Reaper) UAVs. These big, and often armed, UAVs carry out vital missions, but comprise a tenth of the airtime that the micro-UAVs rack up. Moreover, these smaller UAVs have opened up lots of other possibilities. There are already small, single use UAVs that are basically guided bombs. Even smaller UAVs can be used for spying, as well as battlefield recon. These little aircraft are having an enormous impact on warfare, rivaling what happened a century ago.

 

Because of anti-aircraft machine-guns and portable missile systems the air force prefers to stay high (over 3,200 meters/10,000 feet) and let the army and their UAVs and helicopters take care of the lower altitudes. The army has taken on the challenge and succeeded.

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13 février 2013 3 13 /02 /février /2013 17:45

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/var/dicod/storage/images/base-de-medias/images/sam_0356/2171970-1-fre-FR/sam_0356.jpg

 

13 February 2013 by defenceWeb

 

Since January, a detachment of Harfang unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been engaged in Operation Serval, France’s intervention in Mali, where they joined dozens of French air assets, from maritime patrol aircraft to tankers.

 

Last week the French Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the Harfangs carried out their first operational missions over Mali on January 18. The aircraft are flown by Squadron 1/33 ‘Belfort’ from neighbouring Niger, with two being based in Niamey. It was under the eye of the Harfang that the cities of Douentza and Gao were taken over from Islamist militants. They were also overhead when French paratroops landed in Timbuktu.

 

Hargfang pic12 source FB Armee de l Air

 

The EADS Harfang (based on the IAI Heron) medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV has an endurance of over 20 hours – one flew for 26 hours between January 25 and 26. After Afghanistan and Libya, the Sahel desert is the third theatre to which the unarmed Harfang has been deployed.

 

The French MoD said the aircraft cooperate with Air Force and Navy aircraft operating over Malian territory. France has a wide variety of air assets operating in support of Operation Serval. From its base in Ndjamena, Chad, it has six Rafale and three Mirage 2000D fighters, five C-135FRs tankers, one A310, one C-130 Hercules, three C-160 Transal and one CN235 transport aircraft.

 

Based in Mali’s capital Bamako are two Mirage F1CR and three Mirage 2000D fighters and eight Gazelle, four Super Puma and three Tiger helicopters. Five French Navy Atlantique II maritime patrol aircraft are based in Dakar, Senegal. France has also charted aircraft, including An-124, An-225 and Il-76 transports.

 

The French Ministry of Defence on February 4 said that since January 31, French aircraft had flown more than 135 missions over Mali, including 30 reconnaissance flights, and destroyed 25 targets from logistics depots to training centres. Fighter aircraft and attack helicopters were used for these strikes.

 

Apart from French air assets, a large number of foreign aircraft have been contributed to the intervention force. Nigeria is the only other country to have committed combat aircraft, deploying two Alpha Jets (NAF 455 and NAF 452) to neighbouring Niger on January 18, followed by two Mi-35 attack helicopters. Nigerian Air Force C-130s are being used to airlift equipment and soldiers to Mali as part of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) contingent (Nigeria has pledged 900 troops out of 3 300 mandated to be sent).

 

The United States has been supporting French operations with five C-17 Globemaster III strategic transports, three KC-135 tankers and unarmed RQ-1 and RQ-4 unmanned aerial vehicles. The US may also be flying armed MQ-1 Predators over Mali.

 

The US Air Force (USAF) said that between January 21, when the US airlift effort began, and February 3, its C-17s had flown 30 flights transporting 610 personnel and 1 675 000 lb (760 tons) of equipment and supplies. Since aerial refuelling began on January 27, the USAF flew nine missions and offloaded 360 000 lb (163 000 kg) of fuel to French aircraft.

 

Canada has contributed a C-17 Globemaster III transport, which arrived in Mali on January 17 carrying French military hardware. In Europe, Belgium has offered two C-130 Hercules and two A109 medevac helicopters as well as 75 soldiers.

 

The Netherlands pledged to provide transport aircraft and on February 7 dispatched a KDC-10 from Eindhoven air base to pick up supplies in France before delivering them to Ndjamena, which is the French logistics hub for Operation Serval.

 

Germany has sent two C-160 Transal aircraft to support ECOWAS. On February 8 the Bundeswehr announced that the Luftwaffe had flown 48 C-160D flights that transported 337 personnel and 92 tons of materiel in support of the International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).

 

The Italian Air force is sending two C-130J Super Hercules and a KC-767A tanker, which will refuel French combat aircraft. A Danish C-130J-30 Super Hercules departed for Mali on January 15 while a Spanish C-130 left for Bamako on February 1, transporting men and materiel to Mali.

 

Elsewhere, Sweden has given France use of its share of the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability, dispatching a C-17 aircraft to France, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has offered two of its C-17s to assist France transporting men and materiel to Mali.

 

The Royal Air Force has contributed three aircraft, starting with a C-17 that flew into Bamako on January 14, delivering equipment for the French Army. A second RAF C-17 left Paris for Mali on January 15. The two airlifters are providing non-combat logistics support. The UK last month extended its commitment to Mali by committing one of its C-17s to Operational Serval by three months.

