UV_AugSep11_Cover:Layout 1 1/8/11 13:01 Page 1

Volume 16 Number 4
August/September 2011

Capability and beyond

Future enhancements for next-generation UAS

NO MORE MODULAR THE LIGHTER

DISMOUNTS? MINIATURES SIDE
UGVs for force protection The demand for SUAS ISR aerostats in focus

www.UVonline.com
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UV_AugSep11_p01_Contents:Layout 1 1/8/11 09:35 Page 1

CONTENTS

Editor 3 Editorial comment

Darren Lake. dl@shephard.co.uk Industry is becoming increasingly frustrated with the
+44 1753 727022
lack of regular access to civilian airspace. Darren Lake
Deputy Editor
Andrew White. aw@shephard.co.uk outlines the hurdles to finding a short-term solution.
+44 1753 727023
North America Editor
Scott R Gourley. srg@shephard.co.uk
News analysis

Editorial Assistant 4 SMSS to deploy to Afghanistan

Beth Stevenson. bcs@shephard.co.uk A review of some of the latest developments from
Contributors
around the unmanned systems industry.
Claire Apthorp, Gordon Arthur,
Adam Baddeley, Pieter Bastiaans,
Angus Batey, Rahul Bedi,
Peter Donaldson, Denis Fedutinov,
11 The burden of proof 40 The Air Mule cometh
José Higuera, William F Owen, Continuing Unmanned Vehicles’ series on opening As developers struggle to convince military
Richard Scott, Tom Withington
up civil airspace to UAVs, Angus Batey reports on customers of new applications for unmanned aircraft,
Production Department Manager
David Hurst. dth@shephard.co.uk the complexities and challenges currently being Andrew White and William F Owen discover how an
Sub-editor faced in the US. Israeli company is developing a twin-fan design to
Adam Wakeling. ajw@shephard.co.uk solve some of the current problems surrounding
Head of Advertising Sales
Mike Wild. mw@shephard.co.uk
16 Tomorrow’s world VTOL UAVs.
+44 1753 727007 As industry works on the next generation of
CEO UAS, end users can look forward to a much 42 No more dismounts?
Alexander Giles
greater range of capabilities, finds Darren Lake. The British armed forces are learning lessons about
Chairman
Nick Prest how unmanned systems can be used in the force
Subscriptions 21 Modular miniatures protection role, reports Andrew White.
Annual rate £65
Tel: +44 1858 438879, Fax: +44 1858 461739 Despite defence budget cutbacks, small UAS
shephardgroup@subscription.co.uk
www.subscription.co.uk/shephard manufacturers are confident that their products 46 The lighter side
Unmanned Vehicles is published six times will remain in demand, reports Beth Stevenson. Aerostats have proven themselves as the unblinking
per year – in February/March, April/May,
June/July, August/September, eyes of the battlefield, and now industry is
October/November and
December/January – by 30 Meeting the demand developing them further, Claire Apthorp discovers.
The Shephard Press Ltd,
268 Bath Road, Slough, Berks, SL1 4DX. As the changing nature of the country’s military
The 2011 US Institutional subscription price
is £65. Air freight and mailing in the USA by
operations calls for a reassessment of service fleets, 51 Replicating the threat
agent named Air Business, Scott R Gourley discusses the latest tactical UAS After several false starts, the USN has selected
c/o Priority Airfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd
Street, Jamaica, NY 11413. Periodical postage developments in the US. CEi’s BQM-167X to meet its requirement for a new
paid at Jamaica, NY 11431. US Postmaster:
Send address changes to Air Business subsonic sea-skimming missile surrogate, Richard
Ltd/Priority Airfreight NY Ltd,
147-29 182nd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413. 35 Shrinking sensors Scott reports.
Subscription records are maintained at
CDS Global, Tower House, Lathkill Street, The miniaturisation of radar is expanding the
Sovereign Park, Market Harborough,
Leicestershire, LE16 9EF, UK. capabilities of smaller UAVs, reports Peter Donaldson. 56 Interview
Air Business Ltd is acting as mailing agent. Darren Lake talks to Frank Pace, president of
Articles contained in this publication may
not be reproduced in any form without the Front cover: The X-47B UCAS-D is one of a number of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, about his
written permission of the publishers.
promising new-generation UAVs in testing or under development.
frustrations regarding export sales and the current
© The Shephard Press Ltd, 2011. (Photo: Northrop Grumman)
ISSN 1351-3478 lack of civil airspace integration.
DTP Vivid Associates, Sutton, Surrey, UK
Print Williams Press, Maidenhead,
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Subscriptions
Shephard’s aerospace & defence publishing portfolio incorporates six titles;
Defence Helicopter, Digital Battlespace, Land Warfare International,
Military Logistics International, RotorHub and Unmanned Vehicles.
The Shephard Press Ltd, Published bi-monthly, each have become respected and renowned for
268 Bath Road, Slough,
Berkshire, SL1 4DX covering global issues within their respective industry sector.
Tel: +44 1753 727001 For more information, including editorial content in the current issues visit;
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shephard.co.uk/magazines.
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Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles

UV_AugSep11_p02.indd 2 01/08/2011 08:18:00
UV_AugSep11_p03_Comment:Layout 1
RESPONSE
Unmanned Vehicles’ editorial team is
always happy to receive comments on
its articles and to hear readers’ views on
the issues raised in the magazine.
Contact details can be found on p1.
www.UVonline.com
1/8/11 09:36 Page 3
No change in sight
As the biggest annual gathering of the
unmanned systems community in North
America rolls around once again, it is a good
time to take the temperature of the industry
on one of the most important issues –
airspace access.
What is clear to Unmanned Vehicles is
that there is an increasing level of frustration
regarding the slow pace of change. Regular
access to airspace continues to be off the
cards for the unmanned community,
despite years of discussion with regulators.
Currently, and despite good work by
the industry association AUVSI, the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) will only begin
tackling the issues in the 2018 timeframe.
That is far too slow for some industry leaders,
such as General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems (see interview, p56).
However, the FAA feels that it is justified
in taking things slowly. As a regulator, its
main responsibility is to ensure that the
airspace is safe for everyone to use –
although one industry official told UV that
if this remit was taken to the extreme, then
it would be safest if nobody was allowed
to fly.
One of the main stumbling blocks in
the US case seems to be the large and
powerful general aviation (GA) lobby.
This group appears to be worried about its
freedom of movement if unmanned systems
were allowed more regular access to the
national airspace.
Those concerns cannot be totally
disregarded. It is likely that any effort to
integrate UAS into the air traffic control
system would entail changes for the GA
community. Potentially, they would need
to have, for example, the Traffic Collision
Avoidance System (or its successor) fitted
IN THE I Utility UGVs
NEXT
I Middle East market
ISSUE
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
EDITORIAL COMMENT
on board their aircraft in order to continue to
fly and be more integrated into the airspace.
That may be difficult for some – nobody
likes their hobby to become more expensive.
However, there is surely a safety and
responsibility case that could be made. If
the FAA’s remit is to make airspace safer,
then asking GA users to meet more stringent
safety requirements should not be an issue.
Yet, this does not seem to be the line that
is being taken by the authority. UAS are still
seen as being inherently dangerous (despite
millions of successful flight hours by various
types) in a way that GA is not.
UV is reminded of a comment made in this
publication by a great unmanned aviation
advocate, the late Laurence Newcome. In
that particular instance, he conjured up a
future in which it was manned flight, reliant
on the individual aptitudes of pilots, that was
restricted to small areas of the sky, while the
safer unmanned airliners and transport
aircraft plied their trade in regular airspace.
That future may be some time off, but there
are reasons to begin a frank debate on how
future airspace changes could afford regular
access to unmanned systems. For the military,
there is the pressing concern of how to operate
once forces return from current operations –
and for the unmanned community, there is
the question of market entry.
Despite some windows of opportunity,
the current restrictions make it difficult, if
not impossible, to develop and sell UAS for
civil applications. The lack of airspace access
makes it difficult to justify investment and to
grow the business.
The UAS community certainly think it’s
time for things to change, but the regulators
still seem in no hurry to get things done.
Darren Lake, Editor
I Micro UAVs
I Target systems
UV_AugSep11_p04-06_News:Layout 1 1/8/11
NEWS
SMSS to deploy to Afghanistan
A small number of SMSS will be deployed to Afghanistan later this year for tactical operations. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
Following several years of testing in
multiple domestic user assessment scenarios,
Lockheed Martin’s Squad Mission Support
System (SMSS) has been selected as sole
winner of the Project Workhorse UGV
competition, managed through the
Robotics Technology Consortium on behalf
of the US Army Rapid Equipping Force.
The programme will result in the
deployment of a small number of the
platforms on tactical operations in
Afghanistan later this year.
According to Don Nimblett, business
development manager for unmanned
systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and
Fire Control, the recently finalised contract
will result in ‘a three-month military utility
assessment of four vehicles, and a field
service representative with a spares package
to support dismounted infantry in-theatre,
as the service evaluates how these vehicles
can support or ease the equipment burden
of deployed troops.
‘We have a fifth vehicle and an engineering
team that will remain in the US at our plant in
Sperwer withdrawn from Dutch Army service
On 29 June, Dutch forces launched the
SAGEM Sperwer short-range tactical UAV for
its final flight. The UAV is one of the victims of
the current wave of defence budget cuts that
are affecting the Netherlands.
Sperwers were first taken into service in
1999 and were operated by 101 RPV Battery,
which conducted 601 flights with the UAV,
amounting to a total of 1,151 flight hours.
Until 1 March 2009, Sperwer was
operational with Dutch forces in Afghanistan
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
15:50 Page 4
Dallas, providing analysis and additional
support to the field service rep in-country.
The army plans to begin the Afghanistan
assessment later this year, after a period of
evaluation and training.’ A government safety
assessment in advance of soldier training
began on 29 June 2011.
Asked about changes between Block 1
SMSS platforms that will be deployed and
those previously displayed at various defence
venues, Nimblett highlighted a number of
alterations to the new prototype designs.
‘First and foremost, the autonomy
capability on the system is much more
reliable and robust, particularly the follower
capability, where you tell it to [track] a soldier
and it “locks on” and follows him around,’ he
explained. ‘Internally, the system has been
hardened for the environment we expect
to encounter in Afghanistan.
‘Each wheel now has lockout hubs. This
is a hydrostatic system – skid steer. It can
basically spin on a dime, but the problem
with that is you can’t tow it. So we put
lockout hubs on each wheel, so now the
(285 flights were made totalling 713 flight
hours). Following this, Aeronautics from
Israel started to provide services to Dutch
ISAF troops with its Aerostars until the
drawdown of forces in Uruzgan Province
in late 2010.
As an interim solution, a limited number
of Insitu ScanEagles will be used, which are
planned to arrive in 2012. A permanent
replacement for Sperwer is expected to
be inducted into service in 2014 or 2015,
soldiers can disengage those, put on the tow
bar – the vehicle comes equipped with this –
and attach it to the HMMWV [High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle], the 2.5t
truck or whatever they have, and they can
tow it at highway speeds.’
The Block 1 prototypes also feature
fewer sensors than earlier designs, an
alteration made possible through the
combination of technologies, such as FLIR
and camera in a single module, and the
temporary elimination of autonomous
vehicle convoy requirements.
‘We now are able to [control] the
vehicle by voice,’ continued Nimblett. ‘All
remote-control functions we can command,
and we are growing the capability to
[manage] the autonomous features. We
have demonstrated that you can order it
to follow someone by voice command –
we will grow that vocabulary over time.’
Additional enhancements include noise
dampening and the demonstrated ability
for SMSS to tow its own trailer.
By Scott R Gourley, California
with a total of ten to twelve systems likely
to be acquired.
In addition to tactical UAVs, the Dutch
DoD is reviving the long sought after
purchase of a MALE UAS consisting of four
aircraft. With Predator variants in service with
a number of European NATO partners, it is
expected that the country’s government will
follow suit and acquire a General Atomics
product in the near future.
By Pieter Bastiaans, Roosendaal
www.UVonline.com
UV_AugSep11_p04-06_News:Layout 1 1/8/11 15:50 Page 5

NEWS

Russia tests manned/ On the web

unmanned integration
In June, an experiment integrating manned
aircraft and UAVs took place in the airspace over
Siversky, a Russian air base located to the south
of St Petersburg.
The flights demonstrated the use of Automatic
Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B)
systems provided with ‘mode 4’ communication
links for the organisation and management of
manned and unmanned air traffic control. The
experiment was run by Russia’s State Research
Institute of Aviation Systems, with the
participation of Transas and NITA.
The manned aircraft used in the test
included Mi-171 and Mi-8 helicopters and
an АС-5МР powered glider. The unmanned
element was provided by a Dozor-100 and
a Zala 421-04M mini-UAV. The ground support
Anglo-French UAV
partnership expected to move
sector involved an ADS-B station manufactured
forward by end of year
by NITA.
18 July 2011
All the aircraft made their manoeuvres executing
the air traffic controller’s commands using voice US sees implications of
communication. The crews participated in the UAS roadmap
flights, and the UAV ground operators observed 29 June 2011
each other on ADS-B situation displays.
Canadian Army plans for
Conflict situations were quickly resolved
expansion of UGV capabilities
by flight controllers, aircraft crews and UAV 29 June 2011
operators. Vladimir Voronov of Transas told
Unmanned Vehicles the experiment showed that UK still trusts ageing
use of International Civil Aviation Organisation- systems for EOD missions
accepted methods and facilities technically 29 June 2011
allow the operation of UAS flights in ‘A’ and
Portugal further advances into
‘C-class’ airspace, and under certain conditions
UAS market
in ‘G-class’ airspace. 24 June 2011
By Denis Fedutinov, Moscow
Elbit nears WAAPS completion
23 June 2011

