Compendium April-May 2013a

8/11/2019 Compendium April-May 2013a

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/compendium-april-may-2013a 1/40

INTERNATIONAL: The trusted source fordefence technology information since 1976

DRONES

2013-14

by Compendium



aaicorp.com

© 2013 AAI Corporation. Al l rights reserved. AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems is an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc.

(NYSE: TXT) company. Shadow is a registered trademark of AAI Corporation. Aerosonde is a registered trademark of Aerosonde Pty

Ltd, a strategic business of AAI. AAI and design is a registered trademark of AAI Corporation.

AAI UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

MISSION POSSIBLE

Visit Textron SystemsParis Air Show - Chalet ST-W24

Shadow ® M2 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Aerosonde® Small Unmanned Aircraft System



03Compendium Drone 2013

The adventure in Afghanistan may prove to have been the last majorcolonial-type war. The principalpowers will in all likelihood be

unwillingever again to becomeinvolved onsuch a scale and for such duration. As alifestyle lesson in hopeless endeavours,Afghanistan may have succeeded whereVietnam failed.

However, the recent French-ledintervention in Malisuggests that theneed forsmall, time-limited military assistanceoperations may continue indefinitely, sincemany developing nations simply cannotafford theinternal securitymeasuresneededtocountertoday’s armedandwiredextremists.

Without the prospect of large-scaleneocolonial actions, the massive military

demand for conventional armed Male(medium-altitude, long-endurance) dronescould be heading for free-fall, althoughmaritime surveillance andcommercial use of aircraft in this performance category willcontinue to grow. Employedby armedforces,such aircraft willalso be able to fly peacetimeborder patrols, but on the outbreak of realwar would provide a turkey-shoot for any turboprop trainerwith a machinegun.

If ISAF’s stay in Afghanistan had beenextended, the viability of Maledrones wouldprobably have ended with the arrival of shoulder-launched Sams ‘liberated’ duringthecivil wars in Libya andSyria. Thehighly successful employment of these large, slow aircraft over south-west Asia has beenpossible only through the absence of suchweapons on the ground. In the case of Afghanistan, any remaining RaytheonFIM-92 Stingers (donated bythe CIA inthe 1980s

and mostly bought back post-9/11) weretime-expired.

Recent operations have also madeconsiderable use of tethered aerostats, butthe planned egress from Afghanistanappears to have made military plannerswaryof investing in large drone airships.

Such aircraft may represent a low-risk approach to a multi-sensor platform thatcan remain on station far longer than any manned aircraft, and accommodate largeantennas that give better imagery than any satellite. However, LTA (lighter-than-air)drones are scenario-critical, andintercontinental deployment would bedifficult, expensive and time-consuming.

I NEW SCENARIOS

The winding-down of ISAF will not heraldan outbreak of peace in south-west Asia, asIndia and Pakistan continue their decades-

EricBiass andRoyBraybrook

Not So Skyrocketing?Some of the commercially most successful drone manufacturers, hit by the double- whammy of general defence cutbacks and the ending of Operation Enduring Freedom,are recognising that hard times lie ahead. The running down and subsequent withdrawal from Afghanistan of the Nato Isaf (International Security Assistance Force),having attempted to bring peace and stability (and an absence of international terrorists)

to that virtually ungovernable land, will mark the ending of an era in many respects.

TheAnka,with itsalmost 100% “Turkishinside” sounds like an interestingproposition for

thosenationswishing to remain independent of theother twosuppliersin thatclass



long rivalry (producing a booming localmarket fordrones), andIran continues withits nuclear ambitions, perceived as a threatby Israel, theUS andothers with interests inthis oil-rich region.

Like North Korea, Iran is currently adriving force behind the development of

less-observable surveillance drones,exemplified by the US Air Force LockheedMartin RQ-170 Sentinel, which wasdeployed to Afghanistan in 2007 andSouthKoreain 2009.

The US Air Force currently appears tohave abandoned its plan for a seriously stealthy, medium-size multirole drone(MQ-M) to replace its 4762-kg GeneralAtomics MQ-9 Reaper from 2020. Instead,attention has switched to acquiring areduced-signature jet-powered drone thatcan be developed quickly, accepting that itwillsometimes rely on penetration aids and

support jamming, and may be viable foronly a limited period of time.

Three examples (some stretched by 1.22metres) of the jet-powered 8255-kg GeneralAtomics Avenger (Predator-C) are beingfinanced by the manufacturer. The first flew in April 2009, and the second in January 2012. The Avenger has so far been tested toMach0.60 and 45,000ft. InJuly2011the USAir Force ordered one (the fourth built) fordelivery in late 2014. The service isconsidering funding a larger derivative.

Some might argue (and AleniaAermacchi and Eads/Cassidian may well

agree) that, in purchasing ISR drones foroverland operation, the major Europeanpowers should progress straight from thegeneration exemplified by the 550-kg ElbitSystems Hermes 450, 1022-kg GeneralAtomics MQ-1 Predator-A and1250-kg IAIHeron I to a jet-powered, more survivabledrone, leapfrogging top-of-the-rangepropeller-drivendesigns.

Instead, Britain is acquiring the ElbitSystems/Thales U-Tacs Watchkeeper(Hermes 450 development) and increasingits fleet of MQ-9s, while France andGermany are torn between the MQ-9 andslightly lighter (4650 kg) IAIHeron TP.

Although propeller-drivendrones can beupgraded with missile approach warningsystems and flare dispensers, they willremain vulnerable to gun-armed mannedaircraft. In its planning, Europe appears tobe thinking more of minimising aircrew losses in neo-colonial interventions, ratherthan of drone attrition in a re-run of DesertStorm(1991) or Allied Force (1999).

Stealthy surveillance platforms representonly oneof several newcategories of dronesthat will be required as the American-ledWest switches its gaze to the Asia-Pacificregion, which will include one near-peerand multiple potential hybrid threats.

In the longer term, stealthy deep-penetration strike assets will be developed,probably including large optionally-

manned bombers,to defeat opponents withanti-access/area-denial(A2AD) capabilities.Lower down the scale, the seven-tonneDassault Neuron, a joint Ucav technology demonstrator project funded by France,Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden andSwitzerland, first flew on December1, 2012.The eight-tonne BAE Systems Taranis,fundedby theBritishGovernment, is due toflybeforethe end of2013.

In 2011 Sukhoi was awarded a contractto develop a strike drone in the 20-tonneclass. Sukhoi will be assisted by RAC-MiG,since the latter’s ten-tonneSkat (MantaRay)project of 2007 hasbeen discontinued.

I NAVALNEEDS

The US Navy is leading the Ucav field, as itlacks a first-day-of-war stealthy strikecapability, a deficiency produced by

04 Compendium Drone 2013

This US AirForce General Atomics MQ-9Reaperwas pictured on patrolover southern Afghanistan, armed with four Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and twoGBU-12 laser-guided bombs. (US Air Force)

Also known as the Eitan. the Heron TP is not just

a larger Heronas its general outline might

suggest, but a much, much bigger aircraft with

a 26-metrewingspanand 14-metrelength

compared withthe Heron’s respective 16

metres and 8.6 metres. This full-scale mock-up

pictured at a Paris Air Show keeps good

company to a numberof systemsincluding

Lahat air-to-ground missiles. (Eric H. Biass)



cancellation of the manned MDC/GDA-12Avenger II programme in 1991. The Ucas-D (Unmanned Combat Air System –Demonstration) programme is now beingperformed with the 20,215-kg NorthropGrumman X-47B, which is to be deployed

aboard the USS George H W Bush (CVN-77) in April/May 2013 for the first at-sealaunches and recoveries.

The X-47B is paving the way for theNavy’s Uclass (Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillanceand Strike)system, due to enter service around 2020.Uclass was formally approved by thePentagon in December 2012, and an RFP(requests for proposals) will be issued toindustry before the end of 2014. GeneralAtomics is expected to promote its SeaAvenger, withinternal weapon bays, foldingwings and tail-hook.

Emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region willbring a need for maritime surveillancedrones to keep watch onvast areasof ocean,and more urgently on the highly populatedwaters around south-east Asia, as disputesover various island groups and offshore oilreserves escalate.

TheUSNavyhasalsotakentheleadinthecontext of overwater surveillance with the14,630-kg Northrop Grumman MQ-4CTriton,whichis dueto enterservice underitsBams (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance)programme in late-2015. The MQ-4Cseriously interests India, and may well alsosatisfythe needs ofAsia-Pacific nations suchas AustraliaandJapan. Elsewhere, it maywellsuit Canada andthe UK (amongothers).

Britain accepted a capability gap inmaritimesurveillanceair assets in 2010,withthe withdrawal of the Royal Air Force’sHawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 andcancellation of the BAE Systems NimrodMRA4. The UKDefenceReviewof 2015 may well decidethatdumping this task onits allies

canonlybe a short-term solution. Orders forboth themanned Boeing P-8APoseidonandunmanned MQ-4Ccould follow.

However, the Q-4 (Global Hawk) seriesis expensive, having been developed as theTier II+of a three-tier US Air Force system of drones. Tier III wasconceptualised as a truly stealthyaircraft that could penetrate hostileairspace undetected.

To digress, as far as is known, the closestthat America came to that objectivewas the

Tier III-, the Lockheed Martin RQ-3DarkStar, which first flew in 1996. TheRQ-3 was stealthy, but — grossing only 3860 kg — was too small to generate auseful payload-radius performance. It wasterminated in 1999.

Nationssuch as Argentina, Brazil, Chile,New Zealand and South Africa have search-and-rescue responsibilities over large areas of ocean, but could not afford the Hale MQ-4C. However, they could allmake good useof a high-performance, propeller-drivenMale maritime surveillancedrone.

While not providing the high altitudecapability (and thus radar coverage) of anMQ-4C, aircraft such as the4763-kg GeneralAtomics Predator-BMaritimeConfigurationor Guardian turboprop would have anadvantage in operational flexibility, in beingableto descendand investigate radarcontacts.

After showing its ability to be catapulted into the air, the X-47B has passed another critical milestone on May 4 at Patuxent Naval Air Station by showing its ability to catch an arrestor cable on landing. (Northrop Grumman)

Thefirstcatapult launchof the Northrop Grumman X-47B took place at the US Navy’s Patuxent River

Naval Air Warfare Centerin Maryland on November 29th, 2012. (Northrop Grumman/Kelly Schindler)

Thefirst Northrop Grumman MQ-4C,serial 168457, was unveiled at Palmdale, California,on June14, 2012, when the USNavyformally named it Triton. Note the ventral radome,which (asidefrom thepaint scheme)distinguishes the MQ-4C from US AirForceRQ-4A/Bs. (Northrop Grumman)




General Atomics is now marketing theExtended Range Predator-B, with twoexternal tanks,wingtip extensionstaking thespan from 20.1to 26.8 metres, anda trailing-link main landing gear, allowing maximumtake-off weight to be increased to 5310 kg.These modifications would increaseendurancefrom27 to42 hours,and provideamissionradiusof5375kmintheISRrole.

A rival to the ER Predator-B mayappearin theformof a newHaledrone from Japan.Althoughoriginally motivated bythe needtodetect andtrack ballisticmissilelaunches by

North Korea and China, this aircraft is alsointended to monitor Chinese Navy movements in the East China Sea. It isexpected to remain on station fortwo days ataround 45,000 ft. Service entry is plannedfor FY2020.