 

On January 25 a Royal Air Force Sentinel surveillance aircraft deployed to Dakar, Senegal, from RAF Waddington. Around 20 British personnel are deployed in Mali’s capital Bamako in support of French forces.

 

France commenced military operations in Mali on January 11, with the goal of removing Islamist militants from the country. According to the French MoD, there are currently 4 000 French soldiers in Mali. Alongside them are nearly 3 800 African soldiers and some 2 000 AFISMA soldiers belonging to Togo (640), Burkina Faso (500), Nigeria (240), Niger (500), Benin (90) and Senegal (50). More troops are expected in the coming weeks.

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2 février 2013 6 02 /02 /février /2013 23:11

Hargfang pic12 source FB Armee de l Air

 

02.02.2013 IsraelValley Desk - Défense

 

Les drones “Français” sont au Mali. Une news parue récemment mentionne que le Harfang contient du savoir faire israélien.

 

"Le magazine wired fait un zoom sur l’arsenal français déployé au Mali et illustre son analyse avec la photo d’un drone Harfang. Le média américain écrit en légende: le « franco-drone » pour mieux rappeler que l’avion sans pilote français est en fait une adaptation du Heron israélien. Wired mentionne les états de service du Harfang en Afghanistan et souligne qu’avec le retrait des forces françaises, il est désormais disponible pour d’autres théâtres d’opérations.

 

Une intuition confirmée en exclusivité par Jean Dominique Merchet dans Secret Défense qui annonce le déploiement aujourd’hui de deux drones Harfang au Mali. Il précise que la France en possède 4 et qu’ils ont non seulement servi en Afghanistan mais aussi en Libye. Les appareils confirme-t-il seront basés à Niamey soit à 700 km du théâtre des opérations et passeront la moitié de leur temps en vol de transit.

 

Defense Industry met pour sa part un peu les pieds dans le plat en rappelant que la France souhaite s’orienter dans un avenir proche vers des drones de combat. Il est donc question de drones Harfang améliorés et armés…à 25 millions de dollars le système. L’ alternative serait le Watchkeeper en version combat ou entre autres, le MQ9 Reaper qui pourrait larguer les fameuses bombes guidées AASM…

 

Pour ce qui est du Harfang, Defense industry précise que les appareils nécessitent la présence d’une équipe importante affectée à 3 stations au sol. La première planifie les missions, la seconde contrôle le drone et reçoit la vidéo par liaison satellite et la troisième traite les images recueillies. Au total 9 personnes pour chaque mission. 4 pilotes qui se relaient, 2 agents de renseignements, 2 analystes photos, et un agent qui recoupe les informations relatives au théâtre d’opération. Sans parler de 15 techniciens pour les tests, les réglages et la maintenance.

 

Anecdote croustillante, Defense Industry rappelle les propos d’Hervé Morin en 2010 devant la commission de défense de l’assemblée nationale, le ministre se plaignait alors du manque de coopération israélien pour les pièces de rechanges des Harfang.

 

Verbatim: « Nous avons encore du retard par rapport aux drones existants, que ce soit par rapport aux drones américains comme le Predator ou aux drones israéliens, qui constituent la base du SIDM (système intérimaire de drones MALE). Nous rencontrons d’ailleurs quelques problèmes de réparation sur ce matériel, les Israéliens n’étant pas toujours très coopératifs en la matière. »

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9 janvier 2013 3 09 /01 /janvier /2013 17:20

MQ-9 Reaper

 

January 9, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Project On Government Oversight; issued January 8, 2013)

 

U.S. Central Command has released some interesting numbers on the performance of modern air systems in Afghanistan; the data do not augur well for our defenses in the next decade, nor for the suitability of the man who appears likely to be the next secretary of defense, former Senator Chuck Hagel -- his admirable iconoclasm toward some national security dogmas notwithstanding.

With the Department of Defense budget looking at no real growth or even reductions in the next few years, there will be a clear need for defense systems that offer more performance for less cost. The data from Afghanistan on what drones are contributing to the war there show that we are getting little but paying a lot, the reverse of what we will need in the future.

These data notwithstanding, drones are the embodiment of what conventional wisdom in Washington holds to be the wave of the future for air power -- the quintessence of the high tech cutting edge that the pundits want more and more of and just the kind of myth that politicians appointed to senior executive branch positions fall for time and time again.





The Pentagon's new leadership needs the wit to recognize that the conventional wisdom on these (and other) systems can be badly wrong, and it needs the moral courage and political dexterity to act, standing up to the embedded material and intellectual special interests in the Pentagon, Congress, and think tanks that leap to the defense of these systems time after time. Without such brains, guts, skill, and, especially, persistence in the next Pentagon leader, our defenses are in for a rough ride -- downhill -- in coming years. In short, we need real deeds from a tough, no-nonsense executive, not just interesting, sometimes iconoclastic words.