UAVs assist Empire Challenge highlights US

Arctic Army VTOL shortages

23 June 2011

research Saab remains hopeful

for Skeldar UAV sales
23 June 2011

UAVs have been used for environmental
monitoring by an international scientific expedition
in the Arctic region of Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen.
The decision to carry out such a mission was
taken in October 2010 at the Russian Arctic and
Antarctic Research Institute in St Petersburg, during
an Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme
conference devoted to the exploitation of UAS for
researchers in Arctic areas.
The central aim of the initiative is to improve
understanding of the processes controlling
the distribution of black carbon in the Arctic
atmosphere and its deposition onto snow and
ice surfaces, and the impact this has had on
the climate.
Representatives of nine scientific and research
organisations from France, Germany, Italy, Norway,
Russia and the US participated in the project. Raytheon moves into
next phase of STM tests
The research involved several unmanned systems,
23 June 2011
including a Manta UAV equipped with devices
designed to measure aerosol concentrations, a WAAS widens its stare
CryoWing UAV equipped with a payload designed 22 June 2011
to measure albedo and an Eleron-10 UAV equipped
with a television, IR, photographic equipment and Elisra developing SIGINT
capability for Skylark II
a meteorological measurement device.
22 June 2011
Flights were performed at ambient temperatures
ranging from -12 to +5°С and in moderate snow, Hermes 450 customers sought
with wind speeds reaching 18-19km/s and cloud 21 June 21 2011
ceilings ranging from 200m upwards.
A total of 38 flights was completed, although one Visit
CryoWing was lost and two vehicles were forced to www.UVonline.com
make emergency landings due to engine failures for the full stories and
and loss of electronic guidance. latest news.
By Denis Fedutinov, Moscow

www.UVonline.com Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles

UV_AugSep11_p04-06_News:Layout 1 1/8/11 09:40 Page 6

NEWS

Insitu reveals car boot-sized VTOL UAV

Insitu has debuted its 1.6kg Inceptor
VTOL UAS at the ALEA 2011 convention in
New Orleans.
The miniature helicopter has a 30-minute
endurance and features the option to fit
plug-and-play payloads, including daylight
and IR cameras, in the nose.
The whole system has been designed
to fit in the back of a police patrol car
and be flown from a handheld touchscreen
device, which allows the operator to
indicate the location they need the UAS
to sight.
Development of the Inceptor has been
ongoing for just over two years through
Insitu’s work with Adaptive Flight, which
developed the flight control system.
‘The Inceptor is fully automated, we could
train police officers to fly it in just a couple
of hours,’ said Donald Shinnamon, business
development executive at Insitu and a retired
police officer. ‘We see a wide range of roles.
A regular incident is where officers are called
to look for elderly people who have gone
missing from their care home – they usually
haven’t gone far, but systems like this could
really help find them much more quickly.’
Production models of the Inceptor will
feature a carbon-fibre body, which Insitu says
will be robust enough to withstand regular
operation. Furthermore, if extra flying is
required, fresh batteries can be clipped on
quickly, allowing the UAS to get airborne
again as soon as possible.
‘We don’t see this as a system for
gathering evidence, but a way for police
officers to see what is going on behind a
wall or hedgerow, and assess a situation
before they go into harm’s way,’ explained
Paul McDuffee, business development
executive at Insitu.
‘We envisage not just a role in police
work but parapublic agencies as well,’ added
Shinnamon. ‘Firefighters could use it to find
the hotspots in a blaze – with a [maximum]
altitude of 400ft, it gives you a really good
overview of an incident scene.’
Insitu is pricing the Inceptor at the
same cost as a typical police patrol car –
around $50,000.
By Tony Osborne, New Orleans

French patrol vessel prepares for UAS trials

The Camcopter S-100 will begin sea trials on
board the French Navy’s Gowind class of
offshore patrol vessel (OPV) in the next few
months, according to Neil Hunter, managing
director of Schiebel.
Speaking at the Paris Air Show, where
the VTOL UAV was flying for the second
time, Hunter said that the move signalled
the company’s presence in the maritime
domain, and described ongoing negotiations
with the French Navy as to how its future
business model would progress. Whether
the S-100s are bought or leased has yet
to be decided.
The navy’s L’Adroit OPV, manufactured by
DCNS, is the first European vessel to be
designed and built to carry both UAVs and
USVs, Hunter stressed. The OPV, complete
with UAVs, will be handed over to the end
user by late 2011.
‘The French Navy is already looking
at how it can operate both manned and
unmanned helicopters from the vessel, and
they will be able to do this independently of
each other,’ he explained. The OPV is
understood to have a single landing deck,
and it is capable of storing a Lynx-size
helicopter and two Camcopters.
‘Europe is a very stringent place to fly UAVs
and a much more difficult place to sell them,
but we are getting interest from navies and
are moving more and more into that domain,’
said Hunter. ‘This is the first step in integrating
Camcopter into the ship and maritime
domain in Europe.
‘Globally, there is a continual demand
to know more about and understand
the movements and actions of potential
threats at sea, especially from this size
of vessel.’ Hunter said there was future
potential for UAVs collaborating with
satellite-based reconnaissance, radars
and other sensor systems. The French Navy’s L’adroit will be able to
carry two Camcopter UAVs alongside a
In 2010, Schiebel completed Camcopter
manned helicopter. (Photo: DCNS)
trials with the French DGA agency, achieving
a total of 150 flight hours. Taking place in a and littoral locations, utilising the Thales Agile
‘desert environment’ on the French island 2 EO/IR payload.
of Levant, tests covered surveillance in urban By Andrew White, Paris

UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4 www.UVonline.com

 Safe conduct

www.schiebel.net

At AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2011 - please visit us at Booth # 614.

ISTAR Surveillance Harbour Patrol Search and Rescue Anti Piracy Aerial Mapping

Convoy Protection

UV_AugSep11_p07.indd 7 01/08/2011 08:19:35

UV_AugSep11_p08_News_Analysis:Layout 1 1/8/11 12:28 Page 8

NEWS ANALYSIS

CAA designates area for unmanned flight

For the first time, an area in the UK has been
designated solely for UAS flight by the Civil
Aviation Authority (CAA).
The airspace change proposal (ACP)
for West Wales Airport in Aberporth
was announced on 15 June following
sponsorship from the Welsh government,
and was implemented on 28 July.
The government worked with the CAA
on the effort, and QinetiQ was contracted to
provide technical advice on the application
of the ACP. The company also manages the
MoD’s ParcAberporth unmanned aircraft
facility, and in turn can manage the airspace
if needed.
Ray Mann, the airport’s managing
director, told Unmanned Vehicles that
he felt the project had the backing of the
UAVs are allowed to fly outside the ‘danger zone’ at ParcAberporth over civilian-populated areas.
government, as it sees unmanned flight as
(Image: Welsh Government)
a growth business and a more economic
choice, and believed that the decision had entering service with the British Army. Due to System training will be split between
been thought through carefully. its civil certification, as well as the opening up Boscombe, the primary training ground,
‘We’re looking at any customers – all UAS of the airspace, Watchkeeper is the only UAS and ParcAberporth. The airspace is
operators will be able to use this airspace, allowed to fly in military/civil airspace. designated as a danger zone by the CAA,
and in principle, it serves both civil and Nick Miller, business director of ISTAR and discussions about the new ACP
military,’ he explained. ‘We’ve been pressing and UAV systems at Thales UK, said that started some three to four years ago,
for a particular airspace for some time – equipment has already been delivered to according to Mann.
I think it’s huge.’ Aberporth for training, and the Watchkeeper Aircraft are allowed to fly outside of the
Mann felt this was beneficial to the system ‘will be in-theatre at the end of danger area over civilian urban-populated
whole of the UK, not just Wales, but did not this year’. areas, a first for UAVs, and this is due to
envisage the size of the available airspace the safety nets surrounding the newly
changing in the future. However, he said that II DANGER ZONE designated zone.
it was still able to deal with almost any type Speaking at the Paris Air Show, Miller said: The airspace will be subject to safety
of flight or system. ‘Nobody wants to restrict ‘We have established dedicated facilities. We requirements imposed and regulated by
airspace, but this is a necessity – it is as have an integrated training facility at Larkhill the CAA and the Military Aviation Authority,
flexible as can be,’ he urged. in the UK, and training is now commencing. and unmanned flight will only be activated
According to Mann, this opens up new We have two bits of airspace, which is in the new airspace when scheduled.
avenues for civil unmanned flight, which crucial – Watchkeeper has developed this, The airspace, alongside military flight test
before had encountered difficulties. ‘While and it is the only UK UAS that has done that. permits, represents ‘a major breakthrough for
many systems are military, civilian [ones] are ‘We have ParcAberporth, which has UAV systems, and Watchkeeper is taking that
restricted,’ he explained. our flight test centre, and we have just forward’, according to Miller. The sanctioned
The airport has a 1,200m runway and is in established a dedicated airspace [at] ‘corridor’ of airspace, as he described it, will be
a ‘leading position’ in unmanned flight due Boscombe Down, which is going to be centred on the airport, and will extend inland
to its licensing by the CAA. It is home to the used for collective training, [and] is right 74km to the east, covering an area of 1,300
MoD’s Watchkeeper UAS that is currently over the top of where the Royal Artillery square kilometres.
undergoing tests and evaluations before are operating.’ By Beth Stevenson, London

UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4 www.UVonline.com

 ™

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UV_AugSep11_p09.indd 9 01/08/2011 08:21:25

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UV_AugSep11_p10.indd 10 01/08/2011 08:22:10

TauAd_Shepards_UV_Mag_fp_0711.indd 1 7/27/11 11:50 AM
UV_AugSep11_p11-14_Integration:Layout 1
Continuing Unmanned Vehicles’ series on opening up civil airspace to UAVs, Angus
Batey reports on the complexities and challenges currently being faced in the US.
The burden of proof
NASA’s Ikhana platform is restricted to airspace defined by mission-specific certificates of authorisation. (Photo: NASA)
he complex patchwork of multinational
T initiatives, experimental projects and
piecemeal progress towards airspace
integration in Europe (see UV, Jun-Jul, p13)
is mirrored in the US, where compelling
yet sometimes competing imperatives are
both driving airspace integration forward
and holding progress back.
The key difference may be that while
Europe’s regulators work together in
coalitions, in the US a single body, the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), holds sway.
This has the effect of simplifying the challenge
by removing localised differences
and idiosyncrasies, but because
it is the uncontested sole
authority, a single regulator
can also act as a stronger
barrier to change.
This imaging sensor
package is used by Ikhana
to map the spread of
wildfires in the western US.
(Photo: NASA)
www.UVonline.com
1/8/11 09:41 Page 11
If one complaint is constant in assessing
the move towards integrated airspace in
the US, it is a belief widespread among
unmanned aircraft manufacturers that the
slow speed of progress is hindering the
sector’s overall development.
 COMPLEX CONSIDERATIONS
Looked at from the FAA’s perspective,
though, the problems are complex enough
to require considered consultation and
development. While manufacturers are
understandably keen to develop civil markets
for aircraft already long
since proven as
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
11
NON-SEGREGATED AIRSPACE
military platforms, convincing all aviation
stakeholders that they can be flown in
non-military airspace requires more than
simply pointing to successful missions over
Afghanistan or Iraq.
‘The US has a very large general aviation
community,’ said Les Smith, manager of the
FAA’s Flight Technologies and Procedures
Division. ‘It’s of the order of probably 250,000
aircraft. We still have to accommodate that
community, which has been flying for a
number of years, all the way from the surface
up to 18,000ft.
‘It’s a challenge to integrate unmanned
aircraft into that airspace, especially when
some of those other aircraft don’t even have
transponders. But we’re working with the
industry to find the solution, and the goal,
some day – it’s not going to be in the near
future – would be to have full file-and-fly
capability for unmanned aircraft. But it’s
going to take a lot of work, both on our
side and on the industry’s side, to come
up with the technology that will allow that
to happen.’ 
UV_AugSep11_p11-14_Integration:Layout 1
12
NON-SEGREGATED AIRSPACE
To understand the forces shaping
airspace integration in the US, it is necessary
to examine the present regulatory framework,
and how the operator, manufacturer and
regulatory communities are working within
it. The FAA, as ultimate arbiter of what can
fly in US airspace, looks essentially at two
elements – the airworthiness of the vehicles,
and the operation of the airspace they fly in.
 CERTIFIED SYSTEMS
Before any aircraft – manned or unmanned,
remotely piloted or autonomous – can fly
legally in US national airspace, the FAA has
to certify it as airworthy and, just as with a
manned platform, that certification process
applies to the entire system.
Just as, for example, a fly-by-wire system
that electronically transfers pilot instructions
to control surfaces on a conventional airliner
would have to achieve FAA certification in
and of itself, so a UAV’s data links will have to
achieve subsystem certification before they
can be approved for use. The versatility of UAS
makes this process perhaps more frustrating
for manufacturers than is the case for manned
aircraft – every time a new sensor payload is
integrated into an airframe, new safety
certification has to be issued.
At present, the military self-certifies its
aircraft, manned and unmanned alike. An
absence of rules to define civil certification
for UAS appears to be one area where
airframers and regulator have yet to
harmonise their interactions.
‘We could certify under civil rules if they
were defined,’ said Ed Walby, business
development manager for Northrop
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
1/8/11 09:41 Page 12
Airspace restrictions are
deterring potential customers
from using Ikhana as a research
platform. (Photo: NASA)
Grumman’s Global Hawk. ‘It is impossible
today for any unmanned system to certify
as a civil aircraft – because, by definition, it
has to have a pilot.’
‘We don’t believe that’s true,’ responded
Smith. ‘The requirement is that it has to have
a pilot, but the fact is there is a pilot, there is a
cockpit. That cockpit just happens to be on
the ground. Now, the data links between that
cockpit and the aircraft would probably have
to meet a fairly high reliability standard, but
the fact is that we do have standards out
there today.’
 SEGREGATION LAWS
Once an unmanned system has been
certified, it can still, under present legislation,
only fly in segregated airspace – typically, the
boxes that exist over military air ranges. Flying
UAS in the national airspace (NAS) is therefore
achieved by temporary segregation – for
example, allowing a high-flying UAS to transit
lower-level NAS en route to and from its
operating altitude – or by the issuance of
certificates of authorisation (CoAs), which turn
boxes of normal airspace into restricted zones
for the duration of a particular project.
‘Once those UAS are within those special-
use areas, then what we call range rules apply,’
said Dennis Roberts, director of airspace
services for the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization
(ATO). ‘Range rules are the DoD and operators’
rules of engagement. But that is very
segregated airspace that non-participating
aircraft are not authorised within.’
At the moment, therefore, efforts are
proceeding through the collection of data
from experimental flying under CoAs. A series
of individual projects, run by different
companies at different sites using different
platforms, and with different goals and
outcomes, are gradually helping to build
a solid information base that will prove
the ability to safely integrate UAS into
civilian airspace.
‘Our goal here, long-term, is to integrate,
not segregate,’ said Roberts. ‘We’d like to get
to the point where we can integrate these
aircraft into the NAS. But there is a lot of
technology and a lot of safety work that
needs to be done so that we can assure
that we are able to reach and maintain the
appropriate levels of safety.’
 SPOKE TOO SOON
While the existence of the CoA regime does
at least make experimental programmes
possible, the nature of the process has often
put significant brakes on even the most
demonstrably beneficial projects. Since 2007,
NASA’s Dryden Research Center, at Edwards
AFB, California, has flown a modified General
Atomics Predator B (Reaper), which it calls
Ikhana, as part of the Western States Fire
Mission project to map the spread of wildfires
that threaten homes, businesses and people
every summer. The mission is a perfect fit for
the unmanned platform, which can fly over
fire-hit areas without the smoke inhalation
and other risks that affect manned platforms,
and with much greater on-task persistence.
However, the initial plans for a series of
segregated airspace ‘spokes’ radiating from
the military ‘hub’ of Edwards had to be scaled
back during initial CoA negotiations, meaning
that the number of places Ikhana could fly to
and over were fewer than mission planners
had initially hoped. Furthermore, each CoA is
mission-specific, and while the speed of
issuance has increased, Ikhana is still not as
quickly responsive to developing wildfires
as a manned platform, with its file-and-fly
capability, could be.
‘Ikhana has successfully obtained renewals
[of its CoA] from the FAA,’ said Mauricio Rivas,
NASA Dryden’s Ikhana project manager. ‘If
called upon, Ikhana can be ready to 
www.UVonline.com
 That’s the date the world’s first
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Wales is bringing manned and
unmanned integration one step closer
with the creation of a unique overland
and marine operating environment,
making possible routine UAS test and
demonstration, multiple operations and
accommodating different aircraft types.
This represents the latest building
block the Welsh Government is putting
in place to support the growth of
intelligent systems through the creation
of facilities like ParcAberporth – Europe’s
only unmanned systems technology
park with a UAS enabled airport.
It’s part of our broader strategy
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Not bad for a country
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Find out how this small,
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Meet us at AUVSI 2011, booth 1841,
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UV_AugSep11_p13.indd
New Wales Cymru AUVSI13 Advert.indd 1 01/08/2011 08:23:15
29/07/2011 09:10
UV_AugSep11_p11-14_Integration:Layout 1
14
NON-SEGREGATED AIRSPACE
AAI and GE are using a Shadow UAS to trial a flight management system that
could clear the way to unmanned flight in national airspace. (Photo: AAI)
support within 48 hours, and the FAA has
proven most co-operative to help us operate
within the extensive CoA-approved airspace
we have.
‘Though the CoA renewal process has
worked for us as far as being ready to support
the fire mission, the nine-to-eleven-month
expected duration of the new CoA application
process has deterred some customers from
choosing Ikhana as their research platform.
The CoA is not just specific to a platform, but
also to the payload and the flight paths to be
used, so a new CoA has to be obtained for
any new mission.’
 GET SET FOR DATA
Another recent example of a CoA-enabled
integration test programme is one undertaken
by AAI and General Electric (GE), where a
Shadow UAS has been flying from Hatch
Municipal Airport, New Mexico, in CoA-defined
airspace. While this is just one of several such
efforts taking place in the US, AAI’s director of
UAS airspace integration, Rose Mooney (who
is also president of the industry-wide UAS
lobbying body, UNITE), points out that the
flights are helping produce a rich and coherent
data set from which binding national
standards and procedures can be built.
‘Although they do appear to be islands,’
she said of the many seemingly isolated
experimental projects, ‘the tests are being fed
to the FAA, and there is an overall plan that
they’re developing on how to utilise all these
places and not duplicate efforts, but actually
push the initiatives forward.’
The purpose of the Shadow project is to
validate and prove the safe utility of a flight
management system (FMS) developed by
GE, which proves that even a relatively small
unmanned platform could be controlled
using the same practices and procedures that
apply to manned aircraft. ‘One of the very
encouraging things was we could show that
even the Shadow could be flown with
standard RNAV and RNP [instrument flying]
approaches, and four-dimensional algorithms,’
said Mooney. ‘It’s predictable, and you know
what it’s doing.’
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
1/8/11 13:30 Page 14
Inherent in such an approach is a
rethinking of the single largest obstacle
currently blocking the path to airspace
integration – the lack of a technical solution to
the ‘sense-and-avoid’ problem. Conventional
wisdom has held that until unmanned
systems can be fielded with a sensor suite
capable of replicating the situational
awareness of a pilot in the cockpit – and
thereby offering the same ability to move
the aircraft out of danger in real time, in the
event of a near-collision situation – airspace
integration will remain an impossible dream.
But Mooney is among those arguing that a
significant rethink is already under way.
‘I believe that there are multiple ways to
solve the sense-and-avoid problem,’ she said.
‘In my opinion, it’s going to be a multi-sensor
solution, and at this point, the window is
opening up for multiple solutions. In my
opinion, there’s not going to be one solution
that will solve sense and avoid. It depends on
the size of the aircraft, the class of airspace
you’re flying in, and the mission you’re trying
to perform. It’ll end up being a combination
of things like the GE FMS solution, along
with some kind of visual solution and radar.
Although it’s been the holy grail of the
unmanned world, I do believe people are
starting to open up their minds to a multi-
sensor solution.’
 OUTSIDE THE BOX
The dilemma at the heart of airspace
integration is summed up neatly by
Chuck Johnson, project manager for NASA
Dryden’s UAS Integration in the National
Airspace project.
‘In order to obtain routine civil
access,’ he said, ‘a body of data – analysis,
simulations and flight data collection –
must be generated and delivered to the
FAA. This body of work must be enough
to convince the FAA, and the public, that
routine UAS operations are at least as safe
as manned aircraft. The UAS community has
done a lot of analysis and some simulations,
but very little flight testing. In order to
validate the analysis and simulations,
there needs to be sufficient flight testing in a
relevant environment.’
Yet under the CoA system, flights are
by definition taking place outside the NAS,
as the CoA applies temporary and carefully
defined restrictions to airspace usage. The
process seems analogous to declaring a
new land vehicle roadworthy – extensive
testing on private land will prove its utility
and durability – but the platform’s safe
interaction with other road traffic cannot
be definitively proven until that interaction
starts to take place.
 ACCEPTANCE CODE
The stakes are even higher for
unmanned aircraft, where widespread
public understanding of the vehicles and
acceptance of their routine civilian use have
yet to be achieved. The difficulties will only
be overcome by concerted efforts of all
stakeholders – but it will take time.
‘We’re working with the DoD to take
advantage of the gains that they’ve made
with unmanned aircraft over the years,’ said
Smith. ‘They’ve done a phenomenal job flying
those aircraft on the specific missions they
were designed for. It’s to our advantage to
take the operational experience, safety data
and the work they’ve done on developing
the standards they deem necessary to fly
those aircraft. It’ll be a collaborative effort
with both the military and industry to bring
this to a conclusion.’
Yet the question remains as to whether,
in the present economic climate, airspace
integration is a sufficiently desirable goal. It is
clearly something developers, manufacturers
and users of UAS need urgently, but there is
acceptance even within the unmanned
community that a wider public appetite
may not be there. While the establishment
of an Unmanned Systems Caucus in the US
Congress suggests the country’s legislature
has earmarked wider UAS usage as a key
national issue, even influential industry
leaders are cautious about ascribing a high
federal priority to airspace integration.
(See also interview with Frank Pace on p56.) UV
www.UVonline.com
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UV_AugSep11_p15.indd 15 01/08/2011 08:23:55

