Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV / UCAV) (10)

[Super Falcon]

The A160 Hummingbird long-endurance helicopter UAV is capable of carrying out persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, target acquisition, communications relay and precision resupply missions. The air vehicle, with optimum-speed rotor, operates autonomously and is planned to fly at 260km/h at a maximum altitude of 9,150m and hover capability up to 4,570m for up to 20 hours.

"In May 2008, the A160T successfully completed all 14 phase I flight test demonstrations."Boeing Integrated Defence Systems, advanced systems division is building three A160 Hummingbird UAVs for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and eight for the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

The production A160T Hummingbird, with a Pratt & Whitney PW207 turboshaft engine for increased range and longer endurance, completed its first flight in June 2007 at Boeing's airfield in Victorville, California. Previous flight testing was carried out using a six-cylinder gasoline engine.

In May 2008, the A160T successfully completed all 14 phase I flight test demonstrations, including: flight at a maximum speed of 263km/h (142kt), an eight-hour flight carrying a 450kg (1,000lb) payload, an 18.7-hour endurance flight with a 136kg (300lb) payload and a high-altitude Hover-Out-of-Ground Effect (HOGE) demonstration at 4,572m (15,000ft) and 6,000m (20,000ft). The programme continues with an additional 60 hours of flight envelope expansion and 250 hours of ground testing.

A160 PROGRAMME
Frontier Systems based in Irvine, California, was contracted in 1998 by DARPA to develop and build a high-endurance stealthy surveillance helicopter with a target specification of endurance 30 to 48 hours, a service ceiling of 16,750m and range on internal fuel of up to 5,500km which represented a performance of typically double that of then current rotor aircraft.

Frontier Systems was awarded additional project funding under the US Army's future combat systems programme. The first prototype A160 Hummingbird, with a three-bladed main rotor, took its maiden flight in December 2001, prior to the conversion of the other prototypes to four-bladed helicopters.

The Boeing Company acquired Frontier Systems in 2004 and the development of the A160 was transferred to Boeing's Phantom Works and then to the integrated defence systems business division of Boeing. The first flight of the Boeing A160 Hummingbird took place in September 2004.

In August 2005, Boeing Frontier Systems was contracted by the US Navy Air Warfare Center to carry out a three-year programme Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) to assess the application of the military applications of a vertical take-off and landing UAV with various interchangeable and variable payloads.

HUMMINGBIRD AIR VEHICLE
The air vehicle is a rotor-wing aircraft with a four-bladed main rotor and two-bladed tail rotor mounted on the tail port side. The main rotor was three-bladed in the original prototype vehicle which crashed twice during test flights. The helicopter design was then re-engineered and modified to a four-bladed main-rotor design.

The rotor and blade designs are innovative: the main rotor is hingeless and the semi-rigid blades are of carbon-fibre construction, with larger diameter, lower disc loading and lower tip speeds compared to conventional rotors with the same lift capability.

The revolution rate (rpm) of the rotor can be reduced by more than half its maximum, which contributes to increase the air vehicle's fuel efficiency in low-speed and low-weight flight. In contrast conventional rotors are designed to operate at maximum revolution rates. The low rotor speed contributes to the exceptionally low acoustic signature of the helicopter.

"The low rotor speed contributes to the exceptionally low acoustic signature of the Hummingbird unmanned helicopter."The blades' stiffness and thickness, and the chord ratio are tapered from blade root to the blade tip which gives a flexible tip and less flexible root and provides a higher performance in terms of an increased lift-to-drag ratio. The lighter weight and stiffness of the blades contribute to reducing vibration problems.

The fuselage is of carbon-fibre construction and is of a smooth aerodynamic design which also gives low radar and visual signatures. The helicopter is fitted with a stabilising rectangular underfin and retractable wheeled landing gear.

The air vehicle is capable of conventional and autonomous landing and take-off.

PAYLOADS

The height of the landing gear provides 0.84m ground clearance under the fuselage for the turret. A large mission payload bay is installed in the nose of the vehicle and a sensor turret can be installed under the nose section of the fuselage.

Payload options include: day and night electro-optical and infrared imaging systems, radar with synthetic aperture radar / moving target indicator modes and with foliage penetration capability and a laser target designator. The air vehicle can also be fitted with electronic countermeasures payloads, satellite communications and a datalink transmitter / receiver.

CONTROL AND NAVIGATION

The helicopter flies autonomously with manual override. The UAV's flight control system was designed by Frontier Systems. Navigation includes global positioning and GPS-based waypoint navigation. Frontier Systems developed and validated the basic versions of the hardware and software for Hummingbird's autonomous flight control early in the development programme using a Robinson R22 helicopter

 

[Super Falcon]

Hunter is a joint tactical unmanned aerial system in service with the US Army. In 1989, the US Army, Navy and Marines initiated a joint unmanned aerial vehicle programme. TRW (now Northrop Grumman) and Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) Malat Division won a Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract in 1993 to supply seven Hunter systems. The systems entered service in 1996. Hunter has also been sold to France and Belgium.

"The Hunter system is capable of carrying out a range of missions: from target acquisition to battlefield observation."The Hunter system is capable of carrying out the following missions: real-time imagery intelligence, artillery adjustment, battle damage assessment, reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition and battlefield observation.

Since 1999, Hunters have been deployed in Macedonia, in support of NATO forces in Kosovo. In the first three months of Operation Allied Force, Hunters flew over 600 flight hours per 30-day period, providing imagery and real-time data. The Hunters operated in relay with two air vehicles airborne simultaneously for each mission.

Since March 2003, Hunter UAVs, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, have flown more than 600 reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition missions. From November 2004, two US Army Hunter UAVs have been used for border patrol in Arizona by the US Department of Homeland Security.

B-Hunter UAVs were deployed by Belgium in July 2006, in support of the European Union Force (EUFOR) in the Congo. An accident in October 2006 has led to the suspension of B-Hunter operations by Belgium.

The MQ-5B Hunter has a heavy fuel engine, a 'wet' or fuel-carrying extended centre wing with hard points capable of weapon carriage, a new avionics suite and automated take-off and landing capability. First flight of the MQ-5B was in August 2005. In February 2006, flight tests confirmed the MQ-5B's endurance at more than 21 hours, nine hours more than the RQ-5A. The MQ-5B is fielded by the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and it has been reported that, in September 2007, the US Army used an MQ-B Hunter deployed in Iraq to drop a laser-guide bomb on a target – the first US Army use of an armed UAV.

MQ-5C Extended Hunter (E-Hunter), a larger version of Hunter, has been developed for longer endurance and higher-altitude (up to 20,000ft) tactical missions. the first flight was in April 2005. E-Hunter has a new tail assembly, and a longer centre wing which extends mission endurance to 30 hours.

In October 2002, a series of flight tests demonstrated Hunter's ability to carry and deploy the Northrop Grumman BAT (Brilliant Anti-Tank) submunition. The BAT submunitions destroyed a BMP combat vehicle and incapacitated a moving T-72 tank. In August 2003, Hunter successfully deployed a derivative of the BAT, the Viper Strike precision munition with semi-active laser seeker instead of infrared and acoustic sensors and 1.8kg (4lb) warhead.

RQ-5A
The RQ-5A Hunter air vehicle is a fixed-wing, twin-tail boom aircraft with a dual rudder. It is propelled by two Moto-Guzzi petrol engines, each developing 60hp.

"Hunter is a joint tactical unmanned aerial system in service with the US Army."The air vehicle can be launched from a paved or semi-paved runway or it can use a rocket assisted (RATO) system, where it is launched from a zero-length launcher using a rocket booster. The RATO launch is useful on board small ships and in areas where space is limited.