The Air Force component of CENTCOM (AFCENT) releases numbers to the public each month on Air Force and allied sorties and weapon releases in Operation Enduring Freedom (which mostly means the war in Afghanistan) for drones and manned aircraft. (Data on CIA drone activities in Pakistan and elsewhere are not included.)

The released data are bad news for drone advocates. They show that in the first eleven months of 2012, the U.S. and NATO forces involved in Afghanistan conducted 1,505 air-to-ground "strike sorties" -- i.e., those that involved the release of at least one weapon. A total of 3,886 weapons were released on those strike sorties -- 3,439 from manned aircraft and 447 from remotely piloted aircraft, or drones (namely, the MQ-1B Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper). In other words, the drones were responsible for just 11.5 percent of the air-to-ground weapons used in the war. Manned aircraft, such as the A-10, F-16, F-18, AV-8B and B-1B, were responsible for the other 88.5 percent. Put simply, in the air war in Afghanistan -- called by some "the Drone War" -- drones did little better than 10 percent of the weapons delivery.

Little as they did in the first eleven months of 2012, they did even less in 2011, when manned aircraft released 5,117 weapons and drones released just 294 -- or 5.4 percent of the total.

The AFCENT data is very sparse on allowing more meaningful comparisons between drones and manned aircraft in the Afghanistan war. AFCENT declined to provide this writer more detail, but it gave some useful data to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in the United Kingdom. That data shows that in 2011, manned aircraft flew almost 24,000 of the total close air support sorties -- whether a weapon was released or not -- and they flew well over 17,000 in the first ten months of 2012. Drones flew 10,300 sorties in the same category in 2011 and 7,600 in 2012. Thus, the manned aircraft are responsible for about 70 percent of the total sorties in both years.

More importantly, manned aircraft are flying an even larger percentage of the strike sorties: aircraft performed 1,743 strike sorties, or 88 percent, in 2011 and over 1,100, or 82 percent, in the first ten months of 2012. Finally, for delivering numbers of weapons during a strike on a target, drones averaged 1.4 weapons per strike in 2012; aircraft averaged twice that.

Nor is there any basis to think that drones have been delivering weapons more accurately. According to DOD's weapons tester, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the Reaper, for example, is capable of employing only two types of munitions: the AGM-AGM-114 laser-guided "Hellfire" missile and the GBU-12 laser-guided bomb. Manned aircraft carry a far greater variety, and while CENTCOM has not released the data, anecdotally it appears that most manned aircraft munitions are GPS-guided JDAMs, which have fewer limitations from clouds and weather and other causes than do the drones' laser-guided munitions.

That the drones are responsible for such a small percentage of the air-to-ground war in Afghanistan is the natural result of their inherent limitations. Prominent among them is their tiny payload compared to manned aircraft: The "more capable" drone, the MQ-9 Reaper, carries roughly one-ninth to one-fourth the payload of an A-10 or an F-16.

Nor are the drones cheaper to buy and operate. Using the Air Force's definition for all the components in a Reaper unit, they cost about $120 million to buy, compared to about $20 million for the original A-10 and about $55 million for a modern F-16. A Reaper "CAP," or unit, costs about $20 million per year to operate, compared to $5.5 million for an A-10C for a year or $4.8 million for an F-16C.

In short, with drones like the iconic Reaper, our forces get less performance for more cost -- compared to 35-year-old aircraft designs such as the A-10 and F-16.

These data notwithstanding, drones continue to be the darling of opinion in much of DOD, journalism, and think tanks. Articles repeatedly label Afghanistan as "the drone war," and one think tank drone advocate even referred to the AFCENT information as a "powerful data point" in favor of drones being "here to stay." They may, indeed, be here to stay, but that will be based on politics and hype, not performance in Afghanistan -- and perhaps the affinity of some for what drones are doing in Pakistan and Yemen under CIA control.

Whoever is the next secretary of defense will face a choice. He or she can operate at the policy wonk level, as so many already have, ignoring these kinds of basic nuts and bolts data. When they do so, and are told by in-house advocates of drones (or F-35s, or Littoral Combat Ships, or C-130Js, or almost anything else) that the newest technology is cheap and effective, the secretaries of defense with policy wonk and/or political backgrounds have proven themselves to be undisposed to serious, informed questioning. They end up taking the advocates' assertions at face value and acting on them.

The next steps in this process are as predictable as the sunrise: when some outsider suggests a budget cut, the DOD bureaucracies easily convince the secretary that their "affordable" and "effective" weapon systems will no longer be available. Then, the secretary proclaims the idea of insufficient resources for these pet rocks to be a "doomsday." In doing so, facilitators of business as usual like Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta thoroughly isolate themselves from the fact that the additional cost and low performance of these systems is much of what is driving the budget beyond acceptable levels of spending.

It is easy for the in-house advocates to co-opt the secretary of defense when he or she comes from an institution like Congress, where rhetoric and appearances trump facts, especially if the words are articulated cleverly or forcefully.