Lower down the scale, Elbit Systems’recent intensive promotion of its piston-engined 1180-kg Hermes 900 at Aero Indiamay be seen asevidenceof a seriousmarketfor dedicated maritime patrol drones.

France’s Sagem is now marketing theoptionally-manned 1050-kg Patroller with anew version of the Sagem Euroflir 350optronic pod, AIS receiver, and a distressbeacon receiver. The Patroller is based onGermany’s Stemme S15 motor glider, andprovides automatic take-off and landing. Ithas been extensively tested and can beconsidered mature for adaptation tocustomers’ needs.

Havingdelivered thelast MQ-1B Predatorto the US Air Force in March 2011, GeneralAtomics now offers for export the unarmed

Predator-XP, with 35-hour endurance,automatic take-offandlanding system (Atls),Lynx radar, high-definition electro-opticalsensorand upturned wingtips.

The basic Predator-A is used in smallnumbers by Italy, Morocco and Turkey. Thenew unarmedPredator-XPis aimed initially at the Middle East, and only later at LatinAmerica. AtIDEXin Abu Dhabi in February 2013, General Atomics showed a full-scalemockup ofthe XPand announced the sale tothe United Arab Emirates of an unspecifiednumber forapproximately$ 200million.

Baseline price for the XP should bearound $ 3.0million, rising to $ 6.0 millionfor the fully equipped maritime patrol

version. For comparison, the final (FY2009)batchof MQ-1Bs for theUS AirForce cost $190.5 million for 38 aircraft, indicating aunit cost of almostexactly $ 5.0 million.

Ina similar size category, Eads/Cassidianiscurrently promoting its Harfang (Snowy Owl) version of the IAI Heron, as currently in service with the French Air Force, as thebest interim system for other majorEuropean countries. This Harfang or Sidm

Bearing a civil registrationbut not anIsraeli AirForce serial, suggesting a trials installation aircraft, this Elbit SystemsHermes900 is equipped with a maritime surveillance radar in addition to its EO/IRturret. (Elbit Systems)

Oneof the principal contenders in the maritime surveillance category is the SagemPatroller, an optionally-piloted version of the

StemmeS15 motor glider, with a Sagem

Euroflir 350 EO/IR sensorturret, AISreceiver and distress beacon sensor. (Sagem)

ThisIsraeli Defence Force IAI Heron is equipped withan Elta SystemsEL/M-2022U maritime surveillance radar, which weighs 114 kg and transmits 2300 Watts. (Israel Aerospace Industries)




1,000,000 operationalUAS flight hours at your service

www.iai.co.il

With an unmatched track record ofover 1,000,000 operational flight hoursfor 49 customers on five continents,IAI-MALAT is a global leader incomprehensive UAS-basedsolutions offering the widestrange of combat-provensystems.

Whatever your needs, IAI-MALAT

brings you total battlefieldUAS solutions




(SystèmeIntérimairedeDroneMale) isboldly described as the only fielded Male droneproduced by a European manufacturer, inservice witha European armed force.

I START-UPS

Several hitherto unexplored categories havepotential to grow rapidly, though from very lowbases.One such is theship-basedrotary-wing drone, which may have made a falsestart when the 1036-kg Gyrodyne QH-50Centered US Navy service in 1963. The highaccident rate suffered by this Dash (Drone

Anti-Submarine Helicopter) programmeputacceptance of ship-based dronesback by decades. However, recent advances inrobotics and lightweight sensors andweapons have changed perspectives.

In the virtual absence of suitablehardware, navies have been slow to developoperational requirements for ship-baseddrones. Nonetheless, the US Navy has beenrunning sea trialswith the1430-kg NorthropGrumman MQ-8B Fire Scout, derived fromthe mannedSikorsky/Schweizer333.

It was earlier envisaged that the MQ-8Bwould leadto thefar more capable Mrmuas

(Medium-Range Maritime UAS), but thisprogramme has been terminated as aneconomy measure, in favour of the2720-kgNorthrop GrummanMQ-8C.This transfersthe Fire Scout systems to an unmanned

version of the Bell 407, providing anintermediate level of capability.

The MQ-8C will evidently not enjoy amonopoly of the international market forship-based rotary-wing drones, sinceBoeing has been performing sea trials withthe 1610-kg Unmanned Little Bird (ULB).AgustaWestland (which now owns PZL-Swidnik),Eads/Cassidian and Saab(amongothers) also have serious interests in thismarket sector.

Britain’s Royal Navy has an urgentoperational requirement for a drone, ableto“track fast movingtargets” andprovide eighthours onstation at75 km radius. The Coco(contractor-owned, contractor-operated)system is to be operated from its Type 23frigates and RFA support vessels.

Austria’s 200-kg Schiebel Camcopter S-

100 (already in ground-based service in various countries, including China) hasbeen trialled by several navies, including

those of France, Germany, Pakistan, Russiaand (reportedly) China. Schiebel iscurrently working on the installation of aheavy fuel engine, and integration of new payloads, including the Thales I-Masterradar (see more on the S-100 further on ina sectiondedicated to light rotordrones).

On a lighterscale, L-3TacticalSystems hasbeen running tests with the 95-kg Valkyrie,an unmanned towed gyroplane that isproposedto extend the visual/radar horizonof ships, primarily against the current piratethreat. The Valkyrie would typically carry a22 kg payload to a height of up to 1000 ft,extending thehorizon to over 60 km.

Itmay be recalled that in World War Twothe Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze(Wagtail) man-carrying gyroplane wastowed by some U-boats, rising to around400ft andallowingships tobe detected atup to45 km.In theevent ofsurpriseair attack, theFa330anditspilotweretobeabandoned.

It may be noted that fixed-wing droneoperations from small ships have beenmade

practical (for lightweights) by the Skyhook wingtip-to-vertical-cable engagementsystem pioneered by the highly successful

Boeing/Insitu 18-kg ScanEagle and 61-kgRQ-21A Integrator. A Chinese copy of ScanEagle is marketed as the CH-803,and Iran is producing its own version,both projects endorsing the quality of theoriginal design.

Darpa wants to take fixed-wing droneoperations from ships toa new levelwiththeTern (Tactically Exploited ReconnaissanceNode) programme, aimed at Predator-likeperformance from 25,400-tonne LCS-2class ships. New launch and recovery conceptswill be required to enablea drone tooperate from such ships, with a 270 kgpayload and a radiusof 1110-1650km. Ternis envisioned as a 40-month programme toachieve full-scale demonstrations.

Even more revolutionary is theZala AeroTritonconcept for a nine-metre unmannedtrimaran drone carrier, powered by two150kW dieselengines,and operating with up tofour airvehiclesto a radiusof 1400 km. Thefixed-wing drones would be launched by catapult and recovered by net. All the Zala

Photographed duringa demonstration fortheRepublic of KoreaArmy, the BoeingULB

(Unmanned LittleBird) is optionally piloted.Boeing is now promoting a growth version,

based on the AH/MH-6M, with a six-blade main rotor and four-blade tail rotor. (Korean Air)

In Russia, the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is known as the Gorizont

A-100 where it was tested by theRussian coast guards. (Schiebel)



fixed-wing series (includingthe 421-08 and-16E) arebeingadapted to netrecovery.

A second new category with excellentlong-term prospects is the rotary-wing (orducted fan) cargo drone for frontlinedeliveriesof essential supplies, suchas food,water, ammunition and batteries, and with

potential for casualty evacuation.Trialsby the USMarine Corps with a pair

of optionally-manned LockheedMartin/Kaman Unmanned K-Max aircraftin Afghanistan have recently exceeded1200-tonnes in terms of loads moved, andover 1200 flight hours. However, it may prove difficult to maintain interest in thisprogramme once the fighting has stopped.

Thenext step appears to be the five-yearUS Office of Naval Research (ONR) Aacus(Autonomous Aerial Cargo/UtilitySystem)programme. This willpave theway forfully autonomous operations, the droneselecting

its own route and landing point, andavoiding obstacles. Aacus will haveprovision for internal payloads and long-term potential for casualty evacuation.

TheUS Army Cargo UAS concept is evenmore ambitious, being aimed at a larger,faster platform, probably using a new generation of rotorcraft technology, suchas

the slowed rotor of the 2950-kg BoeingYMQ-18A (A160T Hummingbird).

Meanwhile, the US Army has loaned toSikorsky a UH-60M Black Hawk forconversion to fly-by-wire control. Thecompany hopes to use this aircraft todemonstrate optionally-piloted resupply missions. Considering the number of olderUH-60sin storage, and thevery usefulsize of this aircraft (grossing10,660kg), this could

well lead totrials ona muchlargerscale thanhas been possible with the two K-Max aircraft.

I OFFENSIVE

A third market sector possiblyset fortake-off is the one-way loiter-attack drone,pioneered by Israel Aerospace Industries

(IAI) with the Harpy anti-radiation systemand its Harop successor. Increasing interestin such aircraft is suggested by the BritishArmy’s IFPA (Indirect Fire PrecisionAttack) requirement, which led to the new 200-kg Fire Shadow drone being developedby a team partnering MBDAand UK-MoD.

The Harop, incidentally, is still beingused as part of a system initially called theWabep devised by Rheinmetall andinvolving the use of the KZO drone as thetarget identifier. Rheinmetall has sincedivested itself of all direct involvement indrones and has set-up a joint venture withCassidian, in which Cassidianholds 51%of the stakes. To confuse everybody, thecompany is called Rheinmetall AirborneSystems, but squats Cassidian’s stands atexhibitions,notRheinmetall’s as instancedattherecent Idex exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

Asked byArmadawherethis programme

now stood, a Cassidian said that the groundstation had been developed and tested andalthough the feasibility of the mission hadbeen fully demonstrated no order(presumablyfull-scale development)has yetbeenplacedby theGerman authorities.

In Israel, Uvision has recently announcedthat it was producing modernizedversions of

China’s only rotary-wing drone on the market

appearsto be the 220-kgU8E, the existence of which wasrevealedat Singaporein 2010,with onlybasic data and no indicationof the manufacturer. (CATIC)

The Boeing/Insitu RQ-21AIntegrator weighs over twice

as much as thecompany’searlier,highly successful

ScanEagle. An Integrator is shown on the deck of the USS

Mesa Verde, amphibioustransport dock LPD-19, in

early 2013. (US Navy)



the Hero-30 expendable reconnaissancedrone, and the Hero-400 loitering attack munition,“responding to market demand”.

Improvements concern propulsion andpowergeneration.

Formerly known as the Wasp, the Hero30 is a three-kilo expendable recce droneparticularly designed for special forces. Ano-maintenance system, the electrically-powered Hero-30 is canister-launched a lamortar and provides its user a 30-minuteflight time.

The larger Hero-400, for its part, is theformer 40-kilo Blade Arrow and, poweredby a petrol engine, can loiter “for hours”.Equippedwith an eight-kilo warhead, it canattack moving high-value targets at rangesofupto150km.

In addition, Uvision is about to introducea commoncommand andcontrol systemforboth drones.

In a much heavier class, China’s jet-powered Casic WJ-600 looks like aTomahawk cruise missile with underwingweapons. It was unveiled in 2010, togetherwith a marketing animation showingoperation as a truck-launched attack drone

against ground and naval targets. Iran’sKarrar (Striker), unveiled in 2010, is claimedto be capable of carrying four lightweightanti-ship missiles.

Loiter-attack drones acknowledge themajor advances achieved in tactical airdefences, and couldput air support back inthe soldiers’ own hands, possibly endingcomplaints that air forces are interestedonly in “wild blue yonder” missions.