UV_AugSep11_p16-18_Next_Gen:Layout 1 1/8/11
16
FUTURE TECHNOLOGY
Tomorrow’s
world As industry works on the next generation of UAS,
end users can look forward to a much greater
range of capabilities, finds Darren Lake.
n recent years, people have become
I accustomed to seeing UAVs being used
for military applications and, increasingly,
in civilian roles. Unmanned systems have
begun to creep into the popular
consciousness as newspapers regularly
report ‘drone strikes’ and academics and
commentators struggle to conceptualise
how the technology could impact on a
variety of human endeavours.
However, even as the general public
gets used to the activities of the current
generation of UAVs, industry developers
are beginning to look at what advances in
technology will allow them to achieve in
the future. The next wave of UAS are,
in many cases, already off the drawing
board and beginning to manifest
themselves in various test programmes
and special projects.
With that in mind, it is timely to reflect
on how these systems will expand the
envelope in which UAS operate, and what
new capabilities they will be able to deliver
to both military and civilian communities.
‘The challenge as we move forward is
reducing the manpower required to operate
unmanned systems. Reducing manpower
will help increase the affordability of these
systems overall. The key question is: “Where is
the best place, for a given mission, to position
the man in the loop?”The answer to this
question is driven by connectivity, autonomy
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
11:42 Page 16
and the inherent John Boyd “observe-orient-
decide-act” loop execution process,’ said Alton
Romig, VP and general manager of advanced
development programmes at Lockheed
Martin Aeronautics.
 ENTER THE UCAV
The majority of the current generation of
military UAS were designed primarily as
surveillance assets. However, as they were
deployed the obvious step of arming some
of the larger platforms became clear – but
this represented no more than ad-hoc
development of existing aircraft types.
Only as military planners have begun
to look at the next generation of UAS has
there been a concerted effort to analyse
the potential of developing dedicated strike
platforms, and there are a number of major
UCAV projects now under way.
In the US, the main declared
government-funded activity is centred
on the USN’s Unmanned Combat Air System
Demonstration (UCAS-D). The airframe for
the project, the X-47B, is being developed by
defence industry giant Northrop Grumman.
The first flight of the aircraft was
successfully undertaken on 4 February
this year at Edwards AFB, California and the
company is in the middle of further flight
trials. The primary purpose of the project is to
prove the viability of operating a large UCAV
from an aircraft carrier.
As well as the aircraft itself, the programme
covers a number of elements that look at deck
handling and carrier landings. To prove some
of the software, the first underway carrier
recovery using an F/A-18D as a surrogate for
the X-47B was achieved on 2 July.
Speaking recently to Unmanned Vehicles
(June-July 2011, p44), navy programme
manager Capt Jaime Engdahl stated: ‘We
must demonstrate this inside the concept of
operations used around the aircraft carrier
today. This gives us the capability to do what
we want.’
The X-47B is not the only UCAV design
in the works in the US. Boeing lost out to
Northrop on the navy project, but recognising
the value of continuing with development
of its competing design, the company’s
Phantom Works advanced projects division
achieved the first flight of its Phantom Ray
prototype in April this year.
‘We have to innovate to compete,’ stated
Darryl Davis, president of Phantom Works,
and he sees the continuing work with
Phantom Ray as part of that process. ‘We’re
using that platform as a testbed for a number
of opportunities.’The company is hopeful it
can elbow its way back in with the USN on
www.UVonline.com
UV_AugSep11_p16-18_Next_Gen:Layout 1
A second Global Observer will be ready to fly later this year after the crash of the first aircraft. (Image: AeroVironment)
the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne
Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system,
which is likely to follow on from UCAS-D.
In Europe, UCAV activities are centred
on two main projects. The first of these is
the collaborative Neuron effort, which
involves a number of countries. The first
flight of the UAV, which is being jointly
developed by Sweden’s Saab, Dassault
Aviation in France, the Spanish arm of EADS,
Ruag in Switzerland, Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica
and Greek aerospace manufacturer HAI, is
expected to be in the middle of next year.
UK industry is going it alone with
the MoD-funded Taranis demonstrator
programme. The aircraft was officially unveiled
at BAE Systems’Warton facility in July. Team
Taranis, which comprises BAE, GE Aviation,
QinetiQ and Rolls-Royce, won a £124.5 million
($204 million) contract in December 2006 to
design and develop the UCAV, and flight
trials are scheduled to begin this year.
 MALE SURVEILLANCE
Future MALE systems are also garnering
increased interest on both sides of the
Atlantic, as well as in the other UAS
development heartland of Israel. Speaking to
www.UVonline.com
1/8/11 11:42 Page 17
UV at the Paris Air Show, IAI Malat’s general
manager Roni Segal said that the company
was continuing to develop its Heron TP UAS.
‘The UAV is operational with the Israeli Air
Force, and we are in discussion with a number
of European countries on acquiring the
aircraft. Our philosophy is to cooperate with
local industry,’ he stated.
However, in some cases local industry
has its own ideas. The competition to provide
the next generation in Europe is beginning
to take shape, with local aerospace giants
looking to be well placed. BAE Systems has
joined forces with Dassault to develop the
Telemos UAS to offer against a nascent
Anglo-French MALE requirement. Cassidian,
the EADS defence and security division, is also
keenly aware that it needs to have a presence
in this market and is developing its own
Talarion MALE platform.
Despite these nascent capabilities, there
are currently only a small number of true
MALE UAS available. Beyond IAI’s Heron
TP, the other major system is the General
Atomics (GA) Predator family. GA recently
closed its Predator A line, but is continuing
development of its Predator B models (Reaper
and Sky Warrior) for the USAF and US Army.
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
17
FUTURE TECHNOLOGY
However, in the US the major development
houses are now focused on what comes after
Predator B in the MALE class. UCLASS is one
of the projects of focus, alongside the USAF’s
MQ-X initiative.
According to Frank Pace, president of
GA Aeronautical Systems, the company is
continuing the development of its jet-engined
Avenger. ‘Avenger is a key airplane for us.
It’s our first step in to a jet aircraft,’ he stated.
Moving from prop-driven to jet-propelled
MALEs would give added benefits in terms of
range and speed, but at the probable expense
of operating endurance.
 FUTURE LONGING
The current generation of larger UAS have
impressive levels of endurance, in many
cases being able to stay aloft for more than 24
hours. However, industry believes it can do
even better. In the US, the pursuit of ever
greater endurance is being led by
AeroVironment and Boeing.
AeroVironment has developed a hydrogen-
powered UAS dubbed Global Observer
under a DARPA joint capability technology
demonstration. The first flight of the type
was conducted last year, but early in 2011 
UV_AugSep11_p16-18_Next_Gen:Layout 1 1/8/11
18
FUTURE TECHNOLOGY
the project suffered a setback when an aircraft
crashed during a test mission on 1 April.
However, speaking to UV at the Paris Air
Show, Roy Minson, AeroVironment’s VP
business development and deputy general
manager for UAS, said that Global Observer
would be back in the air by the end of the year,
with a new aircraft ready to go in the hangar.
'We are just working through the safety case
with the USAF and we are sure that it wasn't
a technical problem,' he stated.
Boeing is hot on the endurance heels
of AeroVironment with its Phantom Eye
hydrogen-powered UAS. ‘That airplane was
built with about 12 people. We’re trying to
prototype not just the solution itself, but how
would you deliver it, how would you field it
and how would you sustain it creatively,’ Davis
stated. As UV went to press, the first flight of
Phantom Eye was announced for August, with
the expectation that the test programme
would ramp up to a 96-hour demonstration
flight at over 60,000ft by the fourth quarter.
Turning to a different kind of long-
endurance solution, QinetiQ is one of the
companies taking a serious look at the
potential of solar-powered UAVs. By necessity,
such aircraft are currently a lot smaller than
hydrogen-powered systems. Last year, the
company achieved a world record when it was
able to keep its Zephyr UAV aloft for 336 hours.
A Lockheed Martin concept for an advanced
VTOL UCAV. (Image: Lockheed Martin)
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
15:51 Page 18
The jet-propelled Avenger is General Atomics’ next-generation MALE offering. (Photo: General Atomics)
 SMALL BUT PERFECT
One of the things that will decide whether
small, light UAS like Zephyr have a future
is whether they can be fitted with useful
payloads. It is not enough just to stay aloft
for days – the aircraft has to be able to
perform some useful task while airborne.
Fortunately, advanced payload design is
taking into consideration the issues of both
power and weight. There is a rapid move
towards the miniaturisation of a variety
of sensor and communications payloads
that is benefiting tactical and small UAS.
Relatively small aircraft can now be fitted with
sophisticated EO/IR gimbals or radar payloads.
Similarly, the weight and power of
communications systems is also being
reduced. One of the hopes for projects such as
Global Observer and Zephyr is that they could
act as communications relays, either to plug
gaps in SATCOM coverage or replace that
capability in a satellite-denied environment.
 GREATER AUTONOMY
Beyond the various aircraft platforms
themselves, a lot of attention is also being
devoted to how to make systems smarter.
Greater levels of autonomy are seen as a key
discriminator for future UAS. However, one of
the big issues that may limit the operation of
autonomous aircraft is trust from the rest of
the aviation community.
Already, UAS flight is constrained by
regulators and powerful lobbies such as the
US general aviation community (see p11-14).
Asking such interest groups to trust systems to
pilot themselves and make decisions on flight
paths and other critical issues may be a leap
too far for some people.
If UAS are to really break through into
widespread civil use, greater levels of both
automatic flight and autonomy are required.
Few civilian organisations can afford the kind
of detailed training that is necessary for the
current generation of military UAS pilots.
Already some civilian sectors, such as
law enforcement, are clamouring for the
type of capabilities provided by UAS.
Manufacturers also see a potentially large
future market everywhere from agriculture
and environmental monitoring to commercial
transport. The kind of intelligent automatic
flight being developed by companies such
as Rockwell Collins will be key to making
this a reality.
 WHERE NEXT?
There are a number of exciting next-
generation UAS starting to visibly take shape.
However, like the tip of an iceberg this is
only a small fraction of overall activity. The
existence of the Lockheed Martin Skunk
Works-developed RQ-170 UAS remained
under wraps for an extended period, so it
will be interesting to see what other systems
break cover in the future following lengthy
secret development.
‘We see the UAS marketplace continuing
to evolve, with the constant being the need
for affordable solutions. We are focused
on a balance of capabilities to maximise
usefulness across the spectrum of operations
and strive to deliver them at reduced cost.
For example, we see a need to balance
ISR/persistence/actionable information
and data with minimal manpower. All that
being said, affordability will continue to be a
significant driver in the definition of future
capability. Any capability must buy its way
into the force structure,’ stated Romig.
‘[We have] been working software reuse, a
competition producing open/plug-and-play
architectures, autonomy development and
demonstrations and an advanced composite
thrust which promises to dramatically reduce
programme costs across all acquisition
phases, including design, tooling, fabrications,
assembly, test, maintenance and sustainment,
all with total system affordability in mind.
The mission characteristics of persistence,
stealth and speed are always kept at the
forefront of [our] thinking.’
In the meantime, the unmanned systems
community and the wider public can look
forward to a future that is likely to include fully
developed strike platforms, long-endurance
systems, and UAVs that will begin to take
many of their flight decisions themselves. UV
www.UVonline.com
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 shephard.co.uk/events