Such superficiality is precisely the profile Senator Chuck Hagel had as a member of the Senate. He was frequently in the news saying something interesting, often against the dogma of the Republican Party or even American politics in general. But, quick, tell yourself something he actually did of consequence in the Senate -- legislation or other important actions, not just words. Draw a blank? So did I, and I was watching up close and personal as a Republican Senate staffer for many of Hagel's twelve years there. Beyond the rhetoric, his record is quite sparse.

At a time when its budget is declining and advocates, backed by generally accepted myths, press hard for their particular hobby horse to be protected while others go begging, the Pentagon needs someone with a demonstrated record as a tough, acutely well informed downsizer or as an accomplished infighter against the powerful bureaucracies that run free under politically oriented secretaries of defense. A talker, not a doer, Senator Hagel, no matter how much I may admire his politics, is not the right person.

This is not to say that the other publically mentioned candidates for the job would be better.

As a denizen of the think tank and policy world, Michelle Flournoy -- as intelligent as she seems to be -- has been operating in a world where soft-policy differences are the stock in trade, not bureaucratic fights down in the weeds over the quality of data on performance or costs. As the chief architect of DOD's 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review as the Pentagon's under secretary of policy, she showed little interest in or understanding of how the building actually operates at the basic level.

As undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and then as deputy secretary of defense, Ashton Carter has shown little ability to master the bureaucracy. In fact, he let slide far more problems than he has done anything meaningful about. That is all too clearly the case with, for example, the Pentagon's most expensive program ever -- the F-35 -- which remains both unaffordable and a gigantic performance disappointment after four years of Carter's ministrations.

The vast chasm between conventional wisdom and reality on drones, their costs, and what is and is not working at the tactical level is replicated in myriad ways in the secretary of defense job portfolio -- from assault rifles to missile defenses to arms control and especially to questions of war and peace.

What we need least is yet another dilettante who specializes in politics of the moment and fancy words.

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9 janvier 2013 3 09 /01 /janvier /2013 12:20

RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 - Northrop Grumman

 

January 08, 2013 by General Dynamics Canada

 

General Dynamics Canada has been awarded a CA$32m contract by Northrop Grumman Corporation for key communications network technology for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program.

 

Under this contract, General Dynamics Canada will provide the software that will control the AGS Communications Ground Control System (CGCS). The CGCS will manage radio and satellite communications between Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the main operating base in Sigonella, Italy.

 

General Dynamics Canada will also deliver ruggedized computer workstations and the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) intercom systems that will enable communications between operators at the operating base and with mobile command centers. In addition, the company will provide engineering support for the integration of its software and systems at Northrop Grumman's facilities in the US, and at the main operating base in Italy.

 

"This contract highlights the capabilities of the world-leading communication solutions we have developed through many years of innovation in airborne ISR systems," said David Ibbetson, general manager for General Dynamics Canada.

 

"It showcases Canadian technology that we have successfully deployed on the CP-140 Aurora as part of the Aurora Incremental Modernization Project, and on the CH148 Cyclone as part of the Maritime Helicopter Program. At the same time, it provides us with the opportunity to leverage the experience and expertise of the highly skilled employees at our facilities across Canada.

 

"As important, the key technologies being provided by General Dynamics Canada will be available for future UAV-based programs in Canada, such as the Joint Unmanned Surveillance Target Acquisition System and the Mercury Global Wideband Global Satellite communications system."

 

Dan Chang, Northrop Grumman vice president and program manager of the NATO AGS program, said: "This is another example of how Northrop Grumman is leveraging national investments already made in the NATO AGS program to benefit the entire alliance.

 

"We look forward to working with General Dynamics Canada on this program to deliver this critical capability to NATO."

 

The NATO AGS program, led by Northrop Grumman, is a major international procurement initiative to establish an airborne ground surveillance system, which can provide NATO commanders with a comprehensive picture of activity on the ground. It includes five Northrop Grumman high-altitude, long endurance Global Hawk UAVs, missionized to NATO requirements; mobile ground command and control vehicles; as well as associated command and control base stations. Once deployed, the AGS system will enable NATO and its coalition partners to gather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information to support military and humanitarian operations.

 

With its main operating base at Sigonella, NATO AGS will be co-located with the US Air Force Global Hawks and the US Navy MQ-4C Triton (BAMS) Broad Area Maritime Surveillance unmanned aircraft systems, further advancing synergies across the three programs in operational capability, lifecycle logistics and sustainment.

 

Development and production of the AGS program is expected to take place over the next three years, with initial operation scheduled for November 2016. General Dynamics Canada will continue to provide in-service support for the system beyond 2016.

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21 décembre 2012 5 21 /12 /décembre /2012 12:35

Yi Long UAV pic1

Chinese Yi-Long (Wing Loong) UCAV

 

20 December 2012 William Gallo – Pacific Sentinel

 

Analysts say China is using its rapidly expanding defense budget to make impressive advances in drone technology, prompting some to worry that the United States' global dominance in the market could soon be challenged.

 

At a recent biennial airshow in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, China unveiled a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Long-time observers of Chinese military capability reported the drones on display were bigger and more sophisticated than in the past.