In December 2012 Boeing carried out ademonstration of the ULB drone helicopterfor the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA).Two months later reports appeared thatSouthKorea was considering developing anattack drone based on the 1360-kg MDHelicoptersMD500, of which the RoKAhasover 200 facing retirement.

The growing capability of small droneshas sparked interest in the concept of a

highly portable “winged grenade” that coulddeliver a small warhead with precisionoveradistance of severalthousandmetres, possibly

loiteringen-route, to take out(forexample)asniperor a lightvehiclebehind a building.

This line of development began withDarpa’s CCLR (Close Combat LethalRecon) project, described officially as a“hand-held, tube-launched, command-guided, loitering cruise munition that willprovide the warfighter unprecedentedability of non-line-of-sight targetprosecution in urban environments”. Thesystem included a “PDA-size soldierinterface device for flight planning… andstreaming video-viewing”.

The CCLR evidently led to the US AirForce’s Lmams (Lethal Miniature AerialMunition System), with a drone that was toweigh less than 1.4 kg and provide a one-metre accuracy. A 30-minute loitercapability was desired.

Theproducts shortlisted forLmams werethe AeroVironment Switchblade, the IATech(Innovative Automation Technologies)Point-And-Toss, and the Textron DefenseSystems BattleHawk, which appears to


Another advanced helicopter technology is illustratedby the Boeing YMQ-18A or A160T

Hummingbird,which in cruiseslowsthemain rotor to delay compressibility effects on theadvancing blade.(Boeing)



NEW TOOLS FOR NEW RULES

N E X T I S N O W ®



combine a Textron warhead withthe PrioriaRobotics Maveric drone.

One interesting project that failed to

make thecut wasthe MBDA Tiger (TacticalGrenade Extended Range), with two 40mmDSE grenadesand aninflatable wing by ILC Dover.

The Lmams contest was won by the AVSwitchblade, which has reportedly beenpurchasedby the USAir Force,the USArmy and US Marine Corps (although it remainsabsent from all their websites). Aswith many specialforces procurements,the truescale of theseprogrammes and detailsof operationaldeployments aredifficultto ascertain.

I MINIMALISM

A fourth category that may experiencedramatic market growth is what might betermed “the seriously small drone”, since

“micro” and “nano” have become whateveranymanufacturer or operatordecides. Thesedeviceswill clearly be verylimited in military

utility, but their small size and silent flightmakethem attractivefor covert operations.

The Darpa-funded Nav (NanoAir Vehicle) programme began in 2005 andled to AeroVironment’s remarkableflapping-wing Hummingbird, whichweighs 19 grams with batteries, motors,radio and video camera, and can hover forelevenminutes.

Other manufacturers became interestedin ‘biomimicry’, and in early 2012 IAIunveiled its twelve-gram, four-wingButterfly. In 2009 Norway’s Prox Dynamicsdemonstrated during a UVS International

conference its 16-gram PD-100 Dark Hornet miniature helicopter, which has anendurance of 30 minutes.

In 2012 Dark Hornet entered servicewith theBritish Army and Royal AirForce inAfghanistan, validating its maker’s claim tohaveproduced“the world’s first operationalNano (drone) system”. An initial batch of 160 units was purchased by UK-MoD. Thetotal through-life cost, including logisticsupport, personnel training, documentationand attrition reserve drones is expected toamountto around $ 32 million.

(At the end of2012the British dronefleetin Afghanistanconsistedof 64 Black Hornets,

five Reapers, nine Hermes 450s, 239Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk IIIs and 18HoneywellRQ-16AT-Hawks.TheUK-MoDhasrecently admittedthat in thepreviousfiveyears itsdrone lossesin south-west Asia haveamounted to oneReaper, nine Hermes 450s,412 Desert Hawk IIIs and a combined totalof 25 Black Hornets andT-Hawks).

While considerable efforts are now directed at measures (such as sense-and-avoid radars) that will allow drones tooperate in controlled airspace, somemilitary authorities are exempting aircraftbelow50 gramsfrom safetyregulations. Itisargued that the kinetic energy of suchdevices is so small that they are virtually incapable of inflicting damage.

The remainder of this report examinesthe principal current drone categories inmore detail, starting with long-endurancesystems that exploit fully the absence of ahuman crew.

One way to achieve extreme enduranceis to accelerate the platform to orbital speed.

The US Army-funded Northrop GrummanLemv (Long-Endurance Multi-intelligenceVehicle)is a hybridairship, combiningaerodynamiclift with buoyancy. Delays set it back too late to deploy to Afghanistan,and it wascancelled in February 2013.(Northrop Grumman)

TheMBDA Fire Shadowis a 200 kg loiter-attack drone developed forthe British Army. It hasa maximum endurance of six hours at 100 km radius. Deliveries began in early 2012, and a naval version has been projected. (MBDA)

ThePrioria Maveric is a lightweight tube-launched, command-guided air vehicle that

sends back imagery to the controller’s hand- held monitor. It is used with a Textronwarhead to form the Textron Defense

Systems Battlehawk drone. (Prioria Robotics)

The Hero-400, fromIsrael, would be atypical commandodrone.It canloiter “for hours” accordingto manufacturer Uvision, beforebeing sent into a dive

attack, even against a movingtarget.(Uvision)



For example, Boeing has constructed two4990-kg X-37Breusable spaceplanes for theUS AirForce, althoughthe purposeof thesedrones (beyond providing a technologicalbasis for future spaceplanes) has not beenrevealed. Launched by a United LaunchAlliance Saturn V rocketfrom theKennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida,these X-37Bs have carried out severalmissions, including one by the second

vehicle (OTV-2) that ended in June 2012after 469days in lowearth orbit.

I LTA

A far less expensive means to achieve longendurance is to use a lighter-than-air drone.

Lockheed Martin was prime contractorfor the US Army’s Hale-D (High AltitudeLong Endurance - Demonstrator) solar-powered LTAdrone, whichwas designed tostay aloft for 15 days at 60,000 ft. It waslaunched in July 2007, but suffered atechnical anomaly (reportedly a heliumleak) at 32,000 ft, leading to termination of the flight and the programme. The Hale-Dwas a subscale demonstrator for an airshipthatwould stayat 65,000 ftfor over30 days.

The US Air Force’s Mav6 Blue Devil 2(BD2)optionally-mannedairship was basedon the Tcom Polar 100. The BD2 waspromoted by Lt-Gen David Deptula, Mav6CEO and earlier principal planner for the

“shock-and-awe” air operations thatlaunched Desert Storm. It was intended tostay at20,000 ft for ninedays. The BD2 wasscheduled to fly in October 2011 and self-deployto Afghanistan in February2012.

However, concerns over weather andoverflight clearance for various countries

led to a revised plan, to transport the BD2inside a hangar on a speciallymodifiedship.Theprogramme wascancelledin May 2012due to poor performance, before it hadleft theground.

The more ambitious US Army-fundedLemv (Long Endurance Multi-intelligenceVehicle) was planned as an 18-monthprogramme, from contract signature inJune 2010 to deployment to Afghanistanin late 2011.

The Lemv is an optionally-mannedhybrid airship, using a combination of buoyancy and aerodynamic lift. It was

designed by Northrop Grumman inpartnership with the UK-based Hybrid AirVehicles. The hullwas manufactured by ILCDover, using fabric produced by Warwick Mills.The designaim wasto stay at22,000 ftfor 21dayswitha 1250kg payload.

In the event, the Lemv had its maidenflight only on August 7, 2012, a timescaleincompatible with the end-2014 USwithdrawal from Afghanistan. Theprogramme was cancelled on February 14,2013, “due to technical and performancechallenges, and the limitations imposed by constrained resources”.

Nonetheless, if Northrop Grummansuccessfullydemonstratesthe performanceadvantages claimed for hybrid airships,there are commercial concerns waiting topiggyback on this line of development.

There is serious commercial interest inusing cargo airships to transport largeloads to remote, undeveloped regions,rather than constructing expensiveairfields that will see little use. Companiessuch as Boeing and Lockheed Martin,having been involved in earlier airshipprojects, may well come back to this line of business. At a later stage the military market could wel l pi gg yb ack oncommercial hybrid airship developments.

Before leaving theLTS category, it maybeadded that Darpa’s Isis (Integrated Sensor IsStructure) programme, aimed at a solar-electric airship to remain at 70,000 ft for tenyears,is not necessarily dead. Plansfor a half-scaledemonstratorby Lockheed Martin havebeenputonhold,butDarpaisreportedlystilltalkingwiththe US AirForce.

ThePD-100 Black Hornet is an electrically-powered

miniature helicopter weighing only 16 grams.

Ithas an endurance of 30 minutes and was first

demonstrated publicly in 2009. (Prox Dynamics)





Although offering less endurancethan the above mentioned LTAs(with flights measured in daysrather than weeks), fixed-wing

aircraft burning hydrogen fuel may wellprovide the basis for the next generation of Hale drones.

The current leader in this category is theBoeing Phantom Eye, which hasa 45.7-metrewingspan and two 2.3-litre triple-turbocharged Ford engines burning liquid

hydrogen, contained in two 2.44-metrediameter spherical tanks. This subscale 4516kg demonstrator was designedto remain forfour days at up to 65,000 ft with a 200 kgpayload. It first flew in June 2012, but onlandingbrokethrough the surfaceof the saltlakebed at Edwards AFB, California, anddamaged the landing gear, belly andwingtips.Following repairs,it resumedflighttests onFebruary 25th.Boeinghas plansfor alargerversion, which would have a wingspan

increased from 64 metres, and would stay aloftfortendayswitha450kgpayload.

Inbroadlythesamesize andperformanceclass, the AeroVironment Global Observer

GO-1 has a 40-metre wingspan and wasdesignedforanenduranceoffivedaysatupto65,000 ft with a 170 kg payload. However, inthis casea singleinternalcombustionengineburning hydrogen fuel powers a generatorthat runs four electric motors in the wingleading edge, each with its own propeller.Funded by six US government agencies, theGO-1 first flew with this powerplant inJanuary 2011,but crashed threemonthslaterafter 18 hours into its ninth flight. Thedefinitive Global Observer was planned tocarry the Joint Aerial Layer Network (Jaln)payload, but any further tests will requireadditional funding.

A third advanced Hale project is the3175-kg Aurora Flight Sciences Orion,which hasa singleAustro diesel engineand a40.2-metre span, and was designed toachieve four days at 65,000 ft with a 180 kgpayload. Although it began life as ademonstrator forthe US Air ForceResearchLaboratory, Orion wasmainlyfundedby theUS Army’s SMDC (Space & Missiles

Hales

Until anyof thehigh-altitude long-enduranceprojects(mainly fromEastern and Far-Eastern nations) seen inmodel form oras computer-generated imagery displayedat virtually every international air showordefenceexhibition becomea reality, theNorthropGrummanremains prettymuch the productionguardian of thedisciplineworld-wide.Projectsare, however, underway toexplore waysof remaining aloft even longer.

TheNorthrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is basicallya sailplane with aturbofan engineand sensors. This

image of a Block 20 over the desert illustrates its high aspect ratio, giving it a lift/dragratio of approximately 35:1.

(Northrop Grumman)



Unmanned. Unlimited.

A giant leap for unmanned. Leverage Trimble’s leadership in precise GNSS positioning, wireless

communications and global connectivity for all your unmanned applications. The possibilities are unlimited

www.trimble.com/unmanned

See Trimble in Booth 2801© 2013 Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. PC-037 (06/13)




Defense Command). This programmecurrently appears to have stalled due toCongressional funding problems.