Exhibition & Conference

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Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, India

All Indian military and government personnel are invited to attend free of charge

Senior conference speakers confirmed include:

> Dr V K Saraswat, Director General, Defence Research and
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> Lieutenant General D S Chauhan, Director General
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MILITARY REVIEW
UV_AugSep11_p21-26_SUAS:Layout 1 1/8/11 09:49 Page 21

21

Despite defence budget cutbacks, small UAS SMALL UAS

manufacturers are confident that their products
will remain in demand, reports Beth Stevenson.

Modular
miniatures

Lockheed Martin’s Desert Hawk is leading the way in miniaturised payload technology with a 360° IR turret. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)

mall UAVs (SUAVs) receive far less the constant ISR coverage previously a ‘unique’ 360° IR turret payload to the aircraft

S attention than their larger counterparts,

despite there being many more of
them in day-to-day use, according to Daniel
Goure, VP of the Lexington Institute.
‘These SUAVs provide most of the
route surveillance for US convoys in Iraq
and Afghanistan, spy on hostile forces
and even support naval operations,’ he
explained. ‘They are relatively simple and
cheap to operate and provide critical
information to warfighters in direct
contact with hostile forces.’
Although each company deems its
products to have the advantage, they all
seem to be reading off the same hymn
sheet when it comes to acknowledging the
necessity of small UAS (SUAS) capabilities.
With platforms of this kind having been
produced internationally for the recent
conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, smaller,
more affordable systems with modular
capabilities are now equipped to provide
handled by larger aircraft.
‘In the future, depending on what
feedback we get back from the user, a lot of
payloads in larger UAS could be miniaturised
to fit into a Desert Hawk III-type aircraft,’ Bill
Daly, business development lead for the
Desert Hawk at Lockheed Martin, told
Unmanned Vehicles.
‘With all the defence budget cuts, one
thing that will always remain a requirement
is to have overhead ISR coverage of troops on
the ground. An inexpensive yet effective way
of doing that is to have unmanned assets,
because manned assets, helicopters and
fixed-wing aircraft, can be expensive for a
government or service to not only purchase,
but maintain.’
 A BETTER VIEW
Lockheed Martin, which has provided the
current configuration (the third) of its Desert
Hawk to UK forces since 2006, has introduced
in its effort to integrate technology typically
seen on larger systems.
‘You can pull out that modular payload of
360°colourEOand10xzoomandplugina360°
IR turret, and that’s pretty unique in a hand-
launched SUAS,’ claimed Daly. ‘Desert Hawk is
the first aircraft in its class to crack that nut.
‘Our engineering team came up with that
about a year and a half ago, and it has been
flying in-theatre with UK forces since last year.
It has significantly increased mobility and
operational effectiveness at night since
receiving 360° IR capability.’
The system previously had an IR camera
inside, but not one with full coverage. Due
to the design of the aircraft and the surface
area of the wings, the SUAS can fly in winds
of up to 25kt, which is advantageous in
Afghanistan and a feature Daly considered
to be essential to the system.
Despite the confidence he has in both the
system and the market, he also added 

www.UVonline.com Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles

UV_AugSep11_p21-26_SUAS:Layout 1 1/8/11
22
SMALL UAS
that Lockheed Martin has cut the cost of the
Desert Hawk by 14% over the past year, and
is planning on further reductions over the
next 12 months.
Since its first deployment in Iraq, Insitu’s
ScanEagle small tactical UAS (STUAS) has
flown some 500,000 combat hours, collecting
high-quality video images from an operating
distance of up to 160km, and has the ability
to remain airborne for 24 hours.
This is more than twice the time of the
average mission, according to Insitu, so the
system can respond to the unexpected,
capturing ‘superior’ image coverage at
relatively low altitudes.
Riding on the success of the ScanEagle,
the company won the USN and USMC
competition to develop a new STUAS in
2010, and its offering, the Integrator, is
expected to be delivered some time this year.
The USMC deems it imperative to coordinate
air and ground operations, as well as having
communications relay, EO/IR, laser designator
and rangefinder capabilities, which will be
key features of the Integrator.
 MOVING FORWARD
In a further example, Israeli company
Elbit Systems recently announced a new
capability for its Skylark I LE, the Forward
Ground Control System (FGCS).
‘It is a very small ground control system
which is fully integrated into the soldier’s
suit, and it provides a very convenient,
lightweight operational GCS for highly
deploying and manoeuvring units,’ Danny
Israeli, VP of business development and
marketing for UAS at Elbit, told UV.
The new system is 15kg lighter than the
standard Skylark ground control system, and
uses the company’s Dominator hardware to
control and operate the UAS.
The Skylark was first developed in 2004,
and although it is now in its third generation,
Israeli said of the programme: ‘We have just
scratched the top level. I believe we are still in
the first stages of the UAV market – most of
the countries worldwide do not yet have
operational UAV systems.
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
09:49 Page 22
Elbit is enhancing the operability of its Skylark with the introduction of the new Forward GCS.
(Photo: Elbit)
‘Right now we have a big programme
with a new generation of the Skylark I LE for
the IDF, in which we are introducing some
advanced capabilities, in terms of flying in
GPS-denied areas, coping with adverse
weather conditions and other features.’
The system has been deployed in
theatres such as Afghanistan, Iraq and
Lebanon in a close-range surveillance and
intelligence-gathering role at battalion level.
It has a three-hour endurance, 30km range
and some 20 customers worldwide, with
the IDF being the largest user.
‘The Skylark is a mini-UAV that benefits
from capabilities we can bring from the
bigger systems with very advanced
properties and features,’ Israeli commented.
‘So that’s also an advantage we have as a
leading UAV manufacturer – I think our
size is an advantage.’
 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
Israeli said that AeroVironment is its biggest
competitor in the US, as it is a ‘big [supplier]
to the US Army’. Despite defence cuts, the
US company deems SUAS to be ‘very capable
systems’ that are required whether or not
the budget is there.
Roy Minson, VP of business development
and deputy general manager of UAS at
AeroVironment, said he is confident the
company, which specialises in the smaller
end of the UAV market, has a wide
enough range of capabilities to deal with the
budget cutbacks.
‘I think for value and capability, SUAS
are very capable systems if you look at
it from a value proposition, and at the same
time the value is definitely there. [If] you start
trading off other weapon systems – and I
won’t name them – you could buy quite a
few SUAS that potentially give you maybe
not the same capability, but in some cases
even better capability based upon the
mission requirements. So I think we’ll
continue to see a growing market.’
In the SUAS category, the company has
the Raven, Puma AE (All Environment), a GCS
and its micro-UAV, the Wasp. It has delivered
some 6,000 of its Raven systems to the US
Army, equivalent to 18,000 aircraft.
Minson said Raven has been in production
‘for quite some time. We’re just completing
most of our digital data-link upgrades to the
Raven. I think next year we’ll finish the whole
transition of the family over to digital.’
The newest UAS, the 5kg Puma, is used at
high altitudes in Afghanistan, and a total of
72 systems have so far been delivered to the
US Army. It is the first system with an EO/IR
camera that has a full gimbal on it, and it
provides auto-tracking and a two-hour
duration with an AeroVironment payload.
Minson said that there are ‘no major issues’
with the platform, and the video produced
by the system is ‘near Predator-class’ 
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UV_AugSep11_p21-26_SUAS:Layout 1 1/8/11
24
SMALL UAS
because of the ‘near-HD quality’ of the
camera. ‘In general, I think we’re really seeing
a good pool for Puma,’ he said. ‘[It is] setting
the stage for expanding the ISR missions
for the warfighter – the first platform that’s
all-environment.’
Expanding on how smaller systems are
now becoming capable of missions typically
restricted to larger platforms, he added: ‘If
you think in terms of video stability and
those kinds of things, that used to be the
home of Tier 2, [and] we’re going to have
that on the Wasp.’
 SIZE ADVANTAGE
With Elbit considering the Skylark I LE to
be the leading mini-UAV outside the US,
another Israeli company, Innocon, considers its
solution, and the size of its business, to be an
advantage when it comes to producing SUASs.
Michael Armon, CEO of Innocon, told UV,
with regard to larger UAS manufacturers,
that the flexibility, speed and price at which
Innocon can produce an SUAS is important to
the customer, and although he sees growth in
Data link upgrades to AeroVironment’s Raven will see its UAS family go all-digital. (Photo: US Army)
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
09:49 Page 24
‘Hyperspectral is a very
popular thing to talk about
in terms of sensing.’
this area, he still wants to be able to offer the
same service.
‘Small companies can give the same
answer with fewer overheads,’ he said. ‘Bigger
companies cannot answer it quickly enough.’
In June, Innocon announced that 50 of its
Micro Falcon UAV systems had been ordered
by an undisclosed Asian country.
‘The Micro Falcon is a 6kg system with day
and night payloads. This includes two planes,
one ground station and payloads – one of
each,’ said Armon. The system, designed for
close-range, low-altitude surveillance
missions, is expected to be delivered to the
customer within a year and a half, and can
operate at an altitude of 15,000ft for two
hours at a time.
Peru signed a contract for the system in
December, with deliveries expected to start
in August, and it was announced at the Paris
Air Show this year that testing had been
completed on the systems that are headed
to that country. Follow-on orders are a
possibility, depending on how the UAV
performs when it is tested in the field.
Armon said that another South
American operator is interested in the Micro
Falcon, as well as Innocon’s larger Mini Falcon,
and he expects a contract to be signed
‘within the year’.
BAE Systems is looking into new
technology to add to its ‘flagship’ UAS,
the Silver Fox, in order to match the larger
platforms that are currently in service.
The aircraft, which has been widely
deployed in Afghanistan with US forces
since 2004, largely in counter-IED missions,
is said to be able to match the larger tactical
systems. ‘[It has] a little more endurance
and can stay up and carry a larger payload,’
explained Matt Pobloske, director of business
development at BAE Systems’ unmanned
aircraft programmes.
BAE is looking into different spectrometers
to add to the system’s payload, including
hyperspectral and multispectral cameras.
‘They’re very sensitive remote collection
devices that are small enough and have a
low enough power requirement that you
can operate them in situ in a very small UAV –
a very cost-effective UAV,’ said Pobloske.
‘Industry has been moving that way for a
long time.’
 HYPER EXPANSION
The company has flown hyperspectral
sensors on the Silver Fox in an effort to
expand the platform’s capabilities. ‘I don’t
want to downplay other sensors, but
that one is up-front and central lately.
Hyperspectral is a very popular thing to
talk about in terms of sensing. There are a
number of sensors that BAE works with, that
we do specifically, and that we believe will be
a real boon for a variety of applications, both
in defence and commercially.’ 
www.UVonline.com
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UV_AugSep11_p25.indd 25 01/08/2011 08:31:12