 

Though many of the prototypes and models on display at the Zhuhai air show did not have explicit military purposes, others appeared to be clones of U.S. drones, such as the Predator or Reaper, which have both been used in deadly missions on suspected militants.

 

There is no evidence suggesting China plans to use its drones in a similar manner as the United States, and observers say Beijing is still likely far behind Washington in drone technology.

 

US Defense Report Calls China's drone advances "alarming"

 

But a report published in July by the Defense Science Board, a committee that advises the U.S. Defense Department, suggested that Beijing's ramped up spending and research on drones could threaten U.S. supremacy in the sector.

 

The unclassified report called China's recent focus on UAVs "alarming," warning Beijing could "easily match or outpace U.S. spending on unmanned systems, rapidly close the technology gaps and become a formidable global competitor in unmanned systems."

 

Richard Bitzinger, an ex-CIA analyst and senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, says he dismisses parts of that report as being "melodramatic."

 

"There's certainly cause for concern and for watchfulness. But how could the Chinese outspend the United States on drones? I just don't see it," he said. "The United States has literally thousands of drones."

 

How has China used drones?

 

Bitzinger says it is difficult to determine how China, or any other country, uses drones, partly because of their often-times covert nature. He says drone programs with obvious military purposes are often disguised as only having humanitarian roles, such as disaster relief, counter-piracy or crime-fighting.

 

"Kind of all these warm fuzzies, these kind of 'mom-and-apple-pie,' benign things that you can say 'That's what we're building the drones for, and oh, by the way, we have a military purpose for them, as well," said Bitzinger. "When I hear all the kind of uplifting and peaceful-sounding kind of things [about drones], I think 'So what. They can be converted in a matter of hours, if not sooner, into an offensive, or at least an explicitly military, capability.'"

 

For China, state media said those reportedly peaceful missions include patrolling maritime regions. In September, the Xinhua news agency reported that China's State Oceanic Administration would step up the use of drones to "strengthen marine surveillance" in disputed areas of the South China Sea. A government report earlier this year called for 11 drone bases to be established along China's coastline by 2015.

 

But other missions were seemingly more mundane. The state-run Global Times reported in June that Beijing police is using a drone to spot illegal opium poppies in rural areas of the capital. Last year, the paper said the department would also use unmanned aircraft to "monitor traffic accidents, conduct aerial surveillance, or help with rescue operations."

 

So far there are no known instances of China carrying out deadly attacks with weaponized UAVs. But Li Yidong, a designer for the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told the Global Times that one of the UAVs on display at the Zhuhai air show appears to have carried out 20 missions and fired 15 missiles, judging from the number of red stars and missile patterns on the drone.

 

At the Zhuhai air show, Huang Wei, the director of a drone program at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation told the Global Times that UAVs were, "as the Americans say," fit for missions that are "dirty, dangerous and dull."

 

Possible deadly missions in the future?

 

Bitzinger warns that if Beijing did decide to use drones for explicitly offensive missions, such as targeting suspected militants, it would likely draw on the experience of the U.S. military, which has used the highly effective unmanned planes to target militants in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

 

"The United States is basically field-testing the whole idea of drone warfare," said Bitzinger. "Armed hunter-killer drones have been going very well for the United States. And people walk away with this as a lesson. One of the lessons is, "Gee, it would sure be nice to have one of those things."

 

Wendell Minnick, Asia bureau chief at Defense News, says there is no evidence to suggest that China desires to carry out deadly drone strikes. But he says that if it did, it would likely point to U.S. drone use as justification.

 

"There's certainly an argument to be made that if the U.S. can make the same type of judgment call and justification for hitting militants in Pakistan, what's to stop the Chinese from hitting Tibetan or Uighur rebel groups that are technically within China's own sovereign country?" he asks.

 

The danger of Chinese drone exports

 

Another area of concern for the United States is that China will increasingly export its relatively inexpensive drone technology to nations around the world. That fear was heightened when the Global Times said in November that "some foreign sales" were reported at the Zhuhai air show.

 

Minnick says that Chinese drones, many of which are specifically produced for the export market, are very attractive for nations that cannot afford or are otherwise prevented from purchasing the U.S. alternatives.

 

"Our drone exports are very expensive platforms, very sophisticated. The Chinese produce a much cheaper variety that basically does the same job," said Minnick. "The Chinese have got cheap labor, technological know-how, and are looking at an export market that's growing."

 

But Bitzinger says price is only one factor that nations consider when purchasing foreign military equipment. He warns Beijing will not likely become the "Wal-Mart" of international drone sales anytime soon.

 

"I'm sure they'd like to be, but the question is, do you want to buy Chinese equipment?" asks Bitzinger. "The reliability, the maintenance of these things is still unproven, and there's a lot of political baggage that comes with buying Chinese [products]."

 

Bitzinger also says Chinese exports of drones may be limited by international arms sales regulations that govern exports of weapons and "dual-use" goods that have both civilian and military purposes.

 

Still, Bitzinger and other analysts warn against being dismissive of Chinese drone capability.