Solar-powered drones have already

demonstrated remarkable performance,the 929-kg, 75.3-metre wingspanAeroVironment Heliosreaching 96,863 ft in2001, and the 53-kg, 22.5-metre QinetiQZephyr Sevenflying for 336.37hours in2010.

In 2010 Darpa awarded Boeing, teamedwithQinetiQ andVersa PowerSystems,an $89 million contract to develop and fly the2720-kg SolarEagle. With a span of 132.5metres, thiswas expected to demonstrate 30days at altitude in the short-term, but wasaimed atan ultimate endurance of five yearsabove 60,000 ft with a 450 kg payload.SolarEagle was due to fly in 2014, but inApril 2012 Darpa cancelled construction of the flight vehicle, ordering that remainingfunds from this Vulture II programmeshould be used to continue the developmentof photovoltaics for solar energy collectionandsolid fuelcellsfor energy storage.

I GLOBAL HAWK

Until such “eternity drones” are ready forservice, the Hale market will probably

continue to be dominated by the NorthropGrumman Q-4 Global Hawk series, the firstofwhich flew in1998.

Funded jointly by Darpa andthe Defense

Airborne Reconnaissance Office (Daro),seven YRQ-4A Block 0 technology demonstrators were built, of which threecrashed,three werelater transferred to Nasaand one ( AV-3 serial 98-2003) is onshow attheNational Museum of theUS AirForce.

Next came seven 12,111-kg Block 10 RQ-4As for the US Air Force. They wereretiredin 2011, three being transferred to the USNavy (of which one crashed) and two toNasa, and two being placed in museums.Two additional Block 10s (serials 166509-10) were built for the US Navy for theGHMD (Gl oba l Haw k MaritimeDemonstration)programme.

The first true production Global Hawk was thestretched14,628-kgBlock20 RQ-4B,of which six were built for the Air Force.They initially had only Imint (imageintelligence) capability, but four wereconverted to EQ-4Bstandard withthe BACN(Battlefield Airborne CommunicationsNode) theatre relay package, keeping groundforces in touch with supporting aircraft,

regardless of terrain and frequency differences. Two EQ-4Bs were deployed tosouth-west Asia in late 2010. The fourthconversionreplaced an EQ-4B lost in a crash

in Afghanistan.The remaining twoBlock 20shave been used as test aircraft, one beingmodifiedto become thefirst Block 40.

The US Air Force currently refers to anactive fleet of 20 RQ-4s. This mainly consists of Block 30s with the 12thReconnaissance Squadron at Beale AFB,California, andBlock 40sand EQ-4B Block 20s with the 348th RS at Grand Forks AFB,North Dakota. Some older Global Hawksare flown by the 1st RS training unit atBeale.

The Block 30 was planned as a multi-intelligence platform, with the RaytheonEiss (Enhanced IntegratedSensor Suite) andNorthrop Grumman Asip (AirborneSignals Intelligence Payload). However,when IOC was declared in August 2011, ithad Imint only. The Asip was added later.Some observers feel that the Block 30 shouldhave had a much more powerful engine, in

view of its increased (1360 kg) payload.Inearly 2012 the US Air Force proposed

to save funds by cancelling the Block 30, of

The hydrogen-fuelled Boeing Phantom Eye Haledrone rises from itstake-off dolly on itssecond

flight, on February 25th 2013. Theaircraft now lands on a nosewheeland centreline skid, bothof

which are retractable. (Boeing)









Payload: 300 kg

Sar, EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

10.67

10.97

2540 30 24

A160T Hummingbird

Boeing

Compendium Drones 2013

Payload:

EO, Sar, ecomint. Mstructure foRobonics launch

t-o/recov: c

1x70 hp

2-str

3.50

4.20

250 15 20

Sperwer Mk 2

Sagem

Payload: 50 kg

Optronic daysight (M-Tek)

t-o/recov: cat-para

1x TTL-Wae 342

3.11

5.21

1 25 1 6 3 .0 0

Vulture

ATE

P ay lo ad :

Hi-resolutiCCD or ncamera

t-o/recov: c

8 hpn/a

2.56

4.00

40 10 4.00

Aerolight

Aeronautics

P ayl oa d:

Video, IR

t-o/recov: h

n/a

0.28

0.40

0 .3 2 1 0 1 .0 0

Wasp III

Aerovironment

P ayl oa d:

FlirRheinmetaDefenceElectronic

t-o/recov: ra

1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

2.26

3.41

161 11.50 3.50

KZO

Rheinmetall

P ay lo ad : 2 0 k g

GimballedEO/IR(variousmanufacturers)

t-o/recov: cat-para

UEL AR74-1230

3.81

4.50

145 13.00 4+

Sojka III

VTULaSTV

Payload:

Colour & cameras,

t-o/recov: c

4-cycle JP5 or FP8

1.46

2.38

9.1 16 10

Silver Fox

BAE Systems

P ayl oa d:

GimballedEO/IR

t-o/recov: a

4x

0.80

0.80

1.30 1500 0.33

Scout

Datron

P ay lo ad : n /a

Stabilised day orIR

t-o/recov: cat-cable

1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

1.19

3.05

18 16 15

Scaneagle

Boeing

Payload: 1

*internal,2948kg toLynx sar, Eturret, widrange of G

t-o/recov: c

4,800lbtPW54B

13.4

20.11

7167 53 20

Predator C Avenger

General Atomics

P ayl oa d:

Sagem 41auto land take-off

t-o/recov: c

1x115 hp

Rotax914F

8.50

18

1050 25 30+

Patroller

Sagem

Payload:

EO gimba

GMTI (Elbsatcom, aiground we

t-o/recov: co

1x Rotax100 hp

15

15

970 33 40

Hermes 900

Elbit Systems

Payload:

day/IR, si

t-o/recov:hand-belly

1x572 hpP&WC

PW207D

0.9

1.5

7.5 10+ 1 .5

Desert Hawk III

Lockheed Martin

Payload: 363 kg

Lynx sar, L-3Wescam EO/IR,sigint, ESM,Hellfire,GBU-12, GBU-38(export: ISR only)

t-o/recov: conv-conv

1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

10.36

20.12

4763 50 30+

Predator B, Reaper MQ-9

General Atomics

Payload: 1.2 kg

High-resolutionstabilised CCD(typically ContropM-Stamp)

t-o/recov: cat-para

brushless

1.00

2.20

6 .5 0 1 8 3 .0 0

Orbiter

Aeronautics

Payload: 2700 kg

t-o/recov: vtol

1500hpT5317A1

15.8

15.8

5 20 0 2 3 1 2+

K-Max

Lockeed Martin-Kaman

P ay lo ad : n /a

Dcompass +

Amps (Elbit), Sar,satcom


1x UELAR-80152 hp

6.10

10.52

449 20 20

Hermes 450

Elbit Systems

P ay lo ad: n /a

EO, IR, laserdesignator, Sar,GMTI, radar

t-o/recov: vtol

1x R-R250-

C20W

7.01

8.22

1430 20 8.00

Fire Scout MQ-8B

Northrop Grumman

Payload:

GimballeEO/IR, Ssatcom +hardpoin

t-o/recov: c

6-cylLycoming~300 hp

10.36

19.81

2268 30 40.00

Firebird

Northrop Grumman

P ay lo ad : n /a

1A recon orweather sample1D geophysicalsurvey

t-o/recov: cartopconv

QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

1.75

3.28

25 n/a 4.00

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation

P ay lo ad :

EO/IR, sasigint, weaoption

t-o/recov: ca

16hp2-stroke

Hirth

1.90

3.6

100 20 14

Bat 12

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1.5 kg

Interchangeabletop and bottom,IR and day-night

t-o/recov: vtol

1xelectric

n/a

n/a

6.00 n/a 0.50

Asio

Selex Galileo

Payload: 81.6 kg

EO-IR+ laserpointer & laser

designator


1x UELAR 801R

49 hp

3.9

6.92

340 22 18

Shadow M2

AAI

l :

I ll

l

: l

.

.

.

l :

lI I

:

.

.

.

l :

:

.

.

.

l :

l

:

.

.

l : .

l

:

.

.

l .

l : .

I

I

: l

i

.

.

. . .

l :

l

:

ii

.

.

l :

:

.

.

.

l :

I

:

l i

.

.

. l .

l :

Il

:

i

.

.

.

l : .

I

:

l i

.

.

. . .

l :

II

:

.

.

l :

I

:.

i

l j

.

.

.

l :

I

:ll

.

.

.



Armada International’s

Compendium Drones 2013

P ay lo ad : n /a

Day or IR

t-o/recov: hand orcat-belly

n/a

0.80

2.20

5.60 n/a 1.00

Bird Eye 400

IAI Malat

P ayl oa d: n/ a

CCD camera(various manufs)AthenaGuidestar 311system

t-o/recov:cat-net/para

2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

2.26

2.36

<40 10 6+

Luna

EMT

P ayl oa d: n/a

TV or LLTV orelint

t-o/recov: cat-conv

Samana/Trud

P-03232 hp

2.77

3.26

130 8.20 2.00

Pchela 1

Yakovlev Design Bureau

P ay lo ad : n /a

Colour camera,multi-sensor,electronic survey

t-o/recov: conv-conv/arrestor

1x 4-cyl2-stroke50 hp

n/a

7.00

280 18 10

Seeker II

Denel


EO/IR

t-o/recov: vtol

2-str Hirth55 hp

4.00

4.70

2 30 1 3 ~ 6. 00

Skeldar V-200

Saab

P ay lo ad : n /a

2 x EO, Sar


2x R-R250 tp

n/a

22

n/a 50 24

Mantis

BAE Systems

demonstrator

Payload: 0.2 kg

Day or IR, auto-pilot.

t-o/recov: hand-belly

XM300/400ES

0.60

0.66

<1.00 low 0.50

Spy Arrow

Thales


Cots EO(manufacturernot determined)


n/a

n/a

4.48

70.31 15 5.00

Aerosky

Israel Aerospace Industries

Payload: 16 kg

Cloud Cap T2EO, Cloud CapPiccolo autopilot,two drop loads

t-o/recov: cat-belly

190-cc10 hpHonda

4-str

2.87

5.26

75 n/a 16

T-20

Arcturus

P ay lo ad: n/ a

EO plusI-Master radar


UELAR 801

38.8 kW

6.10

10.51

450 1 5 30

Watchkeeper

U-Tacs

P ay lo ad : 5 kg

Various, stabilisedEO-IR-laser pointer,comms relay,

meteor sensosrs

t-o/recov:cat-belly/net

4hpheavy

fuel

2.10

3.6

15 .2 0 1 5 1 2

Aerosonde Mk. 4.7

AAI-Aerosonde

Payload: 2040 kg

EO, IR, Sar,GMTI, ESM, IO


P&W F100

11.58

18.90

20,215 40 40+

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman

demonstrator

Payload: 40 kg

CCD, IRstabilised turret

t-o/recov: conv/cat-conv/para

Rotax 503UL-2V

49.6 hp

4.02

5.81

300 12 6.50

Siva

Inta

Payload: 200 kg

Denel Argos orGoshawk/Avi-tronics elint orSar


1x Rotax914 orSubaru

EA-82T

10

15

1000 25 24

Bateleur

Denel

P ayl oa d: n /a

Day TV


2xAveox1005/6Y

1.73

1.16

2.04 1.00 1.00

Dragon Eye RQ-14A

Aerovironment

Payload: 250 kg

EO or EW


1x Rotax914

115 hp

4.00

16.3

1150 25 24

Eagle 1/Harfang

EADS-IAI Malat

Payload: 1360 kg

Block 20: sar,EO+IR wide areasearch/spot.Block 40:MR-RTIP sar/MTI radar


1x R-RAE3007 H

tf

14.53

39.90

14 ,6 28 65 3 6

Global Hawk RQ-4B Bk 20-40

Northrop Grumman

Payload: 1360 kg

360 degreeMFAS aesaradar,satcom etc


1xRRAE30007 H

14.53

39.9

1 46 28 6 0 3 6

Global Hawk Triton (Bams)