The air vehicle can land on a regular runway, grassy strip or highway using arresting cables.

The B-Hunter, produced by IAI for Belgium, has an automatic landing and take-off (ATLND) system. The ATLND is based on a laser tracker sensor that is used to automatically guide the air vehicle to a flare point.

MQ-5B
The MQ-5B has the same fixed-wing, twin tail-boom design but with a fuel-carrying centre wing lengthened to 10.44m (34.25ft). It is powered by two 'heavy fuel' diesel engines developed by Northrop Grumman, one to 'push' and one to 'pull' the air vehicle. These allow the air vehicle to operate at higher altitudes of 6,100m (20,000ft) and increase endurance from 12 hours to 15 hours.

The new avionics suite includes upgraded mission computers, a new LN-251 Global Positioning System / Inertial Navigation System (GPS/INS), an APX-118 IFF transponder and an auxiliary power distribution unit. The suite introduces a relay mode that allows one Hunter to control another at extended ranges or over terrain obstacles.

The extended centre wing has two external hard points capable of carrying weapons such as the Northrop Grumman Viper Strike laser-guided munition. The external payload is 60kg (130lb) on each wing.

PAYLOADS
"US Army Hunter UAVs have been used for border patrol."The primary payload on the RQ-5A is the Multi-Mission Optronic Payload (MOSP), developed by IAI Tamam, which includes television and Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) to provide day / night surveillance capability. US Army Hunters operating in Macedonia are being fitted with new sensors including a third-generation FLIR and a spotter for the day TV camera.

Hunter is capable of carrying other advanced mission payloads and has been used as a payload demonstration platform. Payloads have included a laser designator and various communications systems. A communications relay payload extends VHF/UHF communications beyond line of sight. Electronic countermeasures payloads have included communications warning receiver, communications jammer and radar jammer supplied by Northrop Grumman.

In June 2003, Northrop Grumman tested a Hunter UAV equipped with a SAR/MTI (Synthetic Aperture Radar / Moving Target Indicator) payload.

GROUND CONTROL STATION
The GCS-3000 ground control station, manned by two operators, tracks, commands, controls and communicates with the air vehicle and its payload. One ground control station can control one air vehicle or two air vehicles in relay. An enhanced mission planner provides flexible automated tactical mission planning and access to Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED), CD ROM map data and data from the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA).

The GCS has three control bays and an optional intelligence bay. The pilot control bay controls the flight of the air vehicle. An observer control bay controls the payload functions. The navigation control bay is equipped with a digital map display which traces the flight path and monitors the progress of the mission. The intelligence bay provides data processing and distribution capabilities.

"The MQ-5C
E-Hunter has been developed for longer endurance and higher-altitude missions."The communications uplink channels (UPL-1 and UPL-2) and the downlink channel (DNL) use fixed coded frame format.

An optional spread spectrum modem on the main uplink channel provides anti-jam capability.

IAI Malat has developed a Compact Ground Control System (CGCS) which can be adapted for airborne, small ship and forward tactical deployment.

REMOTE VIDEO TERMINAL
A remote video terminal is used at tactical operations centres to receive and display real-time video and telemetry from the airborne vehicle. The RVT is connected to a directional antenna to receive signals from the air vehicle flying up to a range of 40km from the terminal. The RVT can alternatively be connected directly to the ground control station

 

[Super Falcon]

Neuron is the European Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator for the development, integration and validation of UCAV technologies and is not for military operational deployment. Dassault unveiled a life-size model of Neuron at the 2005 Paris Air Show. The operational UCAV is expected to be a larger design than the Neuron demonstrator.

"Neuron is the European Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator."A main aim of the Neuron programme is to sustain and develop European manufacturers' aeronautic and other technologies for next-generation combat aircraft and UAVs.

By summer 2005, a series of memorandums of understanding had been signed and industrial teaming arrangements been set up. By the end of 2005, the governments of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland had agreed to invest in the Neuron programme.

In February 2006, the Neuron programme was formally launched with the award, by the French DGA on behalf of the participating nations, of a contract to Dassault as prime contractor for the design and development of the Neuron demonstrator.

This began a 15-month feasibility phase. DGA awarded a contract for a 19-month project definition phase in June 2007. This will be followed by production of a Neuron demonstrator with first flight in 2011. Flight tests will begin in France followed by tests in Sweden then Italy.

The UCAV will be able to launch precision-guided munitions from an internal weapons bay and will have a stealth airframe with reduced radar and infrared cross-sections.

PROGRAMME

Dassault Aviation is the design authority with responsibility for the general design, system architecture, the flight control system and final assembly together with ground tests and flight tests. Dassault's UAV and UCAV design capability was developed under a sequence of experimental development and validation programmes, Aeronef Validation Experimental (AVE). Dassault started the AVE LogiDuc programme (AVE Logistics to Demonstrate UCAV) in 1999.

Saab Aerosystems, based in Linkoping, Sweden, is responsible for overall design, fuselage, avionics, fuel system, flight control, airworthiness, autonomy, multi-payload capabilities, structural design and manufacture and ground and flight testing.

"The Neuron UCAV will incorporate highly advanced avionics, stealth and network centric technologies."Saab has built strong capability in UAV and UCAV technology with the SHARC Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration demonstrator, FILUR Flying Innovative Low-observable Unmanned Research UAV, the EuroMALE European Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV with EADS and the establishment of the Link Lab drone development centres, a joint venture with Linkoping University. Technology development on the Neuron program would be applicable to planned upgrades of the Saab Gripen fighter aircraft which is expected to remain in service until about 2035.

In March 2004, Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) and Dassault signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Dassault UCAV programme which became the Neuron programme. Under the terms of the MOU, HAI is responsible for the engine exhaust and the rear fuselage section, and the test rig.

EADS CASA of Spain is responsible for the wings and also the ground station and integration of the data link. EADS CASA and Dassault signed the MOU agreement in May 2005.

Ruag in Switzerland is responsible for the weapons interface and wind tunnel testing.

Alenia Aeronautica in Italy is responsible for the development of the electrical power system, the air data system, development of the Smart Weapon Bay, and for flight testing.

During 2005, Turkey formally applied to take part in the EADS MALE Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV program and the Dassault led Neuron programme and is currently waiting a response to establish the scope and timing of any possible participation.

NEURON DESCRIPTION

The Neuron is of similar appearance to the AVE-C which is the second prototype of the Dassault Petit Duc and which has high manoeuvrability unstable yaw aircraft control. Like the Ave-C, the Neuron has no tail fin and a swept W-shaped wing design

The system will incorporate highly advanced avionics, stealth and network centric technologies. Simulations and flight tests will demonstrate the capability of flight in controlled airspaces and the operation of the Neuron in a network centric battlefield environment.

The air vehicle fuselage length and the wingspan are approximately 10m. The empty weight of the air vehicle is around 4,500kg and with a full payload the weight will be about 6,000kg. The air vehicle has tricycle-type landing gear for runway take-off and landing.

"The UCAV will be able to launch precision-guided munitions from an internal weapons bay."Neuron will have the capability to carry two laser guided 250kg (550lb) bombs in two weapon bays. The air vehicle is expected to have an endurance of several hours and high subsonic speed i.e. a maximum speed of Mach 0.7 to Mach 0.8.

The unmanned Neuron will be controlled from ground based stations and from control stations in combat aircraft such as the French Rafale or the Swedish Gripen.

In June 2005, Thales was selected to develop the datalink system for Neuron. The system will connect the ground control station with the UCAV by a high-rate NATO standard STANAG 7085 datalink and a low-rate datalink: The high-rate datalink will allow secure transmission of application data (video, imagery and radar) and air vehicle command and control data. The low-rate datalink will use secure technologies and a different frequency band to ensure data integrity.