 

"I think at this point, they're still very much in that developmental, exploratory phase," he said. "That aside, I don't see them getting out of the business. I think they'll continue to work on it and get better."

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11 décembre 2012 2 11 /12 /décembre /2012 09:25

MQ-9-Reaper source info-aviation

 

Dec. 08, 2012 by David Axe – wired.com/dangerroom

 

The Air Force’s multi-billion-dollar drone fleets may have helped against the insurgents of Iraq and Afghanistan. But in a fight against a real military like China’s, the relatively defenseless unmanned aerial vehicles would get shot down in a second. So once again, the air will belong to traditional, manned bombers and fighters able to survive the sophisticated air defenses.

 

At least that’s the Air Force’s official position. Secretly, however, the flying branch could be working on at least two new high-tech UAVs optimized for the most intensive future air wars. Ace aviation reporter Bill Sweetman has gathered evidence of new stealth drones under development by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman — the latter potentially armed, and both drawing on classified funds. If these robots are real, the Air Force’s drone era is not only not ending — it’s barely begun.

 

To be clear, no one thinks unmanned aircraft are becoming any less vital to Washington’s shadowy counter-terrorism campaigns in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and, possibly soon, Mali. Missile-armed Predators, the larger Reapers carrying bombs and missiles, and stealthy, unarmed Sentinel spy drones, operated jointly by the CIA and the military, are still America’s weapon of choice for hunting terrorist leaders. Three years ago then-CIA director Leon Panetta, now the defense secretary, called UAVs the “only game in town” for disrupting the core of al-Qaida.

 

But when it comes to strictly military campaigns — assuming those even exist anymore — flying robots appear to be falling out of favor with the nation’s air combat branch. Earlier this year the Air Force announced controversial plans to scale back its known current and future drone fleets.

 

 Gone would be the Block 30 model of the brand-new, high-flying Global Hawk recon UAV, axed in favor of upgrades to the decades-old U-2 spy plane. Production of the workhorse Reapers was slashed from 48 per year to just 24. Looking ahead, the Air Force cancelled a planned, unclassified effort to develop a jet-powered attack drone, the MQ-X. Indeed, the flying branch abandoned its entire 30-year “roadmap” for future UAV development, which had anticipated a host of new robot designs to ultimately replace most manned aircraft.

 

Publicly, the Air Force is even considering reneging on its promise to make the next-generation heavy bomber now in development “optionally manned,” meaning it could be converted into a large, long-range drone with the flip of a switch.

 

The potential high cost of the dual design is “probably going to make it difficult to afford an unmanned solution,” Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. James Kowalski said.

 

Remarkably, it was just four years ago that then-Defense Secretary Bob Gates leaned on the flying branch to finally get serious about pilotless planes, which can fly far longer than their manned counterparts and are ideal for surveillance and attacks missions against lightly armed militants like those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Even after (then) seven years of war, motivating the Air Force to purchase more drones — and consequently fewer traditional planes — was “like pulling teeth,” Gates said. To break the logjam Gates had to fire the Air Force’s two top officials and abruptly cancel further production of the air-combat service’s prized F-22 fighter.

 

Now the Iraq war is over and the war in Afghanistan is winding down. All the military branches are revamping their arsenals for an era in which they anticipate fewer long-term counter-insurgency campaigns and more short, high-intensity wars such as last year’s Libya campaign plus the ongoing responsibility of deterring a rising China. “The fleet I’ve built up — and I’m still being prodded to build up, too — is not relevant in that new theater,” Gen. Mike Hostage, head of the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, said last week.

 

In high-stress combat the human brain is still the best computer, and human eyes the best sensors, Hostage said. Drones “don’t have the awareness that a manned plane would have.”

 

The other branches do not share that view. The Army is proceeding with plans to purchase more than 100 copies of its own armed Predator variant. The Navy is pouring billions into a stealthy, jet-powered attack drone that can launch from aircraft carriers. Only the Air Force has looked into the future and stated that current flying robots don’t have much of a place.

 

Instead, the Air Force says it wants more manned planes. Despite flattening budgets the flying branch is sticking with its longtime requirement for 1,763 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters plus up to 100 new bombers. And Hostage says his researchers are trying to define a so-called “sixth-generation” fighter to succeed the F-35 around 2030. That plane will have an on-board pilot, Hostage said.

 

When it comes to drones, “retrenchment returns the Air Force to business as usual,” Lt. Col. Lawrence Spinetta and M.L. Cummings wrote in Armed Forces Journal. But that retrenchment could be a cover. It’s very possible that all the Air Force’s recent backtracking on unmanned warplanes applies only to unclassified efforts. It’s feasible, even likely, that Air Force UAV initiatives are thriving within the military’s $35-billion-a-year classified budget. For sure, the stealthy Sentinel drone that first appeared in Afghanistan five years ago and subsequently spied on Iran and Pakistan is one product of the classified budget.

 

In fact, it makes sense for UAV development for the post-Iraq and -Afghanistan era to favor “black” programs. As America’s wars become more high-tech and its foes more heavily armed, the Air Force will need truly cutting-edge drones — the robot equivalents of the Cold War F-117 and B-2 stealth warplanes, both of which were designed and initially produced in total secrecy in order to protect their pricey new technologies.