Northrop Grumman

P ay lo ad: n/ a

EM, TV, Sar

(variousmanufacturers)


2x Rotax914

100 hp

9.39

15

1496 25 24

Hermes 1500

Elbit Systems

P ay lo ad: n /a

TV & IR, custom

(IAI Tamam)


1x Rotax914

115 hp

8.60

16.61

1100 30 50

Heron

IAI Malat

Payload: 10 kg*

*incl fuel,modular pallet


2.5hpHonda

2.27

3.3

2 1. 5 1 5 > 2 0

Penguin B

UAV Factory

Payload: 204 kg

Lynx sar, Sigin,ESM, EO/IR,satcom, GPS,INS


Rotax 914turbo

8

17

2300 25 40

Predator XP

General Atomics

Payload: ~500 gr

Gimballed EO,IR


600W

1.40

2.80

5 .9 5 00 2 .0 0

Puma AE

Aerovironment

Payload: 120 kg

TV & flir(IAI Tamam)


1x 73 hp

5.85

8.56

426 19 16

Searcher II

IAI Malat







24

which 31 were planned.Of the18 ordered,16have been delivered and the next is due for

completion in 2014. However, the FY2013Defense Authorization Bill instructed theservice to keep its Block 30s flying (theyarecurrently operating from Al Dhafra AB inthe UAE), atleast untiltheend of2014.

The Block 40 is equipped with theNorthrop Grumman/Raytheon ZPY-2(previously MP-RTIP) Aesa radar,providing Sar/GMTI facilities. The first of eleven ordered under FY2012 funding flew on November 16, 2009. At time of writingeight have been delivered, and another isscheduled for 2014. The Block 40 is toundergo Operational Utility Assessment

(OUA) shortly, and Initial Operational Test& Evaluation (IOT&E) from May 2014.

Theoriginal plan calledfor Block40 IOCby FY2014. At time of writing the US AirForce is expected to ask for no funding forthe Block 30 and 40 in its FY2014 request,allowing it to terminateoperations by theseaircraft in 2015. This would leave only thefour BACN EQ-4Bs. There have beensuggestions that the Block 40 has been the

victim of inter-ser vice rivalry, since(performing the JointStars role) it is

virtually a US Army programme.The Pentagon’s FY2013 budget request

was limited to three Block 40s for the NatoAGS (Alliance Ground Surveillance)programme and three MQ-4C Tritons fortheUS Navy Bams programme.

The recent inclusion of Poland in AGSmeansthat theprogramme is now supportedby 14 nations. Canada andDenmark arealsoexpected to join, but Britain and Franceprefer to contribute different ISR assets. Thefirstof fiveAGS aircraftbeing acquiredunder

a $ 1.7 billion Nato contract of May 2012 isduetoflyin2015.Theunitisscheduledtobe

fully operational by 2017 at Sigonella AB inSicily, colocated with US Air Force GlobalHawksand NavyTritons.

The German Air Force RQ-4E EuroHawk,based on theBlock20, haspartneredNorthrop Grumman with Cassidian. Thedevelopment aircraft was flownto Germany in July 2011, fitted with the Germancompany’s Sigint payload,and flew again on

January 11, 2013. It was to be assigned toreconnaissance wing AKG-51‘Immelmann’at Schleswig-Jagel AB, alongside the threeGermanNavy Breguet Atlantic ATL-1sthatthe Euro Hawk was to replace. However, inMayit was announced that the procurementof four more Euro Hawks had been

cancelled, due to the difficulty of integratingthe drones intoEuropean airspace.

The US Navy Northrop GrummanMQ-4C Triton differs from the US Air ForceGlobal Hawk in several respects. Itsequipment includes the NorthropGrumman ZPY-3 MFAS (Multi-FunctionActive Sensor) radar, a chin-mountedRaytheon MTS-B/DAS-1 EO/IR sensorturret, a forward-looking ITT Exelis “DueRegard Radar” that detectsother aircraft ata distance of up to 16 km, TCAS (TrafficCollision Avoidance System), ADS-B(Automatic Dependent Surveillance –

Broadcast), SNC’s ZLQ-1 electronicsupport measures, and an AIS (AutomaticIdentification System) receiving VHFtransmissions from surface vessels.The wing is strengthened to deal with gustsand bird strikes, and provided withde-icing gear.

Development of the MQ-4C has beencarried out under the Bams-D (Broad AreaMaritime Surveillance – Demonstration)programme, using five RQ-4A Block 10s,oneof which hascrashed. The original planwas for the three-aircraft LRIP Lot One tobe followed by 65 production aircraft,

funded in FY2014-26. Recent reportsindicate that the first batch maybe increased

Compendium Drone 2013

Some 31 Block 30 Global Hawks were originally planned, but 18 got ordered beforethe fund saving axe fell. The 17th aircraft is to be rolled out next year (Northrop Grumman)

Distinguished as a Block 40 by the massiveflat-side radome under the front fuselage,covering the side-looking ZPY-2 antenna,

GlobalHawk serial10-2044 (AF-37) takesoffinto thesunset in January 2013.(Northrop Grumman)



ELIMINATE HESITATION

L-3com.coWESCAM

MX-15

MX-20 / MX-20D

MX-15D MX-10

MX-10D

• High-Definition EO/IR – Examine all digital, full-motion video Intel

in 1080p resolution

• High-Magnification, Large-Aperture Optics – Experience superior

range performance

• Image Blending – Uncover more detail by blending EO and IR

images into one image stream

• MX-GEO – Accurately steer, point and track to targets with minimal

operator involvement

To learn more, visit www.wescam.com.

L-3’s MX TM-Series Provides Clarity and Removes Uncertainty



to ten, to facilitate early deliveries to India.December2015is due to mark IOCand thestart of full-rate production.

The US Navy MQ-4Cs will have theirmain bases at NAS Jacksonville in Floridaand NAS Whidbey Island in Washington.They will also be operated from Beale AFB

in California, Andersen AFB on Guam,NAS Sigonella on Sicily, NAF Kadenaon Okinawa, and an unspecified airfieldin southwest Asia.

The best export prospect for the Q-4family is India, which is interested inacquiring up to eight Tritons for maritimepatrol. Northrop Grumman has teamedwith theQuebec-basedL-3 MASto proposefor Canadathe PolarHawk. This is based on

the Block 30 with the Raytheon Eiss sensorpackage, but with wing de-icing, engineanti-icing and Iridium satcom to suitoperationnorthof 70 degrees latitude.

In late 2012 Congress was informed of apossible sale of four Block 30(I)s to SouthKorea. Japan is reportedly considering thepurchase of three Q-4s by FY2015. Otherpotential customers include Australia andSingapore. The likely availability of slightly used ex-US Air Force Block 30sand 40s will clearly have a major impact onthis market sector.

China has a number of jet-powered Haleprojects, of which the most interesting is the7500-kgChengduXiang Long (Soar Dragon).Thisemploys a joined-wingarrangementandwasrolled outin late 2008.

The German Air Force RQ-4E EuroHawkis aSigintversion of the RQ-4 Block 20,developed by Northrop Grumman and Cassidian, and

distinguished by large underwing sensor fairings.On current plans this first RQ-4E, serial 9901 here seen at its inaugural hand-over ceremony in 2011 in Manching,will not be joined by the four others planned earlier.(Armada/Eric H. Biass)

By September 2012, when thePredator series passed the twomillionflight hour mark, there were24 MQ-1Predator-As, five Sky

Warrior Alphas, six MQ-1C Grey Eagles

and 15 MQ-9 Predator-Bs in operation.Theywere accumulating over 45,000 hoursper month.

As mentioned earlier, the 268th and lastMQ-1B Predator for the US Air Force wasdelivered in March 2011, and themanufactureris nowmarketingthe unarmedPredator-XP internationally.

The Predator-A also liveson inthe form of the US Army’s 1633-kg MQ-1C Grey Eagle.Like the MQ-1B and MQ-9, the primary missionof the MQ-1C is officially describedas “reconnaissancewith an embeddedstrikecapabilityagainst critical, perishable targets”,butthe MQ-1C alsohas “the unique missionof communications relay”.

The MQ-1C was the outcome of theservice’s ERMP (Extended Range, Multi-Purpose) drone requirement to replace theNorthrop Grumman MQ-5 Hunter. TheGeneral Atomics Warrior (later Sky Warrior) flew in 2004, and was selected forERMP in 2005. Itwas renamed Grey Eaglein 2010, after an Apache Indianchief.

The MQ-1C can carry four Hellfires,double the load of the Air Force MQ-1B. Italso has a Thielert Centurion heavy fuelengine with auto restart, TALS (TacticalAutomatic Landing System), the Northrop

Grumman ZPY-1 STARLite lightweight (30kg) radar with Sar/GMTI facilities, theRaytheon AAS-52 MTS (Multi-spectralTargeting System), fuel jettison capability,datalink encryption, and self-destructprovisions.

The US Army deployed a four-aircraftQRC (quick reaction capability) platoon of MQ-1Cs to Iraq in August 2009. The unitwas moved to Afghanistan in December2010, joining another QRC platoon, whichhad deployed there in September 2010.The first complete Grey Eagle company,‘Fox 227’, with three four-aircraft platoonsand 128 soldiers, entered Afghanistan inApril 2012.

The US Army plans to acquire sevendeployedcompaniesequipped likeF/227 andten Conus-based ‘dwell’ companies, eachwith 128 soldiers but only four air vehicles.To these 128 Grey Eagles wereto beadded 21attrition aircraft and seven for training,giving a total of 152 aircraft. On that basisthelatest available SAR(SelectedAcquisition


Based on over 300,000 operational flight hours with theHermes450, Elbit Systems hasdeveloped the 1180-kgHermes900, which is capable of 36 hours enduranceat up to 30,000 ft. Thefirstcontract with the Israeli Air Forcewas signed in2010,and theHermes 900has since been sold to Chile, Colombia and Mexico. (Elbit Systems)

MalesTheMale sector has beendominated by the General Atomics Predator series,which derives from theGnat 750of1993, thanksprincipally to the demands from the American armed services and the CIA. Technically they areona parwith several products from Israel.



Report) gave a Pauc (Program AcquisitionUnitCost)of$116millionperplatoon,andacorrespondingAPUC (AverageProcurementUnit Cost) of $ 169.4 million.

The MQ-1C appears to be far moreexpensive than the MQ-1B. Its averageprocurement cost rose from $ 14.21 million

in FY2011(39 aircraft) to $ 16.23 million inFY2012 (43 aircraft) and a remarkable $39.45 millionin theFY2013 defence budgetrequest (19 aircraft).

