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Mystery UAV appears in Afghanistan
Robert Hewson Jane's Air-Launched Weapons Editor - London
Martin Streetly Jane's Electronic Mission Aircraft Editor - London
Jane's sources have confirmed the existence of a previously unknown US stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has been deployed on clandestine operational missions in Southwest Asia.
Experienced military personnel observed the air vehicle arriving at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, in early 2009. US personnel immediately moved the vehicle inside the hangars used for MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper operations on the south side of the base.
According to one source, the air vehicle was photographed by NATO personnel who realised its significance. Those personnel were reportedly detained by a security detail and their photographs deleted. Jane's understands other photographs of the UAV at Kandahar exist, however.
An experienced military observer at Kandahar described the mystery UAV as resembling a classic 'flying wing' low-observable design. It is a jet-powered, tailless design that appears to have twin engine intakes and a single exhaust. It has a swept high-aspect wing, while ventral bay doors indicate an internal payload capability. One source described the craft as fitted with a "ventral pod", but other reports disagree.
One Jane's source believes that the air vehicle may have operated from Kandahar over a period of days or weeks. However, Kandahar is does not meet the traditional description of a secure location that would facilitate clandestine flight operations by a classified programme.
Another explanation for its appearance might be a mechanical problem that forced an unplanned emergency diversion. An external store, such as a targeting pod, would not be a standard feature for a stealthy UAV. It is possible, therefore, that the store was a retractable item that had malfunctioned, becoming stuck outside the internal bay.
Within the US, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all have the capability to develop and deliver a stealthy air vehicle of this kind. It is also possible that this craft is the General Atomics Predator C.
Whatever the source of the Kandahar mystery ship, it is clear that the vehicle must have used the base's Predator/Reaper recovery and landing system, which is a proprietary General Atomics product.
There are many questions posed by the emergence of this new UAV: who is operating it, what is its mission and where is it flying from? The operator is likely to be either the US Air Force (perhaps under the aegis of the 'Big Safari' programme office) or the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Kandahar is already home to a sizeable number of completely unmarked MQ-1 Predator UAVs, believed to be operated by CIA crews.
The air vehicle's area of operations is likely to be over Pakistan, where it could provide longer range and endurance than the MQ-9 Reaper. If the vehicle is a fully stealthy design then the potential for operations over Iran cannot be excluded. It is not known whether the vehicle has only an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability or if it is also armed. Its configuration certainly points to it being a weapons-capable aircraft. There is a possibility that the 'store' observed under the vehicle could have been a hung-up weapon that failed to release properly.
If the vehicle is not based at Kandahar then it could be flying from outside Afghanistan, perhaps Iraq or a neighbouring nation like Kyrgyzstan (where the air base at Manas is soon to be closed). The US Air Force has other regional deployments in Kuwait (Ali Al Salem), Qatar (Al Udeid) and the UAE (Al Dhafra). There is also Seeb air base in Oman, which has become an established ISR hub for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. An outside possibility is that the US has developed a UCAV with global reach through air-to-air refuelling.
IHS (Global) Limited, 2009
Robert Hewson Jane's Air-Launched Weapons Editor - London
Martin Streetly Jane's Electronic Mission Aircraft Editor - London
Jane's sources have confirmed the existence of a previously unknown US stealthy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that has been deployed on clandestine operational missions in Southwest Asia.
Experienced military personnel observed the air vehicle arriving at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, in early 2009. US personnel immediately moved the vehicle inside the hangars used for MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper operations on the south side of the base.
According to one source, the air vehicle was photographed by NATO personnel who realised its significance. Those personnel were reportedly detained by a security detail and their photographs deleted. Jane's understands other photographs of the UAV at Kandahar exist, however.
An experienced military observer at Kandahar described the mystery UAV as resembling a classic 'flying wing' low-observable design. It is a jet-powered, tailless design that appears to have twin engine intakes and a single exhaust. It has a swept high-aspect wing, while ventral bay doors indicate an internal payload capability. One source described the craft as fitted with a "ventral pod", but other reports disagree.
One Jane's source believes that the air vehicle may have operated from Kandahar over a period of days or weeks. However, Kandahar is does not meet the traditional description of a secure location that would facilitate clandestine flight operations by a classified programme.
Another explanation for its appearance might be a mechanical problem that forced an unplanned emergency diversion. An external store, such as a targeting pod, would not be a standard feature for a stealthy UAV. It is possible, therefore, that the store was a retractable item that had malfunctioned, becoming stuck outside the internal bay.
Within the US, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman all have the capability to develop and deliver a stealthy air vehicle of this kind. It is also possible that this craft is the General Atomics Predator C.
Whatever the source of the Kandahar mystery ship, it is clear that the vehicle must have used the base's Predator/Reaper recovery and landing system, which is a proprietary General Atomics product.
There are many questions posed by the emergence of this new UAV: who is operating it, what is its mission and where is it flying from? The operator is likely to be either the US Air Force (perhaps under the aegis of the 'Big Safari' programme office) or the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Kandahar is already home to a sizeable number of completely unmarked MQ-1 Predator UAVs, believed to be operated by CIA crews.
The air vehicle's area of operations is likely to be over Pakistan, where it could provide longer range and endurance than the MQ-9 Reaper. If the vehicle is a fully stealthy design then the potential for operations over Iran cannot be excluded. It is not known whether the vehicle has only an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability or if it is also armed. Its configuration certainly points to it being a weapons-capable aircraft. There is a possibility that the 'store' observed under the vehicle could have been a hung-up weapon that failed to release properly.
If the vehicle is not based at Kandahar then it could be flying from outside Afghanistan, perhaps Iraq or a neighbouring nation like Kyrgyzstan (where the air base at Manas is soon to be closed). The US Air Force has other regional deployments in Kuwait (Ali Al Salem), Qatar (Al Udeid) and the UAE (Al Dhafra). There is also Seeb air base in Oman, which has become an established ISR hub for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. An outside possibility is that the US has developed a UCAV with global reach through air-to-air refuelling.
IHS (Global) Limited, 2009