 

In a recent article for Aviation Week, reporter Sweetman laid out the evidence for no fewer than two new, jet-powered, radar-evading Air Force UAVs still cloaked in black funding. In 2008 Northrop Grumman, maker of the B-2 stealth bomber, scored a $2-billion Pentagon contract that the company took pains to keep off the books. At the same time, Northrop hired as a consultant John Cashen, the man most responsible for devising the B-2′s radar-defeating shape.

 

The funding and Cashen’s expertise were applied to a secret effort to build a larger successor to the Lockheed Martin-made Sentinel, according to Sweetman. The new drone “is, by now, probably being test-flown at Groom Lake,” a.k.a. Area 51, Sweetman wrote.

 

In parallel, Lockheed could be building a stealthy spy drone meant to fly ahead of the Air Force’s new bomber, helping to jam enemy radars and spot targets for the larger, manned plane. Sweetman called the secret spy drone, which has been alluded to by Pentagon officials, “a real and funded program.” Perhaps coincidentally, in December last year a commercial satellite spotted what appeared to be a previously unknown UAV type at Lockheed’s facility in Palmdale, California.

 

Despite the public statements eschewing old-style drones, it’s possible the Air Force is working hard to field brand-new flying robots better suited to an era of conventional warfare. But it could be years before we know for sure, as any evidence is deeply classified and could remain so. “When the new systems will be disclosed is anyone’s guess,” Sweetman lamented.

 

Today’s drones might have hit their peak, by the Air Force’s reckoning. But tomorrow’s drones could rise to take their place.

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7 décembre 2012 5 07 /12 /décembre /2012 08:50

le-premier-vol-du-demonstrateur-neuron - Rafale photo Dassa

 

06.12.2012 Par Edouard Pflimlin Le Monde.fr

 

Le 1er décembre, à Istres, dans le sud de la France, l'Europe de la défense, si décriée, marquait une grande avancée. Tout seul (ou presque), le prototype de drone Neuron a fait son premier vol. Ce drone de combat (ou UCAV en anglais pour Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), furtif et donc difficilement détectable par les radars, est en effet piloté à terre. Il préfigure ce que seront les drones de combat conçus spécifiquement pour des frappes au sol et le bombardement, voire à terme le combat aérien.

 

Neuron 01 dec 2012 photo2 dassault-aviation.com

 

Construit par Dassault aviation, le Neuron est long de 9 m, avec une envergure de 12 m, et d'un poids total de 7 tonnes, explique le blog spécialisé Défense européenne Bruxelles 2. Il peut atteindre une vitesse maximale de 980 km/h, proche de Mach 1 (1 220 km/h). Inauguré en 2003, notifié en 2006, ce programme devrait préparer le terrain à un drone de combat ou futur avion de chasse à moyen terme.

 

Le Neuron est un programme mené en coopération européenne, avec cinq autres pays (Italie, Suède, Espagne, Grèce, Suisse), mais sous forte impulsion française. Dassault Aviation, en tant que maître d'œuvre unique, est responsable de l'exécution du contrat principal. "L'objectif de ce projet n'est pas de créer de nouvelles capacités technologiques en Europe, mais de tirer le meilleur bénéfice des niches existantes", estime-t-on chez Dassault.

 

L'enjeu opérationnel est important : "Les drones militaires ont connu un développement très rapide au cours des dernières décennies, mais c'est leur utilisation intensive par Israël, [notamment au Liban en 1982], ainsi que par les États-Unis sur les théâtres irakien et afghan qui a mis en lumière leur importance dans la gestion des conflits", soulignait déjà un rapport de l'Assemblée nationale de 2009. Un rôle constaté lors des opérations récentes de l'armée israélienne à Gaza.

 

AVANCE AMÉRICAINE

 

L'enjeu stratégique et industriel du Neuron est majeur. Le projet "dessine l'avenir de l'aviation de combat européenne", soulignait dès 2009 le rapport parlementaire. Or, les Etats-Unis ont clairement une, voire plusieurs longueurs d'avance sur les Européens. L'autre projet de drone de combat européen, le Taranis, de BAE Systems, étant d'ailleurs moins avancé que le Neuron, même s'il devrait être testé au début de 2013.

 

Taranis source Defense News

 

Les Américains déploient la plus importante flotte de drones en tous genres au monde : ils ont été les premiers à tirer un missile lors d'un essai d'un drone MQ-1 Predator, il y a un peu plus de dix ans. Ils possèdent aujourd'hui une véritable armada de drones, selon le bilan de la publication de référence spécialisée de l'IISS de Londres, The Military Balance 2011 : drones lourds armés de missiles Hellfire, comme les MQ-1 Predator ou les MQ-9 Reaper, drones d'observation comme les RQ-4 Global Hawk... Au total, les Etats-Unis possèdent deux cent quarante-six drones, selon un pointage établi en 2011, quand la France ne déploie difficilement que... trois drones Harfang.