The LRIP-1 contract covered 24 Grey Eagles plus two for attrition. The LRIP-2was for24 aircraft plus five forattrition. TheLRIP-3 contract for 29 more was approvedin June 2012. The full-rate productioncontract for Gray Eagle is scheduled forsignature in June 2013. The Grey Eagleprogramme was originally to run fromFY2005 to FY2017, butreportsindicate thatthe US Army now plans to stretch

acquisition toa totalof 164,witha final buy in FY2022.

I REAPER

In US Air Force operations, the piston-engined MQ-1 is being replaced by theturboprop General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper

(which the manufacturer terms thePredator-B). That service has a formalrequirement for 319 MQ-9s, enough tooperate 65 Caps (combat air patrols) on a24/7 basis, and capacity to surge to 85. Theprocurement of 404 is planned (thatnumber including three RDT&E aircraft) toallow for attrition.

Thepoint is worth emphasising, that thePredator-B representsa completelydifferentcategory from the Predator-A. Maximumtake-off weightjumps from 1022 kg to 4762kg, and annual operating cost per aircraft(according to the latest SAR) is increasedfrom$1.21millionto$2.99million.

The SAR also indicates an averageReaper procurement cost of $ 32.4 millionin then-year dollars, or $ 29.4 millionexcluding RDT&E. The annual budgetsindicate an aircraft cost of $ 17.78 million inFY2011, risingto $ 19.67 millionin FY2012,and $ 36.89 million in the FY2013 request.

TheUS AirForce Reaperfactsheet refers to afour-aircraft system costing $ 53.5 millionin FY2006 values.

In 2007 the UK purchased six Reapersandthree mobile groundstations for$ 247.5million. In the following year Italy boughtsix Reapers and three mobile groundstations for $ 175.3 million. In 2011 theUKbought five more Reapers and four moreground stations for$ 213 million. Germany has requested three Reapers and fourground stations,andAustraliahas requestedpricing and availability data (which Turkey has already received on both the MQ-1 and

MQ-9).The latest MQ-9 variant offered to close

allies is the 5310-kg ER Predator-B withstronger undercarriage,increased wingspanandtwo external tanks.

The BAE Systems Mantis proof-of-concept aircraft, which is powered by two

TheGeneral Atomics MQ-1C Grey Eagle(sonamed after an Apache Indianchief) is shown in ‘Triclops’ configuration, with thefuselage-mountedGeneral AtomicsLynx radar and Raytheon AAS-53EO/IR pod supplemented by two underwing RaytheonDAS-2 sensors, controlled directly by oldiers on the ground. (US Army)



Rolls-Royce M250B-12 turboprops and firstflew in October 2009, is presumably in thefive-tonne class. A somewhat larger Mantiswith far more powerful engines and a grossweightof around nine tonnes is expected toform the basis for the British proposal forthe Franco-British Telemos Male drone

programme, assuming that this continuesdespite the current economic climate.

In October2011 theRussianMinistry of Defence awarded the Kazan-based Sokol a$ 66 million contract to develop a twin-turboprop drone grossing around 4750 kg.Theresulting Altiusis dueto fly in 2014.

I HERMES ANDHERONS

As hinted in our introductory paragraph,Most of the market competition in thePredator-A category has come from Israel,notably in the form of the 500 kg IAISearcher II, the550 kg Elbit Systems Hermes

450, the 1180 kg Hermes 900, the 1250 kgIAI Heron I.

By2010Israelhad sold over1,000dronesto 42 countries. The Searcher II wasexported to at least eleven countries,including India (which has purchased over100), Russia and South Korea. The samecompany’s Heron I has been sold to 20overseas customers, including Australia,Canada, France, Germany, India and theUnited States. The Hermes 450 has beenexported to at least eleven countries,including Georgia, Britain and theUnitedStates.

TheHermes 900, which first flew only atthe end of 2009, chalked up its first order –from Heyl Ha Avir – only five months afterits maiden flight. The big advantage of theHermes 900 is that it uses the same groundinfrastructure as the smaller Hermes 450,which the Israeli Air Force operates, of course. Orders have already been receivedby Chile, Colombia andMexico.

IAI is now marketingthe Heron NG with

a newcommunicationssystem, an advancedengine, refined aerodynamics, andupgraded mission and flight computers.The Heron has been shortlisted alongsidethe Hermes900 in Switzerland, which needsa replacement for the Ruag AerospaceRanger, itself a derivative of the IAI Scout.

Final selection is due to take place in thefirst half of 2014.

I ANKA

One newcomer in this category, andprobably a serious future contender giventhe industrial capability of its designer –TAI – is the 1600 kg Anka, which firstflew in December 2010. Featuring a fully retractable landing gear the Anka has aheavy fuel engine, and is capable of anendurance of 24 hours at up to 30,000 ft.The five aircraft built so far (though one isbelieved to have crashed) have beenused to

verif y the aerodynamic confi gurati on,which was finalised in January. TAI is now finalising the terms of the productioncontract for the Turkish Air Force with thegovernment. Should all go according

to plans, TAI is expected to roll out thefirst of 10 productionunits in 2015.

ThePrimary electro-optical sensor of theAnka is the 300T gimballed assembly developed by Aselsan (the 300T already equips the Heron drones operated by Tukey). Theaircraft is also intended to carry a synthetic aperture radar. Also developedby Aselsan, the radar is still underdevelopment and is expected to equip a

specific –B version oftheAnka.According toa recentinterviewheldby the authorwithaTAI official theradaris to be test-flownthissummer. Egypt has also voiced its intentionto acquire tenAnkas.


Carried by theTAIAnka, theAselflir300T gimballedassembly houses a high-resolution

infrared camera, a laser rangefinder-target designator,a laser spot tracker,a colour

cameraand a colour spotter sensor. Fully equippedwith itselectronic and cooling/heatingsuite, the 526mmdiameter

unitweights 93kg. (Aselsan)

The IAI Heron was usedasa basis for the Frencharmed forcesSIDM, inwhich the I again stands for interim.Deployed to Afghanistan, it is known as the Harfang. (Sirpa Air)

Theretractablelandinggear Anka hasevery requireddesign provision to be turned into an

armedaircraft,usingRockesanCirit laser-guided rockets (TAI)



I FALCOEVO

In the near-male category, mention must bemade of the Falco Evo. This projectinitiated at the time of Selex Galileo, hasbeen “on” and “off” for some time, butdisplayed in real-size mock-up form at Idex in February 2013. As its name suggests,the Evo is an evolution of the Falcooriginally developed, produced andexported by Selex Galileo a few years ago.Theproject for a larger versionhad been inthe air for a while when it was moreformally announced by the Italian company

at le Bourget show in 2011. Selex ES (this

time) displayed a full-scale model of theEvo at Idex last February.

What the Evo does, in fact, is to wearextensions to its graceful gull-wings toextendthem from theoriginal 7.2metres to12.5 metres. Inorder to enable the rudder to

counter the increased countering torque

opposed by the considerably longerwingspan, the tail booms also have beenstretched to provide the necessary yaw leverage. The Evo thus tips thescalesat 650kilos (instead of 420 for the Falco) and theresultant payload capacity increase to 100kilos enables the bird to move from a pureelectro-optical observation role to that of adeeper electronic warfare investigator. TheFalco Evo is indeed offered witha variety of sensors, including of course the Selex Picosar synthetic apertureradar fitted in thenose, andthe Sage Elint suite with itssensors

mounted in the aircraft’s wingtips.

I HAMMERHEAD

Talking of Selex ES here commands a few words about a somewhat ambitious projectinvolving the P.180 Avanti aircraft designedby Piaggio and also unveiled at the recentIdex show (one has to remember that theUnited Arab Emirates have a heavy stake inPiaggio).As the picture herewith shows, theidea is toturnthe Avanti intoa full drone (asopposed to optionally pilot-inhabitedaircraft) andcall it theP.1HH Hammerhead.The project actually seems to be pretty advanced and taxi-ing tests were already underway at Idex time (February) and amaiden flight is expected by the end of this


When these pictures were taken at Idex last February, the Falco Evohad aready logged some 18 flight hours. It might prove a cost-effectivenear-Male optionto a numberof nations. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)

A window in the noseof the Falco Evo display model reveals the possible position of the Selex Picosar synthetic aperture radar. The wingtips of theaircraft(see theotherpicture) arean interesting location to housean electronic warfare sigint or elint, suite(Armada/EricH. Biass)



year. Again, with an enduranceof 16 hours,theHammerhead doesnot really matchthelast two letters of the male category designation, though with an operational

altitude of 45,000ft it does comply withthefirst two.

I OTHERS

Quite a fewcompanies are testing their luck onthe male drone market. Betterknown forits target drones (reportedly successfully sold to Russia), for example, Abu Dhabi-based Adcom has for some time now beenworking on the United 40, an umpteenthiteration of the Smart Eye 2, renamed in2012 (on making its début at the DubaiAirshow) to mark the 40th anniversary of theformation of theUnited Arab Emirates.

China has displayed many models at various shows over the recent years, andcreated several Male drones in the one-tonne class. The 1100 kg Avic/ChengduWing Loong (Pterosaur), forexample, lookslike a Chinese copy of the Predator-A, butwitha more practical (BonanzaV-type) tail.The Casc CH-4 is similar though slightly heavier, weighing 1260kg in unarmed (CH-4A) form and 1330 kg in armed (CH-4B)

form. The Harbin BZK-005 is believed tobe inthe 1200kg class.

Russia has been slow to develop largedrones, its interim needs evidently beingsatisfied by the 500 kg IAI Searcher II,licence-built by the Ural Works for CivilAviation (UWCA) as theForpost (Outpost).

In late 2011 the Russian Ministry of Defence announced a contract for the StPetersburg-based Tranzas, to design a droneweighing 600-800 kg. It is believed that thisled to the 640 kg Dozor-600, powered by an85 kW Rotax914 engine. This hasevidently been chosen for development, over the

600 kg Vega Aist (Stork) with two 45 kWengines. The Aist crashed on take-off inJanuary 2010 (see YouTube). Sokol isreported to be developing a drone in theone-tonneclass,namedInokhodyets(Wanderer).

Other Male projects include Brazil’sAvibras-designed Falcão. This now comesunder the aegis of Harpia Systems, which isowned 51% by Embraer, 40% by AELSystems (an Elbit Systems subsidiary) and9% by Avibras). India’s DRDO Rustom 1first flew in November 2009. Iran’s Shared-129appearsto be similar in designto theU-Tacs Watchkeeper.


Amongst the small scalemodels profusely displayedby Chinese companies at major defenceexhibitions,thismodel of theNorincoSkySakerwasshownat Idex 2013.What is happening inChinanever hasbeen clear, but it appears that Norinco hasbeen allowed to takethe Casc CH-4B(see text)and repackage itwitha newmissionsandweapons suite and offer it on the export market. (Armada/EricH. Biass)

TheP-180-based Hammerheadwill feature a higher aspect and reinforcedwing, more powerful 950hp Pratt &Whitney enginesturning lowernoise-generating five-bladeHartzells. Lack of passengersmeanmorecapacity for fuel,andmassiveunpressurised space for sensors and communicationsequipment in thenose andunderbelly stations, and for satcomgear on the upper airframe,not tomention external hard-pointsfor ISRpayload. (Armada/Luca Peruzzi)



I EMERGING

A few interesting projects are emanating

from the so-called “technologically emerging nations”.

One such example is the Shahpardeveloped by the Global Industrial & Defence Solutions company of Pakistan,which we shall abbreviate to Gids forconvenience.