UV_AugSep11_p21-26_SUAS:Layout 1 1/8/11
26
SMALL UAS
BAE is focusing on hyperspectral sensors for
its Silver Fox in an effort to increase the
system’s utility. (Photo: BAE Systems)
With restrictions on airspace for UAS
flight being a hot topic for manufacturers
and operators, Pobloske said that they are
‘essentially locked out or very restricted from
operation right now because again you’re
flying within national airspace, and they’re
obviously concerned about encroachment
and interaction with manned aircraft’.
Minson told UV that a US bill is due that
will mean airspace will start to be opened
up, so companies, with help from the
Federal Aviation Administration, will be
able to work together quickly to enable
unmanned flight (see p11).
‘Things that we dreamed of flying
ten years ago are commercial and
off-the-shelf nowadays, including a lot
of the IR cameras,’ explained Pobloske.
‘So I see the largest movement in this arena,
from a market standpoint, to be when the
various governments can solve some of
the sensor see-and-avoid issues, and
then couple that with the opening of
national airspace.’
He added that future markets for SUAS
include many of the commercial agricultural
sectors, oil and mineral exploration, and
pipeline monitoring – if the airspaces were
to open up.
An SUAS family with civilian applications
comes from MicroPilot with its MP2x28
range. Howard Loewen, president of the
Canadian company, told UV that its UAV
series, including the MP-Visione and two
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
09:49 Page 26
training systems, is an off-the-shelf solution,
but added that ‘a lot of our customers design
their own circuit boards for their needs’.
The heart of the platforms is the
MP2128g autopilot, suitable for integration
into both fixed- and rotary-wing applications.
The company cites itself as having the ‘only
triple autopilot systems in the industry’ after
it developed the MP21283X, released in
November 2010, which gives the UAS twice
the reliability of a normal system in case two
of the autopilots fail.
Its UAVs have been sold to 650 customers
in 65 different countries since the company
launched in 1994, for applications such as
wildlife studies, inventory control, volume
measuring (eg for gravel pits), police utility
and forest fire monitoring.
 A WARMER WELCOME
Loewen said that he sees a strong future
for unmanned vehicles, but the industry
‘isn’t going to grow to its potential until
regulators change regulations’. He alluded
to market growth in the area of unmanned
automobiles, and cited emerging countries,
such as China, as key areas to move into
because they ‘don’t have an existing
infrastructure’ with regard to autonomous
systems, and therefore they will be much
more welcoming of the technology.
Demonstrating Portugal’s advance into
the unmanned market, Tekever Autonomous
Systems announced the introduction of an
ISTAR variant of its AR4 Light Ray UAS at the
Paris Air Show this year.
Pedro Petiz, general manager of the
company, said the fixed-wing ISR mini-UAS ‘is
particularly designed for the military – for
foot soldiers’, and has been some three years
in the making. ‘We have a range of these
‘A US bill is due that
means airspace will start
to be opened up.’
models, but this is specifically designed
for future use in this type of mission,’ he
explained. ‘Security forces can use it on very
specific missions.’
With a 2kg payload capacity, it has a
two-hour endurance, can be stored in a
backpack and takes one minute to assemble.
The company is ready to take orders for the
system, and because it is ‘just the beginning’
for the Portuguese UAS market, Petiz
anticipates that the country’s forces will
be the first to show interest. According to
defence sources, the Portuguese Army is
interested in the technology offered by this
system, and is in discussion with the
company about testing the platform.
‘We know that being a Portuguese
company is not like being a US or Israeli
company,’ summarised Petiz. ‘So we feel at
first we need to make a point with the
Portuguese Army, to have a stronger position
to move around the markets. There are
several Portuguese companies developing
UAVs, small companies, but they are there.’
The company also has a VTOL variant of
the platform, and models designed for
civilian applications.
IAI, which has developed the Panther
tiltrotor UAS, believes it has a niche because
the platform is three-engined. ‘If you want
to have a VTOL, and you want to fly the
standard UAV, you are paying for an
additional engine,’ a company spokesperson
told UV. ‘In our case, our optimisation was the
third engine just for take-off and landing,
which is a minimal price in terms of drag
and weight.’
The Panther is in the final testing stage,
and has made some 120 flights. IAI expects a
six-hour endurance, and just needs to finalise
transition issues for auto take-off and landing,
which it says is mainly a software problem.
Although it is the larger systems that have
stolen the spotlight in recent conflicts, the
smaller system manufacturers are preparing,
and in some cases are ready, for a time when
they can provide a cheaper alternative with
all the capabilities of the larger
equivalents. UV
www.UVonline.com
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UV_AugSep11_p30-33_Tactical_UAS:Layout 1
30
US FOCUS
As the changing nature of the
country’s military operations
calls for a reassessment of
service fleets, Scott R Gourley
discusses the latest tactical
UAS developments in the US.
Meeting
the demand
Puma usage is expanding to 129 systems for US Army BCTs in-theatre. (All photos: US DoD)
he demand for army UAS in war
‘T zones has only grown,’ observed
Tim Owings, US Army acting project
manager and deputy project manager for
UAS. ‘We are always looking to become more
efficient in ISR, and setting the stage for a
future set of capabilities that are much
broader than in the past.’
Owings recently led a panel of service
representatives at the conclusion of the
annual UAS Warfighter Forum, held in June
2011 in Tucson, Arizona.
He described the event as ‘a forum focused
on increasing the effectiveness, efficiency
and actual employment of UAS’. He added:
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
1/8/11 09:51 Page 30
‘It’s a unique venue in that we bring
together active army warfighters, National
Guard warfighters, acquisition professionals,
other government agency professionals and
OEMs in one place to have open dialogue
and exchange of information. There is a lot
of good information that is going to come
out of this.’
Summarising the current operational
tempo (OPTEMPO), he noted: ‘We are at over
1.2 million flight hours, with 90% of those
being on combat operations. Despite some
slowdown in Iraq, we have more than made
up for that in Afghanistan, and currently fly
about 250,000 flight hours a year.’
 CLEARING THE WAY
Owings then turned to individual product
office managers who provided updates on
their systems and activities. As an example,
Cliff Brandt, product manager for small UAS
at the US Army’s UAS Project Office, spoke
about the surge in both Raven and Puma
systems, as well as the use of them in route
clearance patrol (RCP) efforts in Afghanistan.
‘With the increase in OPTEMPO going on
in Afghanistan these days, we are actually
doing a “surge push” of an additional 180
Raven systems, which is going to take the
current distribution of 15 systems per BCT
[brigade combat team] up to 35,’ he said. ‘We
have started that effort – I have people on
the ground in preparation for this – so we will
be kicking that off [by the end of July 2011].’
Turning to his other primary platform, he
added: ‘We have started issuing Puma
systems to RCPs. Again, I have other folks on
the ground who are training and fielding
these RC teams. We have 72 systems on the
ground [as of late June 2011], soon to be 84
by August. We are a little over 50% done with
training and fielding. Having to pull guys out
of the fight to try and get them trained is a
more difficult task than it seems. So that’s
going at a slower pace than we would like.
In addition to that, by direction of the Vice
Chief [of Staff], we are also surging Pumas
into Afghanistan to the tune of 129 systems.
These will be issued out to the BCTs that
are there, and they will go down to the
company level.’
The expanded fielding of Pumas is
reflective of warfighter experiences like
those of panel member SPC Dean Dawes, a
UAS operator in the 4th Infantry BCT of the
4th Infantry Division, who recently returned
from deployment in northeast Afghanistan,
where his unit operated both the Raven and
Puma systems.
‘The Puma at the time was a concept that
the army was looking at potentially buying,’
he explained. ‘Based on the feedback that
we sent back from the combat environment,
they decided to go ahead and expand upon
that purchase.
www.UVonline.com
UV_AugSep11_p30-33_Tactical_UAS:Layout 1
The RQ-7B
Shadow is the
main RSTA UAS,
and is being
upgraded to
include capabilities
such as JTRS.
‘The Puma was, if you will, our “bread
and butter”. That’s really what made the
difference. We requested these [systems]
because of the lack of coverage we had
from our Shadow due to the mountainous
terrain. The Puma allowed the battalion
commanders to operate with a generic ISR
asset that they didn’t otherwise have. We
were also able to accurately call for fire
with one adjustment and accurately hit
our targets.’
Brandt summarised the status of his
product office, noting: ‘We have a lot of
activity, equipment en route and training
going on. And that’s on top of continuing to
do our fleet upgrades of moving from an
analogue to a digital system.’
Panelist Donna Hightower, deputy product
manager for UAS modernisation, described
www.UVonline.com
1/8/11 09:51 Page 31
her organisation as one ‘that builds the future,
but also keeps to the path along the way’.
The current product office portfolio
includes legacy systems such as the
Hunter and Warrior Block 0, as well as VTOL
platforms and a number of new technology
insertion efforts.
 WIDE SURVEILLANCE
Hightower focused her update on two efforts
taking place in the VTOL arena. ‘One of them
is what we call “Army ARGUS [Autonomous
Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance]
A160”, which is a quick reaction capability
[QRC] that will soon go into a “to be
determined” orbit area,’ she said. ‘That’s
taking an ARGUS payload, integrating it
onto an A160 platform that we currently own,
and doing some upgrades to a couple of
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
31
US FOCUS
aircraft that have already been owned by the
government – those three aircraft will then
go into country.’
While the army’s primary A160 platform
will carry the ARGUS SIGINT/WAAS (wide-area
aerial surveillance) payload, the other two
aircraft will carry EO/IR/laser designator
packages. One of the three is being provided
to the army by DARPA, and the other two by
US Special Operations Command. The two
organisations transitioned their A160s
to the army for utilisation in the QRC effort.
‘As of [late June], we have completed
integration and ground testing, and will be
going into flight testing within the next two
months,’ added Hightower. ‘Then, we will
execute a Contractor Logistics Support
contract, and go into country in [January
to March 2012].’ 
UV_AugSep11_p30-33_Tactical_UAS:Layout 1
32
US FOCUS
Hightower said that the second VTOL
activity area focuses on what will become the
formal programme of record (PoR). ‘Today, we
have gone through the preliminary stages of
the acquisition strategy, and we are working
that through the DoD, army and all other
organisations to get concurrence on that,’
she said. ‘We will be releasing an RfI out
to industry so that we can gain some
knowledge about the different systems that
are out there. That is scheduled to go out
[around the end of July]. We will continue
to finalise our acquisition strategy after we
have received some of that information from
industry. We will then go into a full and open
competition on that programme.’
Offering a rough requirement outline for
the emerging VTOL PoR, Owings pointed to
a desire for a platform capable of flying 12
hours or longer, while carrying around 450kg
of sensor weight. He added that service
desires also include the competition of two
QRC ‘technology demonstrator’ systems in-
theatre for one year, entering the acquisition
process at milestone B with subsequent
down-selection to a single vendor.
 LONGER ENDURANCE
As described by Lt Col Andrew Hamilton,
product manager for army UAS ground
manoeuvre, the RQ-7B Shadow UAS is ‘the
primary reconnaissance, surveillance and
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1/8/11 09:51 Page 32
target acquisition [RSTA] system for the
brigade commander’.
Ongoing upgrade activities include the
development and integration of the Tactical
Common Data Link (TCDL), which includes
the Universal GCS (UGCS), Universal Ground
Data Terminal, Joint Tactical Radio System
(JTRS), Re-wing and Electronic Fuel
Ignition/Fuel System.
‘We are alive and well and kicking,’ said
Hamilton. ‘We have just gone over 630,000
hours of flying with 91% of that figure having
been in combat. We just fielded the 95th
system to the army, and we have [supplied]
13 systems to the USMC.
‘The old legacy Shadow that we had
been fielding gave us about five and a half to
six hours of endurance, and we had a payload
with an EO/IR ball on it that gave us our ability
to do that RSTA mission. But we are now
[sending] to theatre an aircraft that has a new
wing on it – an extended [one] that takes the
five-to-six-hour endurance time up to nine
hours. We are also fielding a new payload that
gives us laser designation capability, so we are
moving away from that simple EO/IR ball.
‘We are also currently working on
developing, testing and fielding a TCDL that
satisfies a series of architectural mandates and
gives us some encryption capabilities. We are
also in the process of integrating the JTRS on
our platform.’
QRC Gray Eagle
deployments have
raised turbocharger
issues not previously
acknowledged.
In recent months, four Gray
Eagle systems have been
operational in Afghanistan
with the US Army.
Initial JTRS integration efforts focused on
the Rifleman Radio, with future plans calling
for integration of the JTRS Small Form
Factor design.
‘In the future, we are going to field that
JTRS, which will be the first time any unit has
had that capability with the Shadow,’ added
Hamilton. ‘We are also going to field the first
full-spectrum combat aviation brigades with
two Shadow units – that’s never been done
before because it’s a whole new concept.
And we’re fielding a couple of systems to
Australia as part of our FMS programme.’
Hamilton acknowledged continuing
USMC interest in weaponising its Shadow
platforms, but cautioned: ‘One of the
[problems] we had was treaty issues –
because it is a rail-launched aircraft, it is
viewed as a downrange missile. So there had
to be some walking through to negotiate
that treaty with the State Department. There
also had to be some validation of the
requirement on the USMC side.
‘Currently, they have officially validated
that requirement, and it looks like we’re
going to be able to work through [this]. So
probably soon – within the next six months –
we will begin the process for a quick
development and integration of weapons
on the Shadow, specifically for the USMC.’
 EAGLE EYES
Lt Col Kevin Messer, product manager for
medium-altitude endurance UAS, has
responsibility for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle
system, which he described as ‘12 aircraft, six
GCS and assorted ground support elements
[for] the aircraft. The capabilities of the [UAS]
allow us to either fly direct line of sight or
over SATCOM for an extended amount of
time – between 20 and 30 hours.
‘We have multiple payloads on the
aircraft, [including] an EO/IR ball with a
laser designator, and a SAR/GMTI [synthetic
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UV_AugSep11_p30-33_Tactical_UAS:Layout 1
aperture radar/ground moving target
indicator]. We also have a comms relay
package to be able to directly talk to the
soldier if one soldier wanted to talk to
another over extended ranges, as well as to
be able to talk to Apache, Kiowa or any unit
that flies in the air. We currently also have
Hellfire [missiles] that we are able to fire
from the aircraft, – [one that] is able to fly
off a diesel engine to keep a single type of
fuel on the ground.
‘Over the past six months, we deployed
our second QRC of four aircraft. They went
into Afghanistan and are currently operating
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1/8/11 09:51 Page 33
out of there. We have had our first Hellfire
engagement in support, putting direct fire
on the enemy, as well as support with the
air force.’
Messer noted that the early QRC
deployments in Afghanistan have taught
the army a number of performance
lessons that had not been previously
observed in flight testing, including a
‘turbocharger issue that we fixed within
about two months’.
Looking towards the future, he
offered: ‘We’ve recently gone through a
milestone decision to purchase up to our
fifth unit equipped, and that’s on contract
today. Coming up, we expect to have a
deployment next calendar year – either the
first or second quarter, that depends on the
army. We will have the unit prepared and
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33
US FOCUS
ready to go to the fight some time after
November. Then, we will go into an IOTE
[initial operational test and evaluation] in
July 2012.’
That IOTE will evaluate the ability
of a 128-soldier unit’s ability to fight
three simultaneous missions over a
72-hour timeframe.
While the updates were provided by
the programme office, Owings emphasised
the contributions of the entire UAS
architecture. ‘All these systems are tied
together by a common architecture and
tend to operate off the UGCS or the
Mini-UGCS and provide open protocols for
communication between the manned and
the unmanned fleets as well,’ he concluded.
‘So these are not just standalone systems –
they are really a collection of capabilities.’ UV
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Shrinking sensors
The miniaturisation of radar is expanding the
capabilities of smaller UAVs, reports Peter Donaldson.
adar is one of the most potent
R sensing technologies ever developed,
and it is natural to employ it as widely
as possible in UAS. Many UAVs carry radar,
but its size, weight and power needs have
long restricted it to larger platforms that
have the muscle to lift it and the amps to
run it. However, this is rapidly changing as
governments and industry endeavour to
develop smaller, less power-hungry systems
with good performance, and field them
quickly in order to meet constantly
evolving requirements.
On large platforms, radars fit into
multi-sensor packages, but these are
migrating down the food chain thanks to
miniaturisation. Over the past two decades,
synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with ground
moving target indication (GMTI) capability
has evolved from a technology requiring an
aircraft the size of a Boeing 707 to a sensor
that can now fit into UAVs as small as the
Insitu ScanEagle and Northrop Grumman Bat,
for example.
SAR/GMTI is now a core capability of MALE
systems, and is beginning to find its way into
light tactical UAVs (LTUAVs). General Atomics’
Lynx, Northrop Grumman’s STARLite, Selex
Galileo’s PicoSAR and ImSAR’s NanoSAR
families, for example, all moved the
technology on and have opened up new
applications for progressively smaller UAVs.
 MARITIME COMPETITORS
The increasing importance of radar-capable
maritime UAVs was highlighted in April 2011
when Israel’s Elta Systems announced a $33
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12:37 Page 35
million contract with a Latin American
customer – a deal that included EL/M-2022U
maritime surveillance radars for integration
with manned maritime patrol aircraft and
UAVs. This was followed in June by a deal in
which Selex Galileo will supply broadly
comparable Gabbiano radars for Elbit UAVs.
The EL/M-2022U is designed to detect
and automatically track ships large and
small. It also provides range signature and
inverse SAR (ISAR) modes, comparing
received signals with an image library for
automatic classification. Strip SAR and spot
SAR modes for littoral surveillance also feature,
and the sensor can detect and track airborne
targets and weather phenomena. Configured
for a MALE UAV, it weighs 114kg and draws
2.3kW, whereas for a VTOL UAV, this can be
reduced to a 50kg/1kW package.
The Selex/Elbit deal involves the installation
of the 43kg/20W Gabbiano T20 on the
Hermes 450, and the 62kg/200W Gabbiano
T200 aboard the Hermes 900. The first T20 is
due for delivery by the end of 2011.
General Atomics demonstrated a maritime
wide-area search mode with its Lynx radar in
the June 2010 USN Trident Warrior exercise.
Using algorithms optimised for detecting
and imaging small vessels, including semi-
submersibles, it identified them at significant
ranges and provided intercept vectors to
other aircraft and ships. The Lynx is a Ku-band
sensor that weighs less than 37kg. It draws
around 300W to provide a resolution in SAR
mode of around 3m, a SAR range greater than
80km and a GMTI range of 23km, according
to company figures.
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35
PAYLOAD SYSTEMS
Advanced radar
capabilities are now
being added to MALE
systems like the IAI
Heron and are
moving towards light
TUAV integration.
(Photo: US DoD)
During the previous month, the company
had demonstrated dismount detection with
the Lynx Advanced Multi-channel Radar
(AMR) aboard a Predator B, which was a
first for this class of aircraft. The test flight
programme evaluated its ability to detect
walking or running humans, using space-
time adaptive processing.
In June 2011, there was also a successful
demonstration of Northrop Grumman’s
AN/ZPY-1 STARLite radar on board the US
Army’s Persistent Threat Detection System
(PTDS) aerostat at Yuma Proving Ground,
Arizona. It was reported to have detected
both vehicles and dismounted individuals,
helping to identify them by cueing the
EO/IR payload.
Weighing 30kg, the radar occupies
0.03 cubic metres and draws less than 750W,
according to company figures. In SAR mode,
it offers both strip and spot images in high
resolution, and in GMTI mode it overlays
moving targets on a digital map. A maritime
moving target indication mode is in
development, and the system is currently
deployed aboard the USMC’s Northrop
Grumman Fire Scout VTOL UAV and the
US Army’s General Atomics Gray Eagle.
 LEAVES, VEHICLES AND DISMOUNTS
DARPA has had a long and fruitful
involvement with radar technology,
driving the development of advanced
capabilities, such as foliage penetration,
counter-camouflage and tracking humans
on foot, through projects such as the
Foliage Penetration, Reconnaissance, 
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PAYLOAD SYSTEMS
Surveillance, Tracking and Engagement
Radar (FORESTER), Tactical Reconnaissance
and Counter-Concealment Enabled Radar
(TRACER) and Vehicle and Dismount
Exploitation Radar (VADER), all of which
use UAVs as base platforms.
In January 2011, Syracuse Research
(SRC) won two contracts, potentially worth
up to $12.3 million, for signal processing
enhancements and planning tools for use
with its FORESTER. As the name suggests,
the radar can see through foliage to track
people and vehicles on the ground, and it
also has SAR/GMTI capabilities. After initial
flight testing on a Sikorsky Black Hawk, the
sensor was integrated with the Boeing
A160 Hummingbird.
The first contract, worth $1.3 million, came
from the US Army Research, Development
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12:37 Page 36
and Engineering Command Simulation and
Training Technology Center for the FORESTER
Signal Processing Enhancements Program.
Potentially worth $11 million, the
second came from DARPA for its Foliage
Penetration (FOPEN) GMTI Radar Exploitation
and Planning programme. This effort will
see SRC develop, integrate and demonstrate
a set of tools to improve current GMTI
capabilities. Foliage penetration is one
of these, and is designed into Lockheed
Martin’s TRACER, which completed flight
testing on an MQ-9 Predator in April 2011.
 BURIED DATA
These evaluations followed a programme
of 100 flights aboard manned platforms.
The company describes the TRACER as a
dual-band (UHF and VHF) SAR capable
SAR imagery from a General Atomics Lynx
payload. (Image: General Atomics)
of detecting and geo-locating objects
that are buried, camouflaged or concealed
under foliage. The system can process
captured images in real time, and transmit
them to multiple ground stations, says
the company.
Along with smart techniques, such as
advanced signal processing algorithms,
TRACER makes use of the propensity of
RF energy in the UHF and VHF bands to
penetrate through a forest canopy and
even into the ground. According to the
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37