 

First Catapult Launch of X-47B Nov. 29, 2012

 

Deux jours avant le vol du Neuron, le 29 novembre, la société d'armement américaine Northrop Grumman a réalisé le premier essai de catapultage de son drone X-47B UCAS-D, un drone furtif en forme d'aile delta qui ressemble beaucoup au bombardier lourd B2, de l'US Air Force. Il peut emporter deux tonnes de bombes en soute, à plus de 2 000 km de distance et a une autonomie de vol de cinquante heures sans faire le plein. "C'est la première fois qu'un engin non piloté décolle de cette manière, au moyen d'une catapulte à vapeur", souligne la revue Air & Cosmos.

 

Ce test montre que le drone X-47B est "un pas plus proche de son rôle prévu, qui est de pouvoir atterrir et décoller d'un porte-avions", indique la revue de défense Jane's Defence Weekly. Des tests sur un porte-avions américain, peut-être l'USS Harry S. Truman, doivent avoir lieu d'ici à la mi-2013. Des tests de ravitaillement en vol autonome doivent également avoir lieu en 2014. En effet, le X-47B est conçu pour pouvoir assurer des vols de façon autonome, un contrôle manuel par un pilote ayant lieu quand il se rapproche du porte-avions. D'autres projets existent aussi chez les concurrents américains de Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Atomics et Lockheed Martin.

 

TRANSPORT, RAVITAILLEMENT...

 

Les Etats-Unis veulent également diversifier l'utilisation des drones par leurs forces armées. Selon le "Plan de vol des systèmes de drones 2009-2047", un rapport de l'US Air Force (USAF), présenté le 23 juillet 2009 et qui couvre la période 2009-2047, les drones auront au sein de l'armée de l'air américaine une place croissante et pourraient donc voir leurs tâches étendues par exemple au transport de matériel ou au ravitaillement en vol. Jusqu'à remplacer les pilotes de chasse ?

 

Toutes les options sont du domaine du possible. En 2011, l'USAF aurait formé trois cent cinquante opérateurs de drone contre deux cent cinquante pilotes d'avion de combat. A long terme, elle vise une autonomie complète pour mener des missions de combat, même si "les humains garderont la possibilité de changer le degré d'autonomie approprié selon les types de missions ou selon les phases de celles-ci". Ce qui renforce les problèmes éthiques et juridiques déjà posés par l'utilisation des drones, d'une guerre presque "déshumanisée".

 

Si ce programme parvient à son terme, et si un ravitaillement en vol du drone est assuré, le X-47B pourra frapper des cibles à des milliers de kilomètres de distance en partant d'un porte-avions, alors que les pilotes pourront rester sur le navire et contrôler le vol par rotation. Et ce dernier pourra se protéger des missiles antinavires en opérant à plus grandes distances des côtes ennemies. Une capacité opérationnelle considérable, qui pourrait être disponible vers 2025.

 

VINGT ANS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT

 

Le Neuron, qui lance les contours d'un hypothétique "système de combat aérien futur" (SCAF) serait, lui, plutôt opérationnel à l'horizon 2030-2040, souligne Air & Space du 5 octobre. Le 30 juillet, deux contrats étaient notifiés, à Dassault Aviation et à BAE Systems d'une part, et à Rolls-Royce et à la Snecma d'autre part, pour un montant total de 13 millions d'euros pour évaluer la faisabilité du projet. S'il entre bien en service à cet horizon, ce drone européen aura pour mission de pénétrer et de détruire les défenses aériennes ennemies grâce à sa quasi invisibilité. Mais "pour l'heure, pas question de conduire des missions de défense aérienne", qui seraient assurées par les avions de chasse type Rafale. Pour l'heure...

 

Derrière l'enjeu militaire, il y a aussi un enjeu industriel de taille. Le marché des drones explose. Il devrait atteindre 6,6 milliards de dollars en 2012, selon la société d'études spécialisée Teal Group, et 11,4 milliards de dollars d'ici à dix ans, totalisant 89 milliards de dollars sur la prochaine décennie.

 

Yi Long UAV pic1

 

Même si plusieurs pays s'intéressent aux drones de combat, comme la Russie, l'Inde ou la Chine, ils n'en sont qu'à leurs balbutiements. Et l'univers des drones est nettement dominé par les industriels israéliens et américains que sont IAI, Elbit, Aeronautics, General Atomics, Boeing, Northrop Grumman et Aerovironment. Et le Pentagone est de très loin le plus important acheteur de drones de la planète. Selon la requête budgétaire du département de la défense américain pour l'année 2013, rien que pour les Predator et les Reaper, le ministère de la défense demande 1,91 milliard de dollars, contre 1,76 milliard en 2011. Selon Teal Group, les Etats-Unis devraient représenter 55 % des commandes d'équipement dans le monde.

 

Or, si l'Europe veut bâtir une défense européenne crédible, l'essor de son industrie de défense est essentielle. Son avenir stratégique passe par les airs et par ces engins aux formes étranges que sont les drones.

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