ENGINES

The air vehicle will be powered by two Adour Mk 951 jet engines from the Rolls Royce and Turbomeca joint venture RRTM. The Adour Mk 951 is already fitted on BAE Systems Hawk 128 aircraft. The air intake is in a flush dorsal position above the nose.

 

[Super Falcon]

The Phoenix battlefield surveillance, acquisition and targeting system provides real-time surveillance by day and by night. Its mission is to disseminate battlefield information, including target identification and position data to command centres and artillery units over secure battlefield communication nets.

"The Phoenix unmanned battlefield surveillance, acquisition and targeting system provides real-time surveillance day and night."Phoenix entered service with the British Army in 1999 and was deployed from 1999 as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and, from 2003, in Iraq as past of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The final operational flight of the Phoenix was in May 2006 and the system was finally retired from service in March 2008. It is replaced in UK Army service by the Elbit Hermes 450 UAV until the Thales UK Watchkeeper Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (TUAV) system is deployed from 2010.

BAE Systems, Rochester, is the prime contractor for Phoenix. BAE Systems, Basildon, provides the payload pod.

Insys (formerly Hunting Engineering) is responsible for the forward maintenance facility and Flight Refuelling Ltd for the air vehicle, launcher, recovery vehicle conversion kit and all four types of system container.

The army's overall control of the systems is located in a troop command post, which controls up to three flight sections, each with a launch and recovery unit and ground control unit.

AIR VEHICLE

The air vehicle, of modular construction, is manufactured from composite materials including Kevlar and Carbon Fibre / Glass Fibre-Reinforced Plastic (CF/GFRP) sections and Nomex honeycomb panels. The propulsion system consists of a Weslake Aero Engines WAE 342 two-stroke, flat twin fuel injection engine, which provides a power of 19kW (25hp) power. The engine drives a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller.

The air vehicle can autonomously fly a pre-programmed mission or can be piloted by the air vehicle controller. Flight steering can be achieved by updates from the ground station to initiate height and speed changes and for circling, race-track and cloverleaf observation flight paths.

PAYLOAD

The mission pod is mounted on the underside of the fuselage on stabilising pod roll arms. The sensor turret is mounted on the underside of the pod. The two-axis stabilised turret houses a BAE Systems Thermal Imaging Common Module (TICM II), providing 60° x 40° field of view.

A Thales Optronics (formerly Pilkington) telescope provides magnification from x2.5 to x10. The sensor can be locked at a preset elevation or can be set to automatic scanning mode for missions involving area search. When Phoenix is orbiting a target, the line of sight can be locked to a point on the ground so the sensor is steered to remain on target.

GROUND CONTROL STATION

The ground control unit consists of a ground control station vehicle and a ground data terminal towed by a Land Rover. It can be positioned up to 25km from the launch and recovery units.

The ground control station is operated by a crew of three: mission controller, air vehicle controller and image analyst. The shelter contains three workstations equipped with high resolution colour displays. The operator is able to select a thermal image view of the battlefield or a map displaying the positions of the target and the UAV.

"Phoenix can autonomously fly a pre-programmed mission or can be piloted by the air vehicle controller."Image data is transmitted by a steered, 360° J-band video data link to the ground data terminal and then by cable to the control station up to 1km away. Target data is then transmitted to the forward artillery units by the Battlefield Artillery Targeting System (BATES) directly to the guns.

The UAV determines the fall of shot onto the target area and the control station generates correction data which is downloaded to BATES and to the guns. The guns can then re-engage the target using the corrected data and the UAV provides images for target damage assessment.

LAUNCH AND RECOVERY

The launch vehicle is a standard 14t army truck, equipped with a pallet-mounted lifting crane, hydraulically and pneumatically operated launch catapult and ramp, and computer to download mission data into the UAV prior to launch. Within an hour of reaching a launch site, the UAV can be assembled and launched. A second UAV can be launched within a further eight minutes.

For landing, a drogue parachute, installed in the tail of the fuselage, is connected to the spring-loaded tail cone ejection plate. The tail cone is ejected to extract the drogue parachute and the engine stops with the propeller in the horizontal position. During descent, the air vehicle inverts so the vehicle lands on its upper surface to protect the mission pod. The force of the landing is absorbed by an air bag and frangible fin tips.

 

[Super Falcon]

RQ-1 Predator is a long-endurance, medium-altitude unmanned aircraft system for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Surveillance imagery from synthetic aperture radar, video cameras and a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) can be distributed in real-time both to the front line soldier and to the operational commander, or worldwide in real-time via satellite communication links. MQ-1, armed with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, is the multi-role version which is used for armed reconnaissance and interdiction.

A contract was awarded to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in January 1994 to execute the Tier II, medium-altitude endurance Predator programme. The Predator system first flew in 1994 and entered production in August 1997.

"Predator is a long endurance, medium altitude unmanned aircraft system for surveillance and reconnaissance missions."Predators are currently in production for the US Air Force and are operational with the USAF 11th and 15th Reconnaissance Squadrons. Over 125 Predators have been delivered to the USAF. 36 additional MQ-1B Predators (with Hellfire missile installation kits) were ordered in September 2007. Six Predator UAVs are in service with the Italian Air Force. Italian company Meteor was responsible for assembly of five of the six. The Italian system was deployed to Iraq in January 2005.

Predator UAVs have been operational in Bosnia since 1995 in support of Nato, UN and US operations and as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom, flying over 500,000 flight hours on over 50,000 flights. The MQ-1 Predator achieved initial operating capability (IOC) in February 2005.

General Atomics is the prime contractor and the main subcontractors include: Versatron / Wescam for the electro-optical Skyball Gimbal; Northrop Grumman for the synthetic aperture radar; L3 Communication for the wideband satellite communications link; and Boeing for the intelligence workstation and mission planning system.

In February 2001, the Hellfire-C laser-guided missile was successfully fired from a Predator air vehicle in flight tests at Nellis air force base, Nevada. In November 2002 in Yemen, a Predator UAV was used to drop a Hellfire missile which destroyed a civilian vehicle carrying suspected terrorists. A Northrop Grumman Bat submunition was successfully dropped and a FINDER mini-UAV launched from a Predator UAV in August 2002.

MQ-9 Reaper Hunter / Killer
In May 1998 General Atomics was awarded a block 1 upgrade contract to expand the capabilities of the Predator system. System upgrades include development of an improved relief-on-station (ROS) system which allows continuous coverage over areas of interest without any loss of time on station, secure air traffic control voice relay, Ku-band satellite tuning and implementation of an air force mission support system (AFMSS).

The upgrade also covers a more powerful turbocharged engine and wing de-icing systems to enable year-round operations. The upgraded Predator, the Predator B, has been operational in the Balkans since April 2001. In March 2005, the USAF awarded a further contract for the system design and development (SDD) of MQ-9 Reaper Hunter / Killer. 21 MQ-9 have been ordered and eight delivered to the USAF.

The first USAF MQ-9 squadron, the 42nd Attack Squadron, was formed in March 2007. It is based at Creech AFB in Nevada. A decision on full-rate production of the MQ-9 is expected in 2009.

The USAF first deployed the MQ-9 Reaper to Afghanistan in October 2007, where it is being used for precision strikes. The MQ-9 Reaper flew its first operational mission in Iraq in July 2008.

The MQ-9 Reaper has an operational ceiling of 50,000ft, a maximum internal payload of 800lb and external payload over 3,000lb. It can carry up to four Hellfire II anti-armour missiles and two laser-guided bombs (GBU-12 or EGBU-12) and 500lb GBU-38 JDAM (joint direct attack munition). In May 2008, a USAF Reaper successfully test dropped four Raytheon GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II 500lb bombs, which have laser and GPS guidance.