PAYLOAD SYSTEMS

company, its signal processing capabilities system that includes a TV camera and a metres from the central EO and processing
allow the system to suppress background Swan II fourth-generation midwave IR focal module to ease integration into a variety
clutter and returns from stationary objects, plane array. of platforms, says the company. The weight
while revealing the positions of mobile and Built from multiple low-power, solid-state of the complete system is quoted at under
portable targets. transmit/receive modules, the radar’s twin 25kg. The PicoSAR radar alone weighs 10kg
TRACER was developed in the late AESA units can be mounted up to two and draws less than 300W at 28V DC. An 
1990s under DARPA sponsorship, and over
the course of many hundreds of missions
during the past decade, its detection and
tomography capabilities have proven
extremely robust against a wide variety of
targets in different foliage environments,
says Lockheed Martin.

 AND YET SMALLER

Following the success of Northrop
Grumman’s VADER, a SAR/GMTI sensor
carried by a light, twin-engined fixed-wing
aircraft, this capability is being extended
to LTUAVs. In February, Trident Systems, a
small company with a net-centric C4ISR
background, announced that it was
developing a radar that operates in the
L- and Ku-bands and is small enough to
be carried by a Shadow Tier II UAV.
‘This is a quantum leap forward in
giving the commander at the brigade
level and below a self-directed capability to
detect and track vehicles (in real time), and
people who are moving on foot,’ said Nick
Karangelen, CEO and founder of Trident. ‘We
can integrate a new pod under the Shadow’s
wing without interfering with any of the
existing systems or capabilities.’
If flight testing on a Micro UAV TigerShark
at Yuma Proving Grounds, planned for this
autumn, goes well, Karangelen believes that
he could field the radar within 12 months
in order to meet a quick-reaction capability
(QRC) requirement.
As elements of integrated systems,
all of these radars can cue EO/IR sensors to
enable positive identification of detected
targets. Selex Galileo took the next logical
step by integrating a SAR/GMTI and an
EO/IR sensor into a single package. Known
as PicoSTAR, this system brings together the
miniature PicoSAR active electronically
scanned array (AESA) radar and an EO

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PAYLOAD SYSTEMS
X-band sensor, it offers a maximum map
resolution finer than 1m and a resolution-
dependent maximum range of 20km.
In February, Selex Galileo announced
that it had won a contract for three PicoSAR
radars from a non-NATO export customer
to be integrated into an LTUAV for evaluation.
A successful trial could result in a full
production run, says the company.
 IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Even the PicoSAR begins to look bulky
when compared with ImSAR’s 900g X-band
NanoSAR, which measures 16x19x11cm, and
provides 1m resolution at a range of 1km,
drawing 15W. This tiny sensor’s integration
into Northrop Grumman’s 3.5m wingspan
Bat and Insitu’s little ScanEagle was
announced in February 2010.
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12:37 Page 38
The QRC approach encourages
the rapid fielding of new capabilities
programmed into small groups of radars
on an incremental basis, responding
rapidly to the warfighter’s needs. This is a
demanding business, and one of the keys to
success is the Application Ready Subsystem
(ARS), of which Mercury Computer Systems is
a prominent exponent in the ISR market.
ARS provides customised computer
infrastructure tailored for specific
applications, such as radar, electronic
warfare, EO/IR, C4I and sonar. They are
hardware-agnostic systems built from
processing, input/output and memory
modules based on universally recognised
standards. ARS enables rapid integration
of COTS products into ‘complex
heterogeneous systems’.
Selex Galileo’s
PicoSTAR combines
the PicoSAR radar
with an EO system.
(Photo: Selex Galileo)
‘The ability to integrate commercial items
and deliver them to the warfighter quickly
requires QRCs from the prime contractors,’
explained Brian Perry, director of services
and systems integration at Mercury.
The use of ARS is one factor that enables
the company to realise new systems quickly.
A programme to develop a digital processor
for a ground mobile radar is one recent
example. ‘By working closely with our
customer, co-developing technical
specifications and statements of work,
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we were positioned to provide proof of
manufacturing to the test range in nine and a
half months,’ said Perry. ‘In addition, we were
able to produce low-rate initial production
systems to the end user within 16 months
after receipt of order.’
The company has applied this philosophy
to major programmes including Aegis, Global
Hawk and Predator.
 FORWARD-LOOKING
Looking ahead to the 2015-2020 timeframe,
the European Defence Agency launched
the multinational Studies for Integrated
Multifunction Compact Lightweight Airborne
Radars and Systems effort in April 2009. Its
goal is to deliver new UAV radar payloads
with SAR/GMTI, FOPEN, electronic support
measures and possibly communications
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12:37 Page 39
capabilities. The 48-month effort is valued
at just over $30 million, with participation
from France, Sweden and the UK. The
companies involved include Thales, Selex
Galileo and Saab.
With academic support, the companies
will initially investigate low- and high-
frequency surveillance technologies and
multi-band/platform sensors. Anticipated
research topics include: interference
rejection for low-frequency SAR; vertical
SAR; miniature reconfigurable RF filters;
multi-mode analogue/digital converters,
RF and intermediate-frequency switches;
data compression; miniaturised high-
frequency building blocks; and gallium
nitride semiconductors.
In the US, DARPA continues to nurture
UAV-applicable radar technologies. For
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39
PAYLOAD SYSTEMS
example, the Multipath Exploitation Radar
effort is aimed at producing GMTI radars
that are effective in urban environments.
The idea is to use normally troublesome
multipath reflections to fill in the radar
‘shadows’ from buildings.
Future advanced UAV radars will exploit
the X- and W-bands to produce ultra-small
and light integrated sensors, says DARPA.
Another approach involves small
UAV radars operating cooperatively
as coherent multi-static systems to
compensate for the low power of small
sensors. Coherent multi-static operation
will be enabled by ‘multiple input, multiple
output’ techniques akin to those used in
wireless communication systems. Clearly,
the combination of radar and UAVs is
bursting with potential. UV
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40

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

As developers struggle to convince military customers of new applications for unmanned

aircraft, Andrew White and William F Owen discover how an Israeli company is developing
a twin-fan design to solve some of the current problems surrounding VTOL UAVs.

The Air Mule cometh

The prototype Air Mule, seen during recent flight trials. (Photos: Urban Aeronautics)

rban Aeronautics used the Paris Air project was subsequently cancelled and all increase fan efficiency with the louvres closed

U Show in June to dismiss conventional

rotary-wing VTOL UAVs as an ‘interim
solution’ for cargo resupply missions.
Speaking to Unmanned Vehicles, marketing
VP Janina Frankel-Yoeli said only a rotorless
VTOL UAV would satisfy this requirement, in
preference to systems including Boeing’s
A160T Hummingbird and the Lockheed
Martin/Kaman K-Max, although she
conceded that these were ‘better than
manned helicopters’ for such purposes.
Outlining plans for the Air Mule to conduct
its first full working demonstration next year,
she said: ‘Helicopters are more limited in
aerial access to the urban environment, but
the Air Mule has no rotors, which are the
biggest cause of helicopter crashes.’ Frankel-
Yoeli said the aircraft would offer a solution to
USMC requirements for a cargo resupply
capability in Afghanistan.
The Air Mule is one of several designs that
the Urban Aeronautics has developed from
the Piasecki VZ-8 AirGeep II, a little-known
concept that emerged in 1961. As the name
implies, the aircraft was designed to be a
‘flying jeep’. Powered by two 2.5m diameter
ducted vertical fans mounted fore and aft,
it exhibited poor flight characteristics,
according to industry sources. The US Army
but forgotten.
However, a small team of engineers and
aerodynamicists in Israel began to research a
twin-fan design to create a VTOL UAV that
could operate within urban terrain and close
to obstacles, with a much-needed degree of
immunity to rotor blade strikes. A circuitous
development route led to the Air Mule – a
640kg UAV capable of carrying 560kg of fuel
or payload.
 THE BIG DIFFERENCE
What makes the Air Mule so different from
the AirGeep II are the technological advances
that have been made since the 1960s in
terms of controls and power packs, as well
as in understanding VTOL aerodynamics.
‘The Air Mule uses the same fore and aft
ducted fans, but these now have computer-
controlled inlet and outlet vanes, which give
the vehicle probably the most precise control
response of anything flying today,’ explained
Rafi Yoeli, founder and CEO of Urban
Aeronautics. ‘Using the vane control system,
the vehicle can move in all six degrees of
freedom independently.
‘The aircraft also has additional intake
louvres in the front and rear of the fore and
aft fans, respectively. These substantially
in the hover, but at the same time facilitate
high-speed flight by opening up gradually as
the vehicle picks up forward speed, resulting
in a smooth ingress of airflow and a reduction
in the drag of the duct walls.’
An all-composite airframe, married to a
730shp Turbomeca Arriel 1 helicopter engine,
delivers a substantially improved power-to-
weight ratio. Production aircraft, however, will
almost certainly have an Arriel 2 with full
authority digital engine control. In forward
flight, the centre-section ‘hump’ of the vehicle
delivers an estimated 20% increase in lift,
allowing an extra 300kg of payload when
using a rolling take-off. Meanwhile, two small
tail-mounted thrust fans aid propulsion.
The cargo is carried in two equally sized
compartments on either side of the upper
centre section. The aircraft will operate at a
12,000ft pressure altitude, which makes it
suitable for the vast majority of operations
worldwide.
 PAYLOAD POTENTIAL
Potentially, a production Air Mule II will be
able to deliver a 125kg payload to anywhere it
can land within a 300km radius, and fly the
same payload back with a dash speed of
100kts or 90kts in cruise.