Tactical ISR Pending availability of theMQ-1C Grey Eagle, the US

Army has relied for itsmedium-range ISR on therelatively large 885-kgNorthrop Grumman MQ-5BHunter, of which around 50air vehicles are still in use(here carrying TextronBLU-108 for test purposes).Basically an IAI design, theHunter is operated from runways, and uses two heavy fuel

engines to achieve an endurance of 21 hours at up to18,000 ft. The Hunter has also been operated on a limitedscale by the Belgian and French armies. The US Army plansto begin retiring MQ-5s in 2022.



This in in fact the latest of a series of drones, albeit more convetional and lighterfrom the same company. Met by Armada’sEditor in Abu Dhabi, a company officialexplained that the airframe 0f the 580-kgShahpar was entirely made of carboncomposites. While it is described by thecompany as a canard-configured aircraft, aclose look around it would rather tend toreveal a tandem biplane configuration as theso-called canards are not purely elevatorsbut heavy lift-generating surfacesincorporating trailing edge elevatorsurfaces. The aircraft otherwise features a

deeply cranked delta wing with very thick wing roots against the fuselage and tipsfinished with vertical surfaces. The pusherprop is turned by a 100 hp Rotax. Tippingthe scales at 480 kilos, it is quite clear thatthis composite material airframe bird hasevery required asset to grow into a male.

The Pakistan Air Force is currently operating five Shahpars and five more areexpected to be delivered. The Shahpar wasqualified two years ago and all its avionicsare of Pakistani origin. According to Gids,the Middle-East market seems to offer thebestsales prospects for thetype.

Xi’an ASNTechnology claims to produce90% of China’s drones. The heaviest of itsproducts is the 800 kg ASN-229A, which isdescribed as a “reconnaissance andprecision attack system”. It has anendurance of20 hoursat upto 33,000 ft. Itisnormally rocket-boosted from a ramp and

recovered by parachute, but a model atZhuhai in 2010 had skids (and twounderwing missiles). The ASN-229Aentered service in 2011.

The canard-configuration 630 kg Casc(China Aerospace Science & Technology Corp) CH-3 is in a slightly lighter category.The CH-3 is operated from runways, andmodels have been exhibited with two AR-1laser-homing missiles. In December 2010Pakistan reportedly ordered 20 CH-3s tocomplement its 24 unarmed 420 kg Selex ES(formerly Selex Galileo) Falco drones,which are being supplemented by licence

production at the Pakistan AeronauticalComplex. Jordan and Saudi Arabia also use


ASN Technology produces the 320-kg ASN-209, which - like many Chinese drones – is rocket-launched from a truck and recoveredon skids. The ASN-209 is nowbeing licence- manufactured by AOI at Helwan in Egypt. (Armada/RB)

TheShahpar displayedat Idex by Gids is just short of Male class, having a ceiling of “only”17,000 feet and an endurance of overseven hours.But it has everything init to receive a turbo engine and extra fuel toflyhigherand longer. (Armada/EricH. Biass)

Other aircraft in the Gids stablein Pakistan include this Uqab, also seen here displayedin AbuDhabi last February. This 150 kg drone hasa six-hour endurance, a 150 km/hour maximum speed, and a 9,000 ft ceiling. (Armada/Eric H. Biass)




the Falco, technical data of which isprovidedin ourattached fold-out data table.An extended capabilities Falco is beingproposed (see Males section).

The French Army continues to use theSagem Sperwer (Sparrowhawk) as its SDTI(Système de Drone Tactique Interimaire),

and it is also used by Greece’s Army. Thelatest version is the 330 kg Sperwer II withsix-hour endurance. Production currently covers attrition replacement.

China’s 320 kg ASN-209 has a ten-hourendurance. It is rocket-launched from atruck and recovered onskids. In 2012 it wasannounced that the Arab Organisation forIndustrialization had started licenceproduction of theASN-209 in Egypt.

ASN Technology has developed twodrones in the 220kg class: the ASN-215 withnose-mounted engine, and the moreconventional (fordrones)twin-boom ASN-

206. The latter entered series productionin1996, and was followed by the improvedASN-207.

The 170 kg AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 isused by both the US Army and MarineCorps, rail-launched and recoveringautomatically into an arrester gear. It hasbeen exported to Australia, Italy, PakistanandSweden, andthe larger Shadow 600hasbeen sold to Romania and Turkey. TheShadow MkII (M2) has increased fuel, along-span blended wing, and a new Lycoming heavy fuel engine. Endurance isincreased from nine to 15 hours.

The Shadow is marginally heavier thanthe German Army’s 161 kg RheinmetallKZO, which has likewise been successfully employed in Afghanistan. Pakistan’sIntegrated Dynamics has developed anumber of tactical ISR drones, notably the50 kg Hornet, 80 kg Vision Mk III and the100 kg Vector.

The major aerospace corporations areincreasingly becoming involved in thedrone business. This began with NorthropGrumman acquiring Ryan Aeronauticaland thus Global Hawk, and Boeingacquiring first Insitu with ScanEagle, andthen Frontier Aircraft with theA160.

A drone on which virtually nothing wasknown apart from a few snippets here andthere almost went unnoticedat Idex, hangingas it was above a tight corner of Cassidian’sbooth. It took a sharp eye to read the lettersstencilled on its sides, TR50 Scout. ACassidian official explained that theaircraft isbeingdevelopedto be readyfor procurementin 2014, and that is will undergo extensive

trial in 2013. The four-metre wingspanaircraft is intended to offer an endurance of “tenhourson full throttle, with a speed of180km/hour”. TheTR50 is powered bya 7hp flattwin, weighs 55kg fully loaded and has afuselagelengthof 2.5metres.

I LIGHTER TACTICAL

More recently, Lockheed Martin hasdeveloped a range of drones, notably thehand-launched Desert Hawk III, the quad-

rotor Indigo, the long-range Fury with 16-hours flight duration, and the Stalker. Thislast project is of special interest, because thebaseline battery-powered 7.9 kg Stalker has

an endurance of two hours, whereas the10 kg StalkerXE (extended endurance) witha ruggedized, propane-fuelled SOFC (solid

oxygen fuel cell)can stayaloftforup toeighthours. Stalker is bungee-launched andhas adroppable payload. It is in service withspecialforces “around the world”.

The hand-launched drone category continues to be dominated by AeroVironment products: the 0.34 kgWaspIII, the1.9 kg Raven-B and the6.35kgPuma-AE.

For long term, the US Army would stilllike to have a ‘Rucksack-Portable UAS’ thatcan employ a perch-and-stare mode toextend time-on-station. Although progressis being made in imitating theflight of birds

and insects, the ability to produce a dronethat can perch stably on a wide variety of architectural featuresevidentlycontinues toelude thebest of human brains.

TheCassidian TR50 will havea payload capacity of ten kilos.Launch is by catapult,and recoveryon landing skid, although a parachute back-up is provided.(Armada/EHB)

The 3.63 kg LockheedMartin Desert Hawk IIIisused by British forcesin Afghanistan. A recent

nose-count put the deployed British Desert Hauwk III fleet at 239 airvehicles,despite 412

having been lost in the preceding five years.(Lockheed Martin)



Relatively unknown until recently is theFly Eyes, which has been in servicewiththePolish Special forces in Afghanistan since2010. Originally developed as an artillery support observation drone, this 11 kg

aircraft canbe operatedwith itsengine shutdown for added discretion thanks to itsgliding performances.

Amongst the lighter tactical drones,mention must be made here of yet a new drone from Aselsan(the other onebeing theAri-1T rotordrone featured further on),namely the Muas, or more precisely theMuas 1 and Muas 2, thelatter being a longerwingspan version of the former. Bothotherwise share the same fuselage with amodular, quickly swappable payload. The4.5 kg Muas 1 has a wingspan of 1.8 metresand is hand-launched,while the three-metrespan Muas 2 weighing 8 kg requires acatapult for launch. Both, however landunder parachute although a belly landingoption is available on request.

Few details were provided, however, onthe electric motors used to justify theimportant performance differences thatcannot be explained by wingspan variationonly. Endurance is given as 30 minutes and120 minutes respectively, and operational

range (presumably datalink ranges)as 5 and15 kilometres.

Unsurprisingly, the payload is of Aselsanorigin with uncooled thermal imaging andlaser pointer or daylight video and laserpointer. According to Aselsan questioned atIdef in May, the systems are developed oncompany funds and discussions areunderway with the Turkish authorities.

I MANTIS 13

Thenew IndraMantisis thelatest additiontothe overcrowded light hand-launcheddrones. Ithas already been onmission and is

nowbeinglaunchedon themarket. (Indra)This category is now joined by yet

another new model, from Spain this time.Designated the Mantis and manufacturedby Indra, it has already a number of missions under its belt (presumably testedin Afghanistan)and is now being marketed.Electrically powered it has an endurance of two hours and a ceiling of 12,000ft (4,000metres). The 5.2 kg Mantis has a payloadcapacity of 800 grams and has a datalink range of 25 km. It has a wingspan of 2.1metres, is launched by hand or bungee andbelly lands.

Poland’s eleven-kilogramWB Electronics Fly Eyes hasbeen in service with that nation’s special forces in Afghanistan since 2010. The manufacturer has recently received a follow-on order fortwelve additional systems, including 45 air vehicles, valued at around $ 7.6 million. (Armada/RB)

Thenew AselsanMuas isunder final development

and can be fitted with1.8metreor three-metre

span wings.







capability, namelythe Selex Picosara coupleof years ago.

The S-100 is expected to cross a majormilestone in its continued development inthe near future, not only by showing itsadequacy(stability is a prime consideration)as a carrier fora variety ofsensors (electronicwarfare and sigint are definitely gainingimportance, and an undisclosed operator isalready using itas a lidarcarrier), but also by intelligently adapting a heavy-fuel version of its current Diamond engine yielding thesame power. By being a version of the same

engine with the same mounting points is vitally important as it will enable currentoperators to straight-swap engines on theoccasion of a major overhaul (either due tonormalend-of-life cycle or major repair).

While sales of S-100s to Jordan wasmade public, Schiebel is extremely, not tosayoverly discreetabout some other ones of itscustomers, and it is highlysuspected thatLybia had acquired a few at a time whenGaddafi had generallybeen deemed worthy of trust again duringthe past decade.Othernoteworthy customers include China andparticularly Russia, where the deal waseffectedthrough Gorizont. Known in Russiaas the Air S-100, the Camcopter has beenseen operating from theRubin coast guardcutter. Noteworthy potential customersinclude the Royal Australian Navy that hasdeclared itsintentions to test it.

To our knowledge the S-100 has not yetbeen used as a weapons platform althoughit has been exhibited with a ThalesLightweight Multirole Missile mounted on

its starboard breast hardpoint (hardpointsalso used once to exhibit its capability tocarry EW equipment). However, the recentavailabilityof simpler and lightweight laser-guided Rockets is opening up a new rangeof armament possibilities for suchlightweight carriers.

It is now an open secret, Schiebel islooking into developing a much heaviermachine using the same carbon compositemonocoque structure that would look likea 3-Denlargementof theS-100.

The success of the S-100 Camcopter has

obviously given ideas to many other

companies around the world.Unfortunately for some, these companieswere too large to bring such projects tomaturity. Their size, and thereforeoverheads, not only impact heavily onitems that should remain as cheap aspossible, it also implies politicalissues that

renders any development of this kindmanageable. The mismanagement of evenmuch l arger Europ ean projec tshas clearly proved the point in very recentyears, and the size of a company likeSchiebel is there as a clear reminder thatSynergy is not the god of all solutions.Nevertheless, some projects have beenemerging, then going quiet, and emergingagain over thepast ten years.