The MQ-9 sensor payload can include the General Atomics Lynx SAR (synthetic aperture radar). Lynx also features ground moving target indicator technology. The Predator is to be flight tested with a L-3 communications tactical common datalink (TCDL).

"The Predator B unmanned air vehicle has an operational ceiling of 50,000ft."In August 2005, a version of Predator B, called Sky Warrior, was chosen for the four-year system development and demonstration (SDD) phase of the US Army's extended range / multi-purpose (ER/MP) UAV programme – 11 Sky Warrior systems, each with 12 air vehicles and five ground control stations.

Initial operating capability is planned for 2009. Two block 0 Sky Warrior UAVs were deployed to Iraq in April 2008.

Also in August 2005, the US Department of Homeland Security / Customs and Border Protection (DHS/CBP) ordered two Predator B systems for monitoring of the USA's south-west border. The first was delivered in late 2005, the second in September 2006. Two further systems were ordered in October 2006, for monitoring operations on the border with Canada.

In September 2006, the UK requested the foreign military sale (FMS) of two MQ-9 Reaper systems with Lynx SAR, multi-spectral targeting systems and one ground station. Deliveries began in mid-2007 and the RAF deployed the system in Afghanistan in November 2007. In January 2008, the UK requested the sale of an additional ten MQ-9 systems.

In August 2008, Italy requested the sale of four MQ-9 Reaper systems with three ground stations.

System components
A typical Predator system configuration would include four aircraft, one ground control system and one Trojan Spirit II data distribution terminal. The Predator air vehicle is 27ft in length and has a 49ft wingspan. The system operates at an altitude of 25,000ft and at a range of 400nm.

The endurance of the air vehicle is more than 40 hours and the cruise speed is over 70kt. The air vehicle is equipped with UHF and VHF radio relay links, a C-band line-of-sight data link which has a range of 150nm and UHF and Ku-band satellite data links.

Payload
The surveillance and reconnaissance payload capacity is 450lb and the vehicle carries electro-optical and infrared cameras and a synthetic aperture radar. The two-colour DLTV television is equipped with a variable zoom and 955mm Spotter. The high resolution FLIR has six fields of view, 19mm to 560mm.

The Raytheon multi-spectral targeting system (MTS-A) is fitted on the MQ-1/9 Predator. The MTS-A provides real-time imagery selectable between infrared and day TV as well as a laser designation capability. MQ-1 can employ two laser-guided Hellfire anti-armour missiles with the MTS.

The Northrop Grumman TESAR synthetic aperture radar is fitted on the MQ-1 and provides all-weather surveillance capability, has a resolution of 1ft. Other payload options, which can be selected to meet mission requirements, include a laser designator and rangefinder, electronic support and countermeasures and a moving target indicator (MTI).

The USAF plans to equip a number of MQ-1 and MQ-9 Predators with a version of the Northrop Grumman airborne signals intelligence payload (ASIP) from 2010. Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract for the development and flight testing of the system on an MQ-1 in April 2008. ASIP is being tested on the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and will also be fitted on the RQ-4 Global Hawk.

Ground station
The UAV ground control station is built into a single 30ft trailer, containing pilot and payload operator consoles, three Boeing data exploitation and mission planning consoles and two synthetic aperture radar workstations together with satellite and line-of-sight ground data terminals.

"Predator is 27ft in length and has a 49ft wingspan."The ground control station can send imagery data via a landline to the operational users or to the Trojan Spirit data distribution system which is equipped with a 5.5m dish for Ku-band ground data terminal and a 2.4m dish for data dissemination.

Operation
Predator follows a conventional launch sequence from a semi-prepared surface under direct line-of-sight control. The take-off and landing length is typically 2,000ft. The mission can be controlled through line-of-site data links or through Ku-band satellite links to produce continuous video.

Video signals received in the ground control station are passed to the Trojan Spirit van for worldwide intelligence distribution or directly to operational users via a commercial global broadcast system. Command users are able to task the payload operator in real-time for images or video on demand.

 

[Super Falcon]

RQ-4A Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system which provides military field commanders with high resolution, near real-time imagery of large geographic areas.

The programme is funded by the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO) and managed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Air Force.

"Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance, unmanned aerial reconnaissance system."Northrop Grumman Corporation, Ryan Aeronautical Centre is the prime contractor and the principal suppliers include Raytheon Systems (sensors), Rolls-Royce North America (turbofan engine), Boeing North American (carbon fibre wing) and L3 Communications (communications system).

The Global Hawk air vehicles are built at the Northrop Grumman (formerly Teledyne Ryan) Aeronautical facility in San Diego.

GLOBAL HAWK DEVELOPMENT

In March 2001, the US Department of Defense awarded Northrop Grumman a contract for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the programme which concluded in February 2003 with the final delivery of the seventh pre-production (block 0) vehicle.

In June 2001 a contract was placed to begin Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) for two production air vehicles and the mission control element of the system's ground station, to be completed by December 2003.

The first production vehicle (block 10) rolled out in August 2003. A further LRIP contract for four vehicles was placed in February 2003 and a third in October 2004 for two vehicles. Block 10 deliveries were completed in June 2006.

The US Navy had two RQ-4A air vehicles delivered in 2005. In April 2008, the USN selected the RQ-4N marinised variant of the Global Hawk RQ-4B Block 20 for the broad area maritime surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) requirement.

The system design and development (SDD) contract awarded to Northrop Grumman requires the delivery of two UAVs with mission payloads and communication suites, one forward operating base mission control system, one systems integration laboratory and one main operating base mission control system.

The RQ-4N will have a Northrop Grumman active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, Raytheon electro-optic / infrared sensors, L-3 communications suite and Sierra Nevada Corp. Merlin electronic support measures (ESM). The RQ-4N is planned for maiden flight in 2011 and service entry in 2014.

RQ-4B NEXT GENERATION

Northrop Grumman is developing the next-generation, RQ-4B, which has a 50% payload increase, larger wingspan (130.9ft) and longer fuselage (47.6ft), and new generator to provide 150% more electrical output. Three RQ-4B air vehicles (block 20) are being produced for delivery by the end of 2008. A further five were ordered in November 2005. Block 20 aircraft also have an upgraded sensor suite.

The first block 20 Global Hawk completed a maiden flight in April 2007. 26 block 30 with a Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) payload will be ordered and 15 block 40 with the multi-platform radar technology insertion programme (MP-RTIP) radar. The US Air Force plans a total of 54 air vehicles.

"The
V-configuration of the tail provides a low radar and infrared signature."The block 40 Global Hawk, with the multi-platform radar technology insertion programme (MP-RTIP), has been selected by NATO for the alliance ground surveillance (AGS) programme. The original proposal had manned and unmanned elements but the Alliance decided to go ahead with a UAV-only programme in September 2007. Northrop Grumman will be the prime contractor.

The Australian Defence Force has plans to purchase a squadron of Global Hawks to replace a number of P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

RECORD-BREAKING FLIGHTS

In April 2001, Global Hawk made aviation history when it completed the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean by an unmanned, powered aircraft, flying from Edwards AFB, California, to the Royal Australian Air Force Base, Edinburgh, South Australia.

Global Hawk successfully participated in a series of exercises with the RAAF, the Royal Australian Navy and the US Navy. Guinness World Records has recognised the flight as the longest (13,840km) by a full-scale unmanned aircraft.

In August 2003, Global Hawk became the first UAV to receive authorisation from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly in national airspace.

