What intersts me is the colaboration with Turkey. I wonder what the outcome of that would be. Hopefully something very sophisticated and something taht would tie up nicely with the network cantric model PA is promoting.
Turkey is already being to develop a UAV more information about capability of one of Turkish developed UAV.
The contract regarding the development of a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) System for the reconnaissance requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces became effective on 24 December 2004. Within the framework of the program, a total of three prototypes and ground systems are planned to be designed, developed, manufactured and flight tested by the end of 2010.
The Description of the System:
The Turkish Indigenous MALE UAV (TIHA) system will consist of air vehicles (A/V), Ground Control Station (GCS), Ground Data Terminal (GDT), Automatic Take-off and Landing System (ATOLS), Transportable Image Exploitation System (TIES), Remote Video Terminal (RVT) and various Ground Support Equipment (GSE).
The TIHA system, which is designed for night and day missions including adverse weather conditions, performs real time image intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, moving/stationery target detection, recognition, identification and tracking missions.
While the TIHA system has an open architecture to support other potential payloads and missions; within the context of the existing project, the air vehicle is configured to carry the following payloads onboard:
* Electro-optic Color Day Camera (ASELFLIR-300T EO),
* Electro-optic/Infrared/Laser Combi (EO/IR/LRF/LD/Spotter) (ASELFLIR-300T),
* SAR/GMTI, ISAR Payload.
The whole composite airframe is composed of a monoblock fuselage, detachable wing and V-Tail, retractable landing gear, redundant control surfaces, avionics and payload bays and service doors. The sandwich skin structure is reinforced by composite or metallic frames, ribs and supports. Propelled by a pusher type heavy fuel engine, the aircraft is furnished with fuselage fuel tanks and fuel system, ice protection system, environmental control system, lighting system, redundant electrical system with battery backup and harness system.
The platform is also equipped with a digital flight control system, electro-mechanical actuators, flight control sensor systems such as: pitot-static, air data computer, navigation sensor, transducers, temperature, pressure, displacement sensors, etc. Various tasks are distributed along flight management computers and auxiliary control boxes. Identification and communication units and interface computers are employed in order to establish real time wide band communication and provide test and diagnostics functions. An air traffic radio is also integrated in the communication system for integration of the aircraft into the civilian airspace. All flight critical equipment are dual or triple redundant and emergency modes of operational scenarios are taken into consideration for fail safe design.
All flight software configuration items embedded on both air and ground equipment are being developed indigenously by TAI. In a similar manner, all mission hardware and software are aimed to be developed by national sub contractors.
TIHA operations are supported by very sophisticated ground system. Whole mission segments of the air vehicle can be managed, monitored and controlled by a GCS. A pre-programmed mission plan can be loaded before the flight begins or can be altered during the flight. All the imagery stream of the payloads can be displayed and recorded in real time and all the payloads can be controlled from the GCS. ATOLS allows the air vehicle to perform its operation without operator intervention, including the most critical phases which are landing and take-off.
In TIES, valuable intelligence information can be obtained by the analyzes of bulky imagery data. TIES operators can initiate intelligence missions prior to or during flight. Refined information flows to upper command layer to assist headquarters to monitor a network of TIHA systems and benefit from the gathered intelligence information. Another interface of the TIHA system is RVT, with which other friend unions who are close to the target area, utilize the real time imagery that TIHA air vehicle broadcasts.
Technical Specifications:
Basic performance specification of the TIHA system is as follows:
* Payload :TIHA A 200 Kg ,TIHA B 500 Kg
* Service Ceiling: 30,000 ft
* Endurance: 24 hours
* Cruise Speed >75 kts
* LOS Communication Range: 200km