I SKELDAR

Sweden has been toying with helo-dronesforquitea while now, andCyb-Aero’s Apid

series of aircraft have been at the origin of quite a few defence rotary-wing droneprogrammes, including Saab’s Skeldar,Schiebel’s Camcopters (for a very shortperiod), Cassidian’s Tanan and Indra’sPelicano,to name but a few.

Like its above-mentioned stablemates,the Saab Skeldarhas gradually moved away from the original Cyb Aero Apid-55 designto morph into a proprietary overalldesign,and has evenchanged designations severaltimes since its inception in 2005 when itwas called the V-150 to be now known asthe 235-kilo maximum take-off weight

SkeldarV-200, featuring, inter alia,a largerrotor. Even the maritime-specific SkeldarM designation has been dropped.The V-200 is still under development andboastsa two-stroke two-cylinder heavy fuelHirth engine developing around 60horsepower. The Skeldar was obviously aimed at attracting interest from theSwedish Army and Navy, but like elsewhere

Thetests with the 30-kilo I-Master actually began on 7 February and ledto several flights – somelasting several hours.As explained by Hans Schiebel to Armada,they particularly highlighted theadvantagesoffered by a hovering-capable aircraft to obtainhigherquality imagery and GMTI returns. The I-Master is better known for being one of the two major payloads installed on theBritish Watchkeeper fixed-wing drone. (Schiebel)

To date Saab hasbuilt twoSkeldarsystems involving an unspecified number of actual aircraft which, according to Saab,haveloggedin theregion of 1,000 flighthoursinall. Tests aresplit between Sweden andtheUnitedStates with onesystemon eithersideof the Atlantic




sinking defence budgets have sharply slowed down developments.

There now is a renewed interest for suchdrones, particularly foruse from frigates thatcannot accommodate full-scale helicoptersto stretch their gaze beyond the horizon,especially that newly developed heavy-fuelenginesseemtobecomingofageandableto

produce as many horses as their petrol-fedcounterparts.The V-200hasan endurance of sixhoursandadatalinkrangeof100km.

The Skeldaris of traditional constructionwith an aluminium backbone and carboncomposite body. For the time being thetwoaircraft aresimilar in configurationand only is maritime-specific gear like dockingequipment fitted for tests. At this stage nospecific electro-optical payload has beendefined (though several have beenintegrated)to leave that choicefully open toanypotential customer,and obviously othersensors arebeinglookedat, such as radars.

I CYB-AERO-AEROVIRONMENT

Mention was made earlier of Cyb-Aero, along-time producer of remotely controlledhelicopters whose originscan be traced back to the 1990s when it was involved in aresearch programme involving Sweden’sMinistry of Defence and the LinköpingUniversity. Oddly enough, it is thedevelopment of machines for the civilianmarket (particularly with the amazingdemand for aerial photography) thatenabled the company to soar and survive,although it has sold a growing number of airframes to a number of large companieswanting to cut corners in their owndevelopment programmes. Needless to say,theaircrafton offer have considerablygrownthrough the year to meet the growing needfor large and larger payloads. The machinecurrently on offer is the Apid 60 able to liftoffa combine weight offuel and payload of75kilos for an overall maximum take-off weightof 180kilos. Standard powerplantis a

Hirth two-stroke fluid-cooled twin, and itcomes with automatic take-off and landingprocedures. Payload options are very muchup to thecustomer, knowing that 700kW of electrical power is ontap.

A major international stepstone for thecompany was announced earlier this year,whenit signed a “strategic partnership” withAerovironment, meaning that the lattercompanywhose reputation nolonger needstobe made worldwide will act as the Swedishmanufacturer’s outlet for the Americanmarket, whether civilian or military. Anorder for$2.5million was announced shortly

after, though no detailswere given as to whatexactly thefigure entailed.

I TANAN

Another Apid user is the Cassidian (néeEads)Tanan, althoughlike the Skeldar, it isclaimed to have evolved in a way that it

“substantially” (sic) differs from theoriginaldesign.After havingbeen deleted inpast issues of this Compendium due to thefact that Eads had wished “not tocommunicate on drones anymore”, thedrone, which at thetime was still unnamed,reappeared as the Tanan 300 at theEuronaval exhibition in Paris in 2012.

Earlier this year, a Cassidian spokesmantold the Editorthat a first demonstration of the Tanan was “planned in the Middle-East this year to demonstrate the fullcapabilities in terms of range andendurance of the prototype with the dieselengine”. Not much is saidabout the engine,other than it is a three cylinder affairyielding 80hp of which 1.7kW are availableto power payloads.

I PELICANO

Next on the “Son of Apid” list is the200-kgPelicano developed by Indra. At least, this

company seemsto be usingthe aircraft,or atleast its airframe, as it came from CybAero saying that it prefers to devote itsefforts to all the aircraft’s systems, autopilotand navigation systems included (aseveryone knows, Indra is pretty solidly anchored in the defence electronics world),

Model of the CassidianTanan helidrone hanging from the ceilingof the Bourgethall during theOctober2012Euronaval exhibition. Strangely, theTanan is never shownstaticallywith its full rotor assembly,which should includea stabilisingflybar.(Armada/EricH. Biass)

According to Indra, the 200kg Pelicano is now ready to hit themarket. It has an autonomy of over sixhoursanda datalink range of150km. (Indra)



AAI TEXTRON C2

DDC 31

ELBIT 11

IAI MALAT 7

L3 Wescam 25

NORTHROP GRUMMAN 17-19

SAAB 27

SCHIEBEL C4

SINGAPORE AIRSHOW C3

TRIMBLE GNSS 15

I INDEX TOADVERTISERS

Compendium Drone 2013Supplement to I ss ue 3/2013 Volume 37, Issue No. 3, June/July 2013

INTERNATIONAL

is published bi-monthly by Media Transasia Ltd.

Copyright 2012 by Media Transasia Ltd.

Publishing Office: Media Transasia Ltd,Room No. 1205-1206, Hollywood Centre 233,Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong.Tel: (852) 2815 9111, Fax: (852) 2815 1933

Editor-in-Chief: Eric H. Biass

Regular Contributors: Roy Braybrook,

Paolo Valpolini, Thomas Withington

Chairman: J.S. Uberoi

President: Xavier Co llaco

Sr.ManagerInternationalMarketing: Vishal MehtaManager InternationalM arketing: Yusuf Azim

Deputy ManagerMarketing: Tarun Malviya

Sales & Marketing Coordinator: Atul Bali

Creative Director: Bipin Kumar

Deputy Art Director: Sachin Jain

Asstt. Art Directors: Mukesh Kumar, Ajay Kumar

Visualis er: Sujit Singh

Production Manager: Kanda Thanakornwongskul

Group Circulation Manager: Porames Chinwongs

ChiefFinancialOfficer: Gaurav Kumar

Advertising Sales Offices AUSTRIA, BENELUX, SWITZERLANDCornelius W. BontjePh: +41 55 216 17 81, [email protected] FRANCEPromotion et Motivation, Odile OrbecPh: +33 1 41 43 83 00, [email protected] GERMANY

Sam Baird Ph: +44 1883 715 697,[email protected] ITALY, NORDIC COUNTRIESEmanuela Castagnetti-GillbergPh: +46 31 799 9028, [email protected] SPAINVía Exclusivas, Macarena Fdez. de GradoPh: +34 91 448 76 22, [email protected] UK, EASTERN EUROPE, GREECE, TURKEYZena CoupéPh: +44 1923 852537, [email protected] RUSSIAAlla Butova, NOVO-Media Ltd,Ph: (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653Email :[email protected] USA (EAST/SOUTH EAST), CANADAMargie Brown, Ph: (540) 341 7581,[email protected] USA (WEST/SOUTH WEST), BRAZILDiane Obright, Ph: (858) 759 3557,[email protected]

ALL OTHER COUNTRIESVishal Mehta, Tel: (91) 124 4759625,Mobile: (91) 99 999 85425, (44) 11 5885 4423,E-Mail: [email protected]

Yusuf Azim, Tel: (91) 124 4759595,Mobile: (91) 96 50 881121, E-Mail: [email protected]

Annual subscription rates:Europe: CHF 186. + 36. (postage)Overseas: USD 186. + 36. (postage)

Controlled circulation: 24,351,certified by ABCHong Kong,valid from1st April2012 to30th June 2012.

Printed by Media Transasia Thailand Ltd.75/8, 14th Floor, Ocean Tower II,Soi Sukhumvit 19, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoeynue,Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.Tel: 66 (0)-2204 2370, Fax: 66 (0)-2204 2390 -1

Subscription Information: Readers should contactthe following address: Subscription Department,Media Transasia Ltd. Room No. 1205-1206, HollywoodCentre 233, Holywood Road, Central, Hong Kong.

Tel: (852) 2815 9111, Fax: (852) 2851 1933

INTERN ATION AL: The trus ted

source for de fence technology

in format ion s ince 1976

D R O N ES

2 013-1 4

b y Compend ium

ONTHE COVER: Certain navies could wellplaya newrole asthemajorusersof largedronesinthefuture.Here theNorthropGrummanX-47B isseen tryingthedeckof theUSSHarry S Truman

forsize in late2012. Theaircraft achievedit firstarrestedlanding (onland) inMay

ABC


A good example is provided by Russia’s Zala Aero who plans to show at MAKS-2013 a subscale model of its 421-V01 Triton nine- metre crew-less trimaran drone carrier,designed to operate up to four fixed- or rotary-wing air vehicles at a radius of up to1400 km from the parent vessel.(illustration: Zala Aero)

Darpa, on the other hand has invited proposals from industry for its Tern

(Tactically Exploited ReconnaissanceNode) launch and recovery system

that would allow a drone carrying a 270 kg payload to operate from an

LCS-2 class vessel to a radius of 1100-1650 km. (Darpa)

I IN THE AIR

Many more projects are flourishing around the world (not only in China).

rather than wasting resources by trying toimprove a proven platform. The aircraft isalso powered by a heavy fuel engine, whichproduces 58 hp and has an endurance of over six hours. The Pelicano is said to have

been undergoing extensive tests since early 2012 and it is now being marketed forMaritime surveillance, antipiracy, border

surveillance and so forth. There does notseem to have been any strong interest fromthe Spanish defence community to date.

A newcomer on the light helidrone scene isTurkey’s Aselsan ARI-1T, first heard of at theIDEF defence exhibition held in Istanbul just

before sending this Compendium to print.Although our reporter Paolo Valpolini wasthere, very few details were made availableother than the fact that a couple of systemscomprising two aircraft each had beendelivered to the Turkish armed forces forevaluation after Idex exhibition time(February). The 38kg max take-off weightARI-1T is said to have a range of 15km(presumably datalink range), and two-hourendurance and an operational ceiling of 10,000ft. It is powered by a two-stroke engineof undisclosed power, flies by following pre-programmed routes (which goes without

saying), but features auto take-off andlanding, plus flies back home automatically in case of datalink disruption.

Freshly hovering the light helidrone scene isthe Ari-1T from Aselsan. Unveiled at Idef inIstanbul in May 2013, it is said to be already under test in the Turkish Armed Forces.(Armada/Paolo Valpolini)





Provide

Stabilized Day and Night EO/IR Gimbal

Date post:	02-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	ulfheidner9103
View:	224 times
Download:	0 times

Compendium April-May 2013a

Documents