UNMANNED RECONNAISSANCE CAPABILITY

Global Hawk can carry out reconnaissance missions in all types of operations. The 14,000nm range and 42-hour endurance of the air vehicle, combined with satellite and line-of-sight communication links to ground forces, permits worldwide operation of the system.

High-resolution sensors, including visible and infrared electro-optical systems and synthetic aperture radar, will conduct surveillance over an area of 40,000nm² to an altitude of 65,000ft in 24 hours.

Six Global Hawk demonstrator vehicles have been deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan since 2002 and Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003, completing over 4,300 combat hours.

Two ex-USAF Global Hawk demonstrators were transferred to NASA's Dryden Research Center at Edwards AFB, California in January 2008, for use as airborne science research platforms.

FLIGHT AND NAVIGATION CONTROL
The vehicle's flight control, vehicle management software and navigation functions are managed by two Integrated Mission Management Computers (IMMC) developed by Vista Controls Corporation, California. The IMMC integrates data from the navigation system and uses Kalman filtering algorithms.

The prime navigation and control system consists of two KN-4072 INS/GPS (Inertial Navigation System / Global Positioning System) systems supplied by Kearfott Guidance & Navigation Corporation of Wayne, New Jersey.

"The Global Hawk has a 14,000nm range and 42-hour endurance."The KN-4072 includes a Monolithic Ring Laser Gyro (MRLG) which operates in conjunction with an embedded Differential ready C/A code GPS receiver for enhanced navigation performance and faster satellite acquisition. A Northrop Grumman (Litton) navigation system is installed on the IR/TV/SAR payload.

SENSORS
Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems supplies the Global Hawk Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) which includes the synthetic aperture radar and the electro-optical and third-generation infrared sensor system.

A 10in reflecting telescope provides common optics for infrared and electro-optical sensors. The electro-optical / infrared sensor operates in the 0.4 to 0.8 micron visible waveband and the 3.6 to 5 micron infrared band. In spot collection mode the coverage is 1,900 spots a day with spot size 2km² to a geological accuracy of 20m circular error of probability. In wide area search mode, the swath is 10km wide and the coverage is 40,000nm² a day.

The synthetic aperture radar and Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) operates at X-band with a 600MHz bandwidth, and 3.5kW peak power. The system can obtain images with 3ft resolution in its wide area search mode and 1ft resolution in its spot mode.

Raytheon is contracted to supply one Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suite (EISS) which is said to improve the range of both SAR and infrared system by 50%.

The Raytheon ground station receives the high-quality imagery obtained by the air vehicle sensor suite. The ground system forwards the imagery to military commanders and users in the field.

Northrop Grumman is prime contractor, with Raytheon as major subcontractor, for the USAF Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP). MP-RTIP is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that can be scaled in size for different platforms.

Three MP-RTIP systems are being built for Global Hawk and three for the E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control aircraft (MC2A). Global Hawk with MP-RTIP is scheduled for delivery in 2011.

"The Global Hawk flies high at a loiter altitude of 65,000ft minimising exposure to surface-to-air missiles."In January 2006, a Global Hawk made its first flight carrying Northrop Grumman's High-Band System Production Configuration Unit (HBS PCU), part of the USAF's Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload, being developed for operational deployment in 2008.

Northrop Grumman is also looking at other payloads including hyperspectral sensors for chemical and biological agent detection.

In November 2003, Global Hawk completed a series of flight tests in the USA and Germany carrying an EADS electronic intelligence (ELINT) payload. The 'Euro Hawk' is being offered to the German Air Force as a replacement signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform.

In February 2007, the German Air Force awarded a contract to Eurohawk GmbH (a joint venture company formed by Northrop Grumman and EADS) for the development of Euro Hawk. Under the contract, one demonstrator will be delivered in 2010 followed by four UAVs between 2011 and 2014. Euro Hawk will replace the German AF Breguet Atlantic fleet.

COMMUNICATIONS
Global Hawk has wide band satellite data links and line of sight data links developed by L3 Communications. The 'bulge' at the top front surface of the fuselage which gives Global Hawk its distinctive appearance, houses the 48in Ku-band wideband satellite communications antenna. Data is transferred by Ku-band satellite communications, X-band line-of-sight links and both Satcom and line of sight links at UHF-band.

SURVIVABILITY
For increased survivability the mission is planned for threat avoidance using available theatre assets such as AWACS, combat air patrol and JSTARS. The aircraft flies high at a loiter altitude 65,000ft which minimises exposure to surface-to-air missiles. The aircraft's modular self-defence system includes an AN/ALR 89 radar warning receiver, an on-board jamming system and an ALE 50 towed decoy system.

AIR VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION
The wings and tail of the aircraft are of graphite composite construction. The V-configuration of the tail, built by Aurora Flight Sciences, provides a low radar and infrared signature. The wings, constructed by Vought Aircraft Industries, have a span of 116.2ft, with hard points for external pods up to 1,000lb each. Vought and ATK are fabricating an enhanced wing, one of a number of system improvements to enable Global Hawk to carry an increased payload.

The aluminium fuselage contains pressurised payload and avionics compartments. Honeywell Aerospace, Torrance, California, supplied the environmental control systems.

"Global Hawk made the first non-stop, unmanned, powered flight across the Pacific Ocean."The landing gear is supplied by Heroux Inc. of Quebec, Canada. The nose gear which is a derivative of the F-5 design is height adjustable to suit the runway characteristics. The landing gear automatically retracts at an altitude of 4,000ft.

Global Hawk is equipped with an AE 3007H turbofan engine supplied by Rolls-Royce North America. The engine is mounted on the top surface of the rear fuselage section with the engine exhaust between the V-shaped tail wings. Smiths Aerospace is providing a new electric generator system to more than double electrical power.

MISSION PLANNING
Mission planning for the Global Hawk was developed by GDE Systems Inc (now BAE Systems, Electronics & Integrated Solutions). The Raytheon Intelligence & Information Systems mission control ground station includes a shelter measuring 8ft x 8ft x 24ft housing the communications, command and control, mission planning and image processing computers with four workstations for the mission control staff and officers. The mission control centre has data up- and down-links to the Global Hawk vehicle directly and via the Ku satellite and the UHF satellite systems.

The Raytheon launch and recovery ground station is housed in an 8ft x 8ft x 10ft shelter equipped with two workstations and the launch and recovery mission computers. The launch and recovery station has up- and down- data communications links to the Global Hawk vehicle and to the UHF communications satellite.

TRANSPORTABILITY
The complete Mission Control Element (MCE) and the Launch and Recovery Element (LRE) is transportable in a single load on the C-5B transporter aircraft and in less than two loads on the C-17 transporter.


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Global Hawk taxis onto the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base in preparation for flight.

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Global Hawk lifts off 25 seconds after brake release.

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Global Hawk has a maximum altitude of 65,000ft.

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Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance system for the US Air Force.

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Global Hawk approaches the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

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The Global Hawk payload includes synthetic aperture radar, digital CCD camera and third-generation infrared sensor system.

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Touchdown on the centre line of the main runway at Edwards AFB.

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[Super Falcon]

In December 2006, the UK MoD announced that the contract for the Taranis unmanned air vehicle demonstrator programme had been awarded to a team led by BAE Systems. The industrial participation in the £124m joint programme will be managed at BAE Systems, of Warton in Lancashire, as prime contractor and industrial team leader.

A fully developed Taranis air vehicle will be capable of delivering weapons to a battlefield in another continent with a high level of autonomy.

"Taranis will be one of the world's largest unmanned air vehicles."UNMANNED COMBAT AIR VEHICLE
The project, which will take place over the next four years (2007 to 2010), will be directed towards designing and flying an unmanned aircraft, gathering the evidence needed to inform decisions about a future long-range offensive aircraft and evaluating UAVs' contribution to the RAF's future mix of aircraft.