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The outlet vanes, propellers
and inlet vanes of the rear fan.
According to performance estimates
based on initial testing, the same applies to a
500kg payload delivered to within 100km of
the aircraft’s starting point. In theory, this
could mean delivering half a tonne of
ammunition to the front line and, if
necessary, recovering two casualties on the
return journey.
With some armies still struggling to fully
understand UAV applications, the main
question that militaries must address here is
whether they want casualties and soldiers to
be flown in the current operating
environment by unmanned systems. The Air
Mule II will be equipped with a zero-zero
ballistic parachute, and is intended to be
certified in line with US FAR Part 27
regulations, in order to be safe for passenger
transport.
From a battlefield medicine point of view,
the concept means that casualties would
need to be stabilised to the degree that they
can be left unattended for at least 35
minutes, given a flight distance of 100km. It
therefore seems more feasible to move the
casualty to a location from which they can be
safely extracted by conventional helicopter.
However, this is undermined by the
advantages of the Air Mule compared to in-
service manned platforms.
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12:38 Page 41
Helicopters are vulnerable to small arms fire
and MANPADS, and are increasingly
expensive to operate, to the point where they
are becoming inefficient for certain tasks. This
is particularly evident when it comes to
transporting payloads in the sub-500kg
category. It is simply not efficient to employ a
CH-47 or UH-60 for small payloads over short
ranges, especially in terms of available crew
flying hours.
Air Mules can work in low-visibility
conditions that would normally ground
manned aircraft, and they can fly around the
clock, pausing only for fuel, loading and
maintenance. Moreover, the loss of manned
helicopters to enemy action can have a
significant political impact.
This is not to suggest that this kind of UAV
would replace support helicopters completely.
It would, however, enable their crews and
flying hours to be more effectively allocated.
 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Other battlefield VTOL UAS options include
Boeing’s unmanned AH-6 Little Bird and
Air Mule vs UH-60: an illustration of the
relative rotor disc clearances required.
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41
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100, but Yoeli argued:
‘An Air Mule can fly to any receiving party,
landing in almost any terrain, and have them
unload its cargo in near total darkness or thick
fog, with the blades turning and engine
running without presenting any hazard to the
men on the ground. The Air Mule also has far
better sloping ground performance than a
helicopter, with none of the terrain proximity
hazard of a main or tail rotor.’
The ducted fans also have a far greater
tolerance of damage and foreign object
ingestion than conventional rotor blades. This
means an Air Mule can land in a wide range of
places, such as narrow streets and woodland
clearings, that a UH-60 cannot.
‘If needed, an Air Mule has the ability to
operate from extremely small vessels, relative
to the size and weight of the aircraft,’Yoeli
continued. ‘For example, it could operate from
a 60t deck-equipped Dvora II-class patrol boat.
While a Camcopter S-100 could do the same,
this platform only has a cargo payload of
53kg, compared to the 500+ of the Air Mule,
which in theory could also carry two Sea Skua-
type missiles.’
As regards transport for deployment, two
partly assembled Air Mules can be carried in a
C-130, minus the thruster fans, which would
have to be re-attached prior to flight. Without
these, the Air Mule is narrow enough to fit
inside a 40ft ISO container. This gives the
vehicle the fairly obvious capability of
operating from the back of any flatbed truck
that can carry a 20ft ISO container.
This may all seem like another hypothetical
UAV concept that is merely ‘interesting’.
However, in January 2011, the Israeli MoD
disclosed that it is participating in the funding
of an Air Mule technology demonstration,
with a casualty evacuation system being
cited as the major capability needed.
Flight demonstrations are expected to be
completed during 2012, according to Yoeli,
who added: ‘We will probably demonstrate
practical UAV medical evacuation within the
next five years.’ He also told UV that a number
of NATO militaries have expressed a strong
interest in the project. UV
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42
GROUND SYSTEMS
ith the UK government
W threatening to further downsize
the number of personnel in the
armed forces following last year’s Strategic
Defence and Security Review, attention is
turning to the ability of unmanned systems
to take on more roles, especially in
operational theatres.
For example, base protection, a specialist
role of units including the RAF Regiment, has
become one of the latest mission areas to be
looked at in the context of available
unmanned technology. But questions remain
about the extent to which warfighters are
willing to rely upon autonomous platforms
for their own protection, defence insiders
have suggested.
Troops that could be affected include
58 Squadron RAF Regiment and No 8 RAF
Force Protection Wing HQ. Formed in
2010 to concentrate on ‘specialist force
protection capabilities at [Camp] Bastion
and Kandahar airfields’, these units could
soon see their roles rapidly diminish as
part of the MoD’s latest initiative.
 THE NEXT STEP
Coming on the back of the success of its
Talisman route-clearance and route-proving
strategy, which rolled out in Afghanistan in
June, the MoD is now lining up Operation
Concord – using fully autonomous UGVs in
support of tactical patrols that contribute to
force protection and target surveillance – as
the next step into the unmanned realm.
However, Operation Panama, which
involves the deployment of unmanned
Snatch Land Rover 4x4 vehicles into the asset
mix that is Talisman, has seen mixed success
according to armed forces insiders.
Around a dozen Land Rover platforms,
associated sensor suites and data links, are
now working in conjunction with manned
land platforms as part of Talisman, sources
told Unmanned Vehicles.
UV understands that two Snatch UGVs and
associated GCS have been incorporated into
each of the six Talisman teams, which already
include: two Buffalo Rummage and four
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
12:39 Page 42
No more
dismounts?
The unmanned Snatch Land Rover has received mixed reviews following recent operations.
(Photo: UK MoD Crown Copyright)
Mastiff ‘Protected Eyes’ vehicles; two Micro Air
Vehicles; two High Mobility Engineer
Excavators; and two Talon UGVs.
However, the unmanned option is by no
means a mature solution. According to the
British Army’s Maj Thomas Donohoe, of HQ
29 EOD & Search Group, there is work to be
done in order to improve not only Panama,
but also any future unmanned force
protection assets.
Referring to Panama, he said: ‘We are not
100% clear on its capability. There is more
work to be done, but at least we are in the
right ballpark to get a mounted system to
detect [IEDs] and prevent soldiers
dismounting.’
Designed to take a human out of the loop,
the unmanned Snatch vehicles often cover
as little as 500m in two hours. Camp Bastion,
for example, comprises an ever-increasing
perimeter that currently measures some
50-odd kilometres, when taking into
account Camp Leatherneck.
The British armed
forces are learning
lessons about how
unmanned systems
can be used in the
force protection
role, reports
Andrew White.
 OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY
Donohoe referenced Talisman missions during
Operation Herrick 12 in 2010, which included
defeating IEDs, force protection and mentoring
the Afghan National Security Forces.
Totalling 40 separate tasks over a six-
month tour, Donohoe said that the missions
spanned Talisman’s ‘entire array of CONOPS
[concept of operations]’, and explained how
Viking all-terrain vehicles were used to secure
high ground, allowing Talisman troops to
move through an area of operations,
followed by a combat logistics patrol a
‘tactical bound’ behind.
Utilised for both defensive and offensive
operations, such as ensuring safe passage for
coalition forces conducting strike missions, as
well as ‘shaping the battlefield’, Donohoe
described how his Talisman troop conducted
tasks throughout the whole of Helmand
Province from Camp Bastion.
‘Terrain [and] threat are going to vary
significantly across the area of operations – in
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UV_AugSep11_p42-45_UGVs:Layout 1 1/8/11
the south, there was more restrictive terrain
and it was difficult to avoid any vulnerable
points,’ he explained. ‘Most enemy actions
were identifiable, [and] through training,
our search advisors identified potential
IEDs in the ground. If possible, we would
avoid them, and if necessary, do something
about them. Lessons were learned and hits
were taken.’
Subsystems carried as part of the Talisman
troop also performed well, with the Talon
providing the clearance capability. ‘It is
because of this [UGV] that we were able to
conduct our mission,’ he explained. ‘It was the
mechanical means [to deliver] whatever
weapon system we required and similar to
tactics used in Northern Ireland.’ However, he
was unable to provide more details on
existing tactics, techniques and procedures.
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12:39 Page 43
During Herrick 12, Donohoe’s Talisman
team lost a single micro-UAV, although he
described it as a ‘very noisy, capable beast’.
‘We would send it ahead of search teams
to suspected or known vulnerable points to
cue assets or call in others to provide better
eyes on [them],’ he said.
‘When it went up, the atmospherics
in the area changed immensely and we
could get down to within two feet of
suspect devices.’ However, he conceded
that the UAV did suffer from a low wind
threshold.
 CONCORD RISES AGAIN
On the back of the success of Panama,
the MoD is now considering the wider
business case for force protection UGVs,
which could include additional small and
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
43
GROUND SYSTEMS
medium-sized platforms for situational
awareness, counter-IED and ISR missions.
Working in conjunction with the UK’s
Defence Science & Technology Laboratory
(DSTL), the MoD is understood to be in the
capability concept demonstrator (CCD) phase
of Operation Concord. The main drive behind
this is to reduce the ‘substantial man-hours’
required from a unit to conduct perimeter
patrols as part of force protection CONOPS.
‘It is in a [CCD] phase at the moment,
with a decision point in September to see
whether it can be taken forward to a UOR,’ an
industry source told UV. ‘This mobility patrol
system is being assessed under a concept
demonstration programme, conducted
by DSTL.’
However, sources cautioned that the
programme has yet to receive the ‘green 
UV_AugSep11_p42-45_UGVs:Layout 1 1/8/11
44
GROUND SYSTEMS
light’, emphasising that the MoD was unlikely
to consider weapons carriage for the selected
system, should it be fielded in the future.
It is understood that the MoD is using
Israeli company G-Nius’s Guardium UGV
for the programme – a system that was
first unveiled at the Israel Military Weapon
Technology Exhibition in 2008. Sources said
that the developer, a joint venture between
Elbit Systems and IAI, had conducted
discussions with the MoD regarding its UGV.
However, company officials told UV that its
Guardium Mk II and third-generation UGV,
Nahshon, could also be used for similar
operations. Due to begin an evaluation
process in the coming months, Nahshon
provides up to 200% additional capacity over
the Mk I Guardium, a G-Nius spokesman said.
‘A lot of lessons have been learned,’ he
admitted. ‘There are many cases in which the
activity routine, or the quality of manpower
providing security, has a negative impact on
security quality. The use of a security UGV
neutralises these problems completely.’
The MoD evaluation, however, continues
to concentrate on the original Guardium
platform which carries 700kg of EO/IR, radar
and other sensors. According to G-Nius, the
UGV has a modular payload capacity that
can also encompass: electronic support
measures/electronic countermeasures; a
hostile fire indicator; a missile approach
warning system; a laser warning system; a
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
12:39 Page 44
The Nahshon UGV could be a contender for UK force
protection and patrol requirements. (Image: G-Nius)
two-way audio link; CBRNE detectors; and
RF identification interrogators, to name but
a few.
 ENSURING FREEDOM
With the RAF Regiment, for example, units
are ordered to patrol areas around air bases
in order to ensure that aviation assets and
personnel can operate freely, according to
MoD literature.
Such a role has been delivered on
operations at a number of air force, joint
service and international operating bases in
Afghanistan and, until recently, Iraq.
According to Air Cdre Russell La Forte, the
commandant general of the RAF Regiment:
‘Force protection is of vital importance in
allowing the RAF to play its part in bringing
stability to Afghanistan, and also to allow all
those at the bases we protect to get on with
their work unhindered by insurgents.’
Neither the MoD nor DSTL was available to
comment on Operation Concord, but,
according to other sources, it was proving to
be a natural progression from the original
tactics, techniques and procedures perceived
for the unmanned Snatch Land Rovers.
According to insiders, base protection is
an ‘emerging requirement with increased
autonomy’, and it was originally envisaged
that the Land Rovers deployed on Operation
Panama would be easily integrated into this
role. However, for undisclosed reasons, the
MoD has elected to field a separate platform
for automated base protection.
Involved in this £15 million ($24.2 million)
operation was Thales UK as lead systems
integrator, as well as MIRA and Exponent.
BAE Systems and Marshall Land Systems
are also understood to have been involved,
offering up alternative platforms earlier
on in the process. None of the companies
would comment on any participation in
the operation.
 EVOLVING PLATFORMS
Speaking at the Military Robotics conference
in London on 27 June, Lt Col Andy Stevens,
SO1 explosive ordnance engineering at the
UK Defence Academy, argued that there was
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UV_AugSep11_p42-45_UGVs:Layout 1 1/8/11
The remote-controlled Talon has been an
asset to the MoD’s Talisman counter-IED
initiative. (Photo: UK MoD Crown Copyright)
still plenty of potential for UGVs in the current
operational environment.
Describing how such platforms had
evolved since their introduction on counter-
terrorism operations in Northern Ireland in
the 1970s, he highlighted potential uses in
Afghanistan and Iraq. ‘We don’t use
deception particularly well [in UGVs],’ he
explained, showing how unmanned
platforms could carry camouflaged weapons
payloads to lull enemy combatants into a
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12:39 Page 45
false sense of security. ‘It’s a lost art, and we
should get back to thinking of deception as
part of our robotics.
‘Iraq was the most demanding and
technologically complex counter-insurgency
the planet has ever seen, where the
specialism of IEDs was far more complicated
than currently witnessed in Afghanistan.’
‘We have seen great ideas such as
dragging [payloads] behind [UGVs], and the
adaptability of vehicles – there is a move for
more homeland security [operations] and
protection of air bases,’ although Stevens
warned that personally, he was ‘very
opposed’ to the deployment of UGVs
into insurgent environments.
 PARTY MIX
However, UGVs will never provide a
solution for force protection on their own,
and a mix of assets is widely regarded as
the most efficient response to enforcing
such a requirement.
The MoD would not comment on any
additional platforms it is considering to field
alongside Operation Concord, but one
defence source told UV that current in-service
equipment would suffice.
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
45
GROUND SYSTEMS
‘Small UAVs are already being touted
for force protection of fixed bases, and the
coalition is operating a number of aerostats
in Afghanistan,’ the source described. ‘On top
of that, you have Dragon Runner and other
small UGVs which can all work in
collaboration with one another by providing
situational awareness, ISR and counter-IED.’
However, he fell short of recommending
micro-UAVs for such a purpose, describing
how in reality their airworthiness and
certification status was questionable.
Other candidates for unmanned force
protection include BAE Systems’ Multi-
Operated All-Terrain Vehicle, which is based
on the in-service Supacat chassis. Sources
within the company told UV that such a
system could be put into service very quickly,
should the MoD or other users require it.
Elsewhere, Boeing’s Assisted Carriage
System, based on a John Deere chassis,
finished troop trials earlier in the year,
complete with two LIDARs (light detection
and ranging), two cameras for tele-operation,
a pan-tilt-zoom camera and a thermal
imaging system. UV
Additional reporting by Beth Stevenson
UV_AugSep11_p46-48_Airships:Layout 1 1/8/11
46
ISR AEROSTATS
The lighter side
Aerostats
have proven
themselves as
the unblinking
eyes of the
battlefield, and
now industry is
developing
them further,
Claire Apthorp
discovers.
he use of airborne assets to perform
T ISR on the battlefield has long been a
central aspect of successful military
operations. Indeed, the strength of an
armed force’s aerial ISR fleet has become
an important determining factor in the
protection of warfighters on the ground and
the understanding of wider battlefield and
enemy movements.
The past decade has seen the rise of the
UAV as a vital airborne ISR platform, with
HALE, MALE and tactical aircraft for shorter
missions playing an important role in the
collection and dissemination of data and
intelligence in-theatre. More recently, the use
of unmanned aerostats and airships has also
been increasing, as armed forces seek more
continuous and robust assets to add depth
and strength to the ISR network in and
around the battlefield.
 PERSISTENT SOLUTIONS
The role that an aerostat plays within the
larger ISR picture is unique. As a tethered
platform, it does not change its location
throughout deployment as does an airship,
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
12:46 Page 46
making it a tactical asset used as an ISTAR
service within a designated area of interest.
One of the most successful aerostat
programmes is the Aeronautics Skystar 300,
which was developed in 2006 as an answer
to the operational requirements of the IDF.
After initially entering Israeli service in
2007, the system has been supplied to
customers worldwide, including the
Canadian Army which deployed the aerostat
in Afghanistan. A smaller, lighter tactical
system has since been developed, known The LEMV has been developed with an
as the Skystar 180, which was first operated aerodynamic design and has less drag
than competing vehicles. (Inset) LEMV will
by the US Army in Afghanistan in July. provide more than 21 days of unblinking
One of the key features of an aerostat stare. (Images: Northrop Grumman)
such as the Skystar 300 is its persistence.
Once deployed, it is able to remain in the air operation, logistics and training periods,
for 72 hours, and requires only 30 minutes the Skystar 300 is by far simpler and more
grounding before it can go up again. cost-effective to deploy compared to
‘The continuity of the ISR service is longer UAV operations.’
than any other airborne platform,’ David Aerostats such as Skystar 300 are able
Rokach, head of land systems at Aeronautics, to carry a wide range of EO payloads
told Unmanned Vehicles. ‘This gives a fielded according to customers’ requirements
force a practically permanent ISR asset in the and specifications. The most advanced
air over its area of interest, and combined payload carried by the Skystar 300 is
with the additional advantages of ease of Controp’s Speed-A.
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UV_AugSep11_p46-48_Airships:Layout 1 1/8/11
This is a tri-sensor EO/IR payload specially
developed to be carried by the aerostat. The
Speed-A combines a charge-coupled device
daytime sensor and a cooled FLIR sensor, both
with a powerful continuous zoom capability
and a laser pointer. In consideration of the
system’s behaviour in the air, a unique gyro-
stabilisation unit was designed in order to
maintain a steady image. Aeronautics has also
studied a number of projects in which the
system carries other types of payloads to
perform the widest possible range of
missions, such as communication relay.
In terms of logistics, the Skystar 300 is
designed for rapid deployment – both
its mooring station and its C2 station are
based on standard container dimensions,
enabling safe and easy air, maritime and
land transportation. The system’s mooring
station contains the required resources for
independent operation: a generator for
power; helium tanks to fill the aerostat; and
electric engines and winches that tether the
airborne unit. Within 30 minutes, the Skystar
300 can be launched to an altitude of 1,000ft,
and recovered in the same length of time.
 UNIFIED C4I
The biggest drawback to aerostat platforms is
their relatively stationary operation. Although
it is highly transportable, once airborne,
the Skystar’s area of operation is fixed.
That said, Aeronautics is overcoming this
disadvantage by offering its customers the
ability to equip aerostats with ISR systems to
complement their UAV services, integrating
both the Skystar and UAVs into a unified
C4I centre – in many cases with additional
integration sensors – to create a flexible and
complete ISR solution.
‘The combination of a permanent ISR
asset in the air and additional ISR assets
ready to be launched on a designated
mission is very efficient and powerful,’ said
Rokach. ‘We are offering our clients a solution
that demonstrates a complete package called
the Persistent Surveillance System.
‘The concept is based on the fact that
ISR operations demand the gathering of
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12:46 Page 47
Aerostats have become effective in
detecting insurgent activity.
(Photo: Lockheed Martin)
information from multiple platforms
and sensors into a central operations
command that can then exploit the relevant
data and create a situational awareness
image in real time.
‘In order to achieve an efficient operation,
the C4I centre must receive data from sensors
that complement each other – aerostats and
UAVs are a perfect example of ISR platforms
that work together perfectly.’
The reason the system works so well is
that the aerostat provides constant ISR at
close range, and upon any detected event, a
UAV can be launched for tracking a moving
target to distant areas. In addition, there are
no conflicts of air traffic, since the aerostat is
stationary and its position is fixed and known.
Furthermore, the performance of the system
can be improved with the integration of
sensors that enhance operational capabilities
in harsh weather conditions, such as radars.
 ISR BACKBONE
One product line that the US Army has
deployed on a large scale is Lockheed Martin’s
lighter than air (LTA) systems. First delivered
to the US Army more than 75 years ago, the
range of systems has become central to
military ISR operations. One of the most
recent additions to the range is the Persistent
Threat Detection System (PTDS) that has
been fielded in Iraq since October 2004.
By leveraging a wide-area, secure
communications network, the tethered
aerostat integrates threat reporting from
multiple tactical and theatre surveillance
assets, and disseminates intelligence to
operational forces to aid interdiction of
hostile fire and unconventional threats.
The 74K PTDS aerostat system hosts
multi-mission payloads of up to 500kg, and
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
47
ISR AEROSTATS
Since 2004, the US Army has ordered 37 PTDS
from Lockheed Martin for use in Afghanistan
and Iraq. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
operates at an altitude of 5,000ft with a
hull volume of 2,100m3. The complete
package consists of the aerostat, a tether
with fibre optics, a mobile mooring platform,
mission payloads, a ground control and
maintenance shelter, power generators
and site handling equipment.
As well as supporting Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom,
the system has been selected by the USAF
for its Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS)
in 420K configuration for low-level radar
surveillance on, among others, US-Mexican
border air sovereignty missions.
With its ability to accept and transmit
data from a variety of other ISR assets,
the PTDS has become an important node
within the overall network architecture –
and one that is constantly adapted to meet
new requirements.
‘The intent is to continually evolve the
system’s capabilities to maximise the benefit
to the warfighter,’ Ron Browning, business
development manager for LTA systems at
Lockheed Martin, told UV. ‘And one of the
biggest advantages outside its persistent 
UV_AugSep11_p46-48_Airships:Layout 1 1/8/11
48
ISR AEROSTATS
ISR capability is the deterrent factor that the
system brings to operations – clearly the
PTDS is very easy to see when it is deployed,
and there is significant value there. In general,
if you can see it, it can probably see you, and
that provides a good deterrent to those who
might otherwise act against our troops.’
Lockheed Martin is also seizing on a gap
within the ISR market with its High Altitude
Airship (HAA). The un-tethered, unmanned
LTA vehicle will operate above the jetstream
at 60,000ft in a geostationary position,
delivering persistent station-keeping as a
surveillance platform, telecommunications
relay or weather observation system.
At a fraction of the cost of other HALE
UAVs and satellites, systems such as the HAA
will bring ISR and rapid communications
connectivity over a 965km-diameter area
of interest, as well as millions of cubic
kilometres of airspace.
Lockheed Martin is currently under
contract to deliver a sub-scale demonstrator
of the HAA, known as the HALE-D, to the US
armed forces, and Browning told UV that the
system will be test-flown for the US Army
this summer.
‘As well as lower operational costs,
the HAA system will remove the tether
and weather concerns that are the
biggest drawbacks to operating aerostats
in-theatre,’ he said. ‘This system will fly much
higher for several days at a time, and we
expect the value addition of this to
operations to be significant.’
 UNBLINKING STARE
Lockheed Martin is not the only company
looking at the use of motorised LTA
platforms to revolutionise the way
battlefield ISR is carried out. Northrop
Grumman is currently in the late stages
of development of its Long Endurance
Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV), a
motorised airship that will operate at
22,000ft for more than 21 days at a time.
The LEMV was developed in response
to the US Army Space and Missile Defence
Command/Army Forces Strategic Command
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
12:46 Page 48
Aeronautics’ Skystar 300 programme was created in order to answer the operational
requirements of the IDF. (Inset top) The Skystar GCS. (Inset above left) Controp’s Speed-A
payload was developed especially to be carried by the Skystar 300. (Photos: Aeronautics)
under an agreement signed in June 2010,
and is due to transition to a government
facility for the final long-endurance
acceptance flight by the end of 2011.
Testing by an army joint military utility
assessment team in an operational
environment is scheduled for early 2012.
Such a demanding concept-to-combat
schedule has been a challenge for Northrop
Grumman, but the company remains certain
that the three airship delivery dates will be
met on time. Speaking at the Paris Air Show
in June, Alan Metzger, VP and integrated
programme team leader of LEMV and airship
programmes at Northrop Grumman, said
that all of the programme milestones had
been met to date – the system is well into
the fabrication stage and components are
now being refined in preparation for testing.
‘Airships have been around for a long time,
used extensively during World War II, and
now aerostats are used widely today, but
they have limited abilities,’ he explained. ‘So
what does a vehicle that stays up for three
weeks at a time mean for our customers?
It means we can put lots of different sensors
up there and gather a lot of data without
gaps – it’s persistent coverage. This is a truly
multi-intelligence platform – a vehicle of
this size, 300ft, can carry a lot of cameras,
communications equipment and sensors,
and as a complete solution, it sends all that
information to the ground, puts it together
and makes it available on the network.’
According to Metzger, Northrop
Grumman is also working on capabilities
that allow users to access the onboard data
that is relevant to their role or mission,
independent of their location, via PalmPilots
and other handheld equipment. The
company is also keen to stress the lower
operational costs of LEMV as an LTA platform.
‘It’s not only about vectored thrust and
using the engines to get airborne, it’s also
about buoyancy created aerodynamically
from the vehicle’s shape, as well as the helium
that we conduct – around 60% of our lift
capacity will be [through] aerostatic lift via
helium,’ explained Metzger. ‘So halfway
through the mission, the vehicle becomes
LTA, and we use the engines to bring the
aircraft back down to the ground.’
 LTA OPTIMISM
Overall, Northrop Grumman is extremely
optimistic about the LEMV programme, and
in general the aerostat and airship market is
looking bright. The technology is well on the
way to carving out a healthy niche for itself in
the gap between traditional manned and
unmanned platforms, and leveraging the
benefits of their deployment.
These systems not only have the potential
to significantly change the way armed forces
are able to gather battlefield data, but to also
change the nature of ISR missions in-theatre,
making the front line safer for warfighters
and more difficult for their adversaries. UV
www.UVonline.com
 innovation