Taranis will be stealthy, fast, able to carry out test deployment of a range of munitions over a number of targets, and able to defend itself against manned and other unmanned enemy aircraft.

Taranis represents the first UK MoD-funded Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) programme. BAE has funded its own research into UAV and UCAV technologies and demonstrators for ten years. The UK MOD did not join the European multi-national Neuron UCAV programme. The UK's Strategic Unmanned Air Vehicle (Experiment) SUAV(E) programme was announced in March 2005 and is scheduled for completion in 2009.

The aim of the SUAV(E) programme is to assemble evidence to inform a decision on UK forces future use of UAVs and procurement options. In December 2005 the UK's Defence Industry Strategy White Paper briefly explained that the UK was in favour of targeted investment in UCAV technology demonstrator programmes.

Assembly of the first demonstrator began in September 2007. Ground testing of Taranis will take place in 2009. The flight trials of the technology demonstrator vehicle are scheduled to take place at the test ranges at Woomera in South Australia in 2010. There are no scheduled weapons releases from the demonstrator vehicle but emulated weapons release will be trialled.

INDUSTRIAL PARTICIPATION

The industrial team, to be led by BAE Systems, includes Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ and Smiths Aerospace.

"BAE Systems has invested heavily in private funding of a series of unmanned aerial vehicle programmes."As the prime contractor, BAE Systems is responsible for the overall programme and also for many of the technologies including stealth and low observability, systems integration and system control infrastructure.

BAE Systems and QinetiQ are working closely on all aspects relating to the autonomy of the system. Smiths Aerospace is responsible for providing the fuel gauging systems and the complete electrical power system for the air vehicle. Rolls-Royce is responsible for the propulsion system and installation in the air vehicle. BAE Systems Australia is tasked with developing and supplying the flight control computing.

The Integrated Systems Technologies (Insyte) subsidiary of BAE Systems, is providing C4ISTAR (Computers, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) support. Prior to and separately from the Taranis contract, Insyte has been working in partnership with QinetiQ and UK MoD to understand capability enhancements for more efficient Prosecution of Emerging Targets (POET) and examining network-enabled capability and C4ISTAR architectures for future air systems.

AIR VEHICLE

The Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (TDV), the Taranis air vehicle, will be one of the world's largest unmanned air vehicles and will be of approximately the same size as the BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainer which is 11.35m long, 3.98m high and has a wingspan of 9.94m.

On the same basis, the weight of the Taranis is expected to be approximately 8t. For comparison the empty weight and take-off weight of the Hawk are 4.45t and 9.1t.

The Taranis air vehicle has a delta-wing shape and tricycle-type landing gear. A computer-generated video shows the system taking off from a paved runway. The Taranis air vehicle is similar in shape, if not in scale, to BAE's Raven delta-wing demonstrator unmanned air vehicle.

Claverham Ltd (formerly Fairey Hydraulics Ltd) has been contracted to provide the Primary Flight Control Actuation System for Taranis. Claverham Ltd is following a low-risk design strategy of scaling third generation Direct Drive Valve systems (DDV) developed as part of the Joint Strike Fighter programme.

Dunlop Aerospace Braking Systems is providing the wheels, brakes and brake control systems for the air vehicle.

"A fully developed Taranis air vehicle will be capable of delivering weapons to another continent."ENGINE

Rolls-Royce is responsible for the development of the Taranis's engine. The Taranis could be powered by the Adour 951 engine which has a target maintenance interval of 4,000 hours. The Adour 951 is a derivative of the Adour 871, and provides a thrust of 6,480lb which represents an 8% increase in thrust compared to the Adour 871.

The improvements in the Adour 951 engine include the use of optimised materials in the hot section for higher durability, a new fan design to provide higher thrust and digital rather than hydrodynamic control. Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) will provide engine surge protection, and automated control and recovery.

Deliveries of the Adour 951 began to launch customer, South Africa, in 2005 and the engine has also been ordered by Bahrain and the UK.

GROUND STATION

The ground control infrastructure provides planning for and command of the air vehicle's mission and control of the air vehicle specifically during taxi, launch and recovery. In addition the ground control provides connectivity for mission data and imagery to and from the wider battlespace information systems.

Insyte is responsible for the delivery of force-level mission management, mission planning and control, and payload control including imagery analysis and exploitation. Insyte also has responsibility for systems integration and clearance of the ground control infrastructure with the air vehicle control element of the system, provided by BAE Systems IAS in Australia.

MISSION SYSTEMS

The design of the Taranis UAV onboard mission systems will include advanced and highly flexible open systems architecture based on architecture developed by BAE Systems for the Hawk advanced jet trainer and Typhoon aircraft.

An important advanced technology to be integrated into the Taranis system will be the systems intelligence which provides the high level of autonomy and improved operational effectiveness. For airborne surveillance and reconnaissance missions, BAE Systems' Image Collection and Exploitation (ICE) system allows autonomous collection and distribution of high-quality imagery with very low bandwidth allocation.

"Ground testing of Taranis will take place in 2009."The integration of the image collection and exploitation system with the vehicle control systems provides autonomy and flexibility and allows the generation of a single integrated surface picture across a network of sensors. BAE Systems will consider the application of ICE technology in the Taranis programme.

RISK REDUCTION PROGRAMMES

The Taranis program will use systems and technologies developed over the last ten years in risk reduction programmes including the Replica programme (in which a full-scale model of an armed radar-signature-controlled aircraft was manufactured), jointly funded by BAE Systems and MoD, and the MoD-funded Nightjar programme (on the design, aerodynamics, manufacturing and in-service performance limits of UAVs) and on UAV demonstrators produced by BAE Systems.

BAE Systems has invested heavily in private funding of a series of UAV programmes such as Kestrel, Corax, Raven and HERTI.

KESTREL UAV

The Kestrel UAV has blended-wing design and was developed by BAE Systems in collaboration with Cranfield University. The vehicle was ready to fly within seven months of the project start. Kestrel achieved the first CAA-approved, jet-powered unmanned aircraft in UK airspace under civil registration in March 2003.

RAVEN DELTA-WING UAV

The Raven delta-wing UAV demonstrator programme was carried out at the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Demonstration Centre at Warton during 2003/4 and successfully demonstrated some of the key technologies required for the Taranis programme.

In ten months the Raven project was taken from concept to first flight. The Raven programme was targeted at demonstrating flight control and autonomous system functionality and also rapid prototyping development and manufacturing techniques and capabilities.

Raven, which first flew in 2003, is a highly aerodynamically unstable jet-powered autonomous vehicle and may be the only finless UAV outside the USA.

"Rolls-Royce is responsible for the development of the engine fro the Taranis UAV."The Raven UAV is fully autonomous from take-off to landing and is configured to provide very high agility. Raven used the advanced flight control systems developed by BAE for novel air vehicle shapes to create highly survivable, strategic UAV systems.

CORAX ISTAR SYSTEM DEMONSTRATOR

The Corax programme proved that a modular design UAV was successful, the Corax air vehicle being a Raven body with wings. Corax is a multi-role ISTAR system demonstrator and was completed in 2005.

The Corax system drew on the advanced flight control system from the Raven programme and was aimed at the manufacture of a high survivability strategic UAV system. Corax uses the same centre body design as Raven and composite wings manufactured at BAE Systems in Samlesbury, Lancashire.

HERTI UAV PROGRAMME

HERTI (High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion) UAV is a fully autonomous multi-mission UAV optimised for surveillance and point reconnaissance.

The HERTI 1-D concept demonstrator was the first of the HERTI systems and it used the common systems, the power plant and the ground station from the CORAX and RAVEN UAV programmes. HERTI-D used the airframe designed by Mr Janaowski of J&AS Aero Design.

The HERTI-D progressed from conception phase in June 2004 to achieving its first flight in Australia in December 2004. Carrying the BAE Systems ICE payload, HERTI-D carried out extended missions including fully autonomous flight, demonstrations of loiter capability, and complex flight profiles at altitudes up to 5,000ft.

HERTI-1A is a significantly larger version of the HERTI-1D and has larger payload capacity and high endurance. The HERTI-1A vehicle G-8-008 achieved the first fully autonomous mission of an unmanned aircraft in UK airspace on 18 August 2005.

"Taranis's systems intelligence provides a high level of autonomy and improved operational effectiveness."This first flight included a take-off from Campbeltown airport in Scotland, the flight of a fully autonomous mission over Machrihanish bay and return to Campbeltown Airport with a fully autonomous landing. The autonomous flight controlled by a mission system commander, was conducted in close collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authority.

In September 2006, it was announced that BAE Systems would be working with the RAF on a two-year programme (Project Morrigan) to integrate the HERTI UAV into UK military exercises, to inform future development of UAV capabilities.

As part of the project the RAF deployed a HERTI system in Afghanistan in summer 2007.

The first two production HERTI UAVs were delivered in November 2007 and February 2008.

In November and December 2006, HERTI successfully completed fully autonomous flight trials at the Woomera range followed by a period of data analysis concluded in January. The ICE payload successfully undertook autonomous target searches.

 

[Super Falcon]

The Boeing joint unmanned combat air system X-45 is an unmanned combat air vehicle being developed for strike missions such as Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD), electronic warfare and associated operations.

The Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) programme began being managed by DARPA, but was handed over to a joint US Navy and Air Force office in October 2005. The two principle systems being developed under the first phase of the programme, the Spiral 0 phase, are the Boeing X-45 and the Northrop Grumman X-47. The J-UCAS program combines the programmes previously conducted under the DARPA, USAF and Boeing X-45 UCAV program and the DARPA, USN and Northrop Grumman X-47 UCAV-N program.

"The Boeing
joint unmanned combat air system X-45 is an unmanned combat air vehicle."In March 2004, the X-45A completed a ten-day schedule of test flights including dropping a 250lb inert Small Smart Bomb (SSB) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. The X-45A air vehicle released the unguided weapon from its internal weapon bay at an altitude of 35,000ft and speed Mach 0.67 (about 442mph). In August 2004, the first test of multi-vehicle operations took place. Two X-45A demonstrators were controlled by a single operator / pilot. X-45A flight tests were successfully concluded in August 2005.

In April 2007, Boeing submitted a bid to the US Navy for the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D). Boeing's bid is based on a version of the X-45C, the X-45N which has been strengthened for carrier landings. In August 2007, Northrop Grumman was selected by US Navy with a version of the X-47B.

X-45A
In 1999 Boeing was awarded a demonstration phase contract by DARPA and the USAF. Under the contract, Boeing Phantom Works completed two X-45A demonstrator air vehicles. The roll out ceremony of the first vehicle was in September 2001. The first flight was completed in May 2002.

Boeing Company in Seattle is the principle contractor responsible for the X-45 programme and is also responsible for the provision and implementation of the mission control aspects. Boeing in St Louis is responsible for the development of the air vehicle

A series of block 1 tests on both X-45A vehicles, including timing and positional navigation trials, autonomous taxiing and the integration of ground mission control elements, was completed in February 2003.

Block 2 testing, which began in March 2003, included integration of the unmanned vehicles with manned aircraft. By March 2004 the block 2 software build was completed and the first flight tests of the block 2 software were successfully completed. Block 3 testing includes mission replanning during flight, station keeping manoeuvres and the simulated deployment and dropping of inert weapons. Block 4 testing completed in August 2005, included the transfer of decision making to the air from the ground-based control station.

AIR VEHICLE
The X-45A air vehicle is of a swept-wing stealthy design and composite construction using foam matrix core and a composite fibre-reinforced epoxy skin, with a wingspan of 10.31m and overall length 8.03m. There is no vertical or canted tail. The low-mounted wing and blended fuselage have a straight leading edge and W planform trailing edge.

The fuselage carries two internally housed weapons bays and an internally mounted Honeywell F124-GA-100 non-afterburning turbofan engine. The engine, rated at 28kN, is equipped with a notched air intake and a two dimensionally yaw-vectoring nozzle exhaust. The fuel load is 1,220kg.

"The X-45A air vehicle is of a swept-wing stealthy design and composite construction."The vehicle carries a payload of 680kg. The air vehicle incorporates underwing hardpoints for carrying auxiliary fuel tanks for increased range or increased time on station or for additional weapon carrying capacity.

The air vehicle is fitted with fully retractable tricycle landing gear for conventional autonomous take-off and landings.

The air vehicle is capable of operating at an altitude of 10,670m (35,000ft) and has a cruise speed of Mach 0.75.

The X-45 is air transportable to forward areas of operation. The wings are detachable from the fuselage so the air vehicle can be stored and transported in a storage container. A single C-17 Globemaster can carry up to six X-45A containerised UCAVS.

X-45C
Boeing planned the development and construction of two UCAV prototype air vehicles, X-45B, a larger air vehicle than the X-45A with an integrated avionics system, increased weapon delivery capacity and increased operating range and altitude. A fully operational version of the prototype X-45B was designated A-45, for entry into service with the USAF in 2008 but the X-45B program was superseded by the joint-UCAS programme and the development of the X-45C.

In June 2003 DARPA announced the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) programme which combined the DARPA / USAF UCAV and the DARPA / USN UCAV-N programmes. In early 2003, DARPA announced the cancellation of the X-45B and the approval for the development of a larger and improved UCAV system, comprising the X-45C air vehicle, mission control, support and simulation systems.

The X-45C has a larger payload performance (2,041kg), persistence and range envelope than the X-45B. The X-45C has a similar fuselage design to that of the X-45B but with a new wing design that gives the X-45C its distinctive arrowhead shaped profile. Boeing began assembly of the first of three X-45C demonstrators in June 2004 and first flight will be in early 2007, to be followed by a two-year operational assessment.

WEAPONS
The air vehicle can carry advanced precision guided munitions, 2,000lb bombs or other munitions and weapons systems.

"The X-45 carries auxiliary fuel tanks for increased range or increased time on station."SENSORS
The X-45 air vehicle is equipped with a suite of sensors including an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and an electronic support measures system developed by Raytheon. The Raytheon synthetic aperture radar provides a resolution of 60cm at a target range of 80km.

CONTROL

The sensor suite allows detection, identification and location of fixed and mobile targets in near real time. The battlefield situation and target data is downloaded via secure datalinks to the ground control operator station, to aircraft or to satellite datalinks. The operator station is equipped with artificial intelligence decision aids to assist the operator in the assessment of the battlefield situation and in his decision to authorise UCAV weapons release.

The taxiing, take-off and landing are fully autonomous but a pilot-operator has the option of controlling these manoeuvres. The UCAV ground control station has been designed by NASA. BAE Systems Controls has been contracted to supply the computerised air vehicle management system. The air vehicle is fitted with a Milstar satellite communications link.

 

[Super Falcon]

The Pegasus unmanned air vehicle was initially developed under private funding by the Integrated Systems Sector of Northrop Grumman at El Segundo in California. Pegasus received its X-47A designation in June 2001.

The X-47A provided a proof of concept for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Navy UCAV-N programme, and is Spiral 0 in the spiral development programme which was targeted towards US Navy requirements. A similar programme managed by DARPA and the US Air Force covered the development of the Boeing X-45 targeted towards the US Air Force requirement.

"The X-47 Pegasus is a
US Navy unmanned combat air vehicle with a stealthy planform design."DARPA announced the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (J-UCAS) programme to meet both the Air Force and Naval requirements. In October 2005, DARPA handed the programme over to a joint USN and USAF office. The Spiral 1 development phase under the J-UCAS program includes the design of the improved demonstrator air vehicles, X-45C and the X-47B.

The roll out ceremony of the proof-of-concept X-47A vehicle was in July 2001 and the first flight was successfully completed in February 2003.

The X-47B is a larger variant of the X-47A. In August 2004, DARPA awarded the contract to Northrop Grumman for three X-47B demonstrator UCAVs and an operational assessment phase to last from 2007–2009.Construction of the X-47B began in June 2005.

In February 2006, the J-UCAS programme was cancelled by the US Department of Defense and the USAF and USN were to follow separate UAV programmes. Northrop Grumman halted work on the X-47B.

In August 2007, Northrop Grumman was selected by US Navy for the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) with a version of the X-47B with Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine. The programme is to demonstrate the suitability of an autonomous UAV for aircraft carrier operations and identify critical technologies. Two demonstrator air vehicles are to be built. Flight testing is scheduled to begin in late 2009, carrier landings in 2011 and the programme will conclude in 2013. It will include catapult take-offs, arrested landings and flight in the immediate vicinity of the carrier.

X-47 PEGASUS AIR VEHICLE
The airframe is a stealthy planform design. It is diamond-kite shaped with a 55° backward sweep on the leading edge and a 35° forward sweep on the trailing edge. The X-47A has a wingspan of 8.47m and is 8.5m long; the dimensions of the X-47B have yet to be finalised.

Scaled Composites Inc of Mohave, California, were contracted to manufacture the all-carbon composite airframe. The air vehicle has no tail or vertical fin. Instead of a traditional rudder for yaw control, the upper and lower surfaces are each fitted with two sections of moving surfaces. A large elevon is clearly visible at the mid-section of each trailing edge.

"In April 2007, Northrop Grumman submitted a bid to the US Navy for the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D)."The vehicle is robustly built for carrier take-off and landings and uses a conventional wheeled take-off and landing with an arrestor hook. The retractable tricycle-type landing gear consists of a single nose wheel, twin wheel main landing gear and a fully retractable arrestor hook. Smiths Aerospace is providing the landing gear for the X-47B.

PEGASUS AVIONICS
The Pegasus is equipped with an avionics suite supplied by BAE Systems Platform Solutions of Johnson City, New York. The avionics and vehicle management computer performs flight control processing, autopilot control, engine control processing, mission command and control, navigation and other functions.

The computer features an embedded, open-architecture CsLEOS real-time operating system which uses 'brick-wall' time and memory partitioning to allow multiple applications to run on the same system without interfering with each other. The system also provides multiple scheduling modes, allowing users to switch between different schedule profiles in real time.

The navigation systems include the United States Navy Shipboard Relative Global Positioning System (SRGPS) automatic landing system.

TURBOFAN ENGINE
The Pegasus is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5C turbofan engine rated at 14,19kN. The air vehicle carries 472kg of fuel but has a maximum capacity of 717kg of fuel for long-range operations or for increased loiter times

 

[Super Falcon]

The Zephyr family of solar-electric-powered unmanned air vehicles is being developed by QinetiQ in the UK with the UK Ministry of Defence, under a jointly funded programme. The Zephyr high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) autonomous unmanned system can provide high-quality surveillance data over large areas in real time. The system is capable of capturing and disseminating information, while operating at altitudes of more than 18km.

The QinetiQ development programme aims at providing a HALE UAV for long-endurance operations of up to three months at altitudes above the weather and air traffic (above 50,000ft), offering an operational low-cost persistent military capability by the end of the decade.

"The Zephyr high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) autonomous unmanned system can provide high-quality surveillance data."The Zephyr UAV exceeded the world record for the longest duration unmanned flight in August 2008. Zephyr successfully completed an 82-hour flight, reaching an altitude of more than 60,000ft during a trial held at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The US Department of Defense funded the demonstration flight under a joint capability technology demonstration (JCTD) programme with the UK MoD. Zephyr was flown on autopilot and by satellite communications.

The Zephyr HALE UAV is being developed by QinetiQ for military and civil applications including surveillance, communications relay, remote sensing, mapping, and atmospheric sensing missions. Military applications include low-cost long-term battlespace awareness. Civil applications could include pipeline, crop and forestry fire monitoring, fisheries protection and border control.

Development programme

The concept development of the Zephyr UAV started in 2003. The first flight trials of Zephyr began in December 2005 at the White Sands Missile Range. Two prototype Zephyrs with wingspan up to 12m were flown to a maximum altitude of 27,000ft and for 4.5 hours and six hours which were the maximum flight duration times permitted under the missile range restrictions.

In July 2006, flight trials at White Sands involved three prototype air vehicles with a wingspan up to 16m. A flight of 18 hours endurance was achieved including seven hours of night-time flight.

The trials included the operation of a number of electro-optical and infrared imaging payloads and the real time transmission of images and video from the air vehicle in flight. The flight trials also included the air vehicle being used as a communications relay platform and demonstrated the capability to provide beyond line of sight communications between radio handsets at long distances in mountainous terrain.

In 2006 the Zephyr development programme included the development of the flight control and power systems and particularly the refinement of the rechargeable batteries with the potential of extending the mission endurance initially to weeks and then to around three months.

QinetiQ is developing a Zephyr HALE UAV desktop simulator for operator training.

Zephyr air vehicle

The air vehicle is of ultra lightweight carbon-fibre construction and weighs 30kg. The wingspan is up to 18m.

During daylight hours the air vehicle is solar powered. The upper surface of the aircraft wings are covered by amorphous silicon arrays developed and supplied by United Solar Ovonic. At night the air vehicle is powered by lithium sulphur batteries, supplied by Sion Power, that are recharged during daylight hours by the solar power arrays.

"The Zephyr UAV exceeded the world record for the longest duration unmanned flight in August 2008."The air vehicle is equipped with a solar charger and bespoke auto-pilot developed in-house at QinetiQ.

The solar arrays provide about 1.5kW, sufficient power to fly at altitudes over 60,000ft during the day and charge the batteries. The rechargeable lithium sulphur batteries store sufficient energy to power the air vehicle overnight without falling to below 50,000ft, so the air vehicle maintains altitude above normal commercial air lanes and above most weather systems. The batteries power two wing-mounted two-bladed propellers.

Launch and recovery

The air vehicle is launched by hand. Recovery is by belly landing as the air vehicle has neither landing gear nor landing parachutes.

Payloads

The air vehicle is fitted with a removable payload pod that can carry a lightweight electro-optical sensor or a communications relay payload.

For persistent surveillance missions the UAV is fitted with an optical sensor payload and uses a global positioning navigation system (GPS) to remain on station. QinetiQ is developing a range of ultra lightweight and robust sensor payloads for Zephyr.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Silver Falcon, I started a thread in the Military Forum about the new Hummingbird UAV sseveral days ago (US Special Operations Gets Hummingbird UAV (Helicopter Drone). No one has chosen to comment on it so I guess the PDF folks aren't interested. Since so many are upset by USA drone attacks, I thought that they would be interested in the new helicopter drone capability that may appear over the skies of FATA in the not too distant future. But, no one seems to care?

 

[Super Falcon]

Truthseeker me too never expected from pdf members this but i think they are not interested in it but i must say them uav is very potent weapon of any war