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UV_AugSep11_p51-54_Targets:Layout 1
An artist’s rendering of the SSAT. (Photo: USN)
Replicating the threat
After several false starts, the USN has selected CEi’s BQM-167X to meet its requirement
for a new subsonic sea-skimming missile surrogate, Richard Scott reports.
he advances in speed, stealth, terminal
T manoeuvrability and electronic
counter-countermeasures capability
exhibited by successive generations of
anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs) have driven
the development of ever more sophisticated
air defence guided weapon systems. While
high-fidelity simulation environments are
increasingly used to support engagement
modelling and performance prediction,
there comes a critical point in the
development, test, training and pre-
deployment certification process where the
missile and its associated guidance system
must prove this performance for real.
At the same time, there is also a need
to ensure the proficiency of fleet close-in
defences against a new generation of
‘asymmetric’ air threats, including light
aircraft, helicopters and small UAS. Once
again, while synthetic trainers clearly have a
place, there is no substitute for taking on a
live target in a realistic environment.
This means there is still a requirement for
aerial target vehicles that can authentically
replicate the kinematic and signature
characteristics of generic or specific threat
types so as to prove the performance
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1/8/11 12:52 Page 51
theorised in synthetic environments. In
many cases these are complex UAS in their
own right, embodying avionics packages,
power plants, control systems and onboard
payloads that enable the presentation of
representative kinematics, signatures and
threat profiles so as to fully exercise weapon
guidance and lethality effects.
 NAVAL NEEDS
The USN has long recognised this need,
and has entrusted responsibility for the
acquisition and in-service management
of aerial targets to Naval Air Systems
Command (NAVAIR) through its Aerial Target
& Decoy Systems Program Office (PMA-208).
Its mission statement is to provide ‘threat
representative aerial targets for fleet training
and weapon systems test and evaluation’.
The past decade or so has seen
PMA-208 commit much time and effort to
the procurement of a new generation of
high-speed targets designed to address
gaps in the provision of realistic supersonic
surrogates. This has led to the development
and fielding of the Orbital Sciences
GQM-163A Supersonic Sea-Skimming
Target and, more recently, the award to
Volume 16 Number 4 | August/September 2011 | UNMANNED Vehicles
51
AERIAL TARGETS
ATK of an engineering and manufacturing
development (EMD) contract to develop the
GQM-173A Multi-Stage Supersonic Target
(MSST) as a means to emulate the complex
two-part subsonic/supersonic flight profile
of the Russian 3M-54 Klub ASCM.
However, from 2008 attention swung
back to the acquisition of a new-generation
subsonic target system. While PMA-208
already has the BQM-34S and BQM-74E
aerial targets in its inventory, there was an
acknowledgement that, despite recent
upgrades, these legacy types were simply
unable to replicate some of the complex
and stressing flight profiles associated with
the latest subsonic ASCM threat types.
‘We currently fly two different subsonic
targets,’ explained Capt Dan McNamara,
PMA-208 programme manager. ‘The
venerable BQM-34S has been out of
production for several years. It has been a
test and evaluation “workhorse” but does
not adequately represent many of today’s
ASCM threats.
‘The BQM-74E, which went out of
production in December 2010, is used for
smaller cruise missile representations. Both
types have received various upgrades 
UV_AugSep11_p51-54_Targets:Layout 1 1/8/11
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AERIAL TARGETS
through their careers, but we have reached a
point where we need a single replacement
Subsonic Aerial Target [SSAT] that can deliver
significantly higher performance.’
 TARGET SEARCH
In fact, the search for a successor subsonic
target dates back to the late 1990s, when a
programme known as Target 21 was kicked
off with the objective of developing a new
low-cost, high-fidelity recoverable target
vehicle from scratch. To support this effort, in
March 1999 NAVAIR awarded parallel eight-
month contracts to Northrop Grumman and
Lockheed Martin to produce conceptual
designs and explore technical and
manufacturing approaches.
It was intended that both companies
would subsequently complete a programme
definition and risk-reduction stage, with one
downselected to perform EMD and follow-on
production. However, Target 21 was not
pursued further, and in February 2002 NAVAIR
awarded Northrop Grumman a $24.9 million
system development and demonstration
(SDD) contract for the development,
integration and test of the BQM-74F, a
substantial evolution of the BQM-74E
incorporating a series of modifications to
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
12:52 Page 52
A BQM-74E is launched during a live missile firing exercise. The target is employed by the USN
as a high-fidelity ASCM surrogate, but is no longer deemed representative of modern subsonic
threats. (Photo: USN)
improve speed, range, manoeuvrability,
navigation, endurance and payload capability.
Key revisions to the airframe included
swept wings and tail, and a propulsion
upgrade increasing speed to M0.92 at sea
level and improving manoeuvrability to
8g instantaneous (5g sustained). This also
conferred a capability to execute aggressive
all-axis weave manoeuvres down to 7ft.
An integrated inertial measurement
unit/GPS system enabled waypoint
navigation as a standard operating mode
(six missions with up to 70 waypoints could
be pre-programmed and selected both pre-
and post-launch). The weave capability
allowed for pre-programmed fixed circular
and flat weave manoeuvres, and user-
programmable weaves.
A critical design review for the BQM-74F
was completed in mid-2003. Under the SDD
programme, Northrop Grumman delivered
four targets for flight testing, as well as
building two company-owned air vehicles
in support of the programme. However,
NAVAIR took the decision not to fund
BQM-74F into production. ‘When we
tried to upgrade the BQM-74E to the -74F,
we found it was going to cost significant time
and money,’ said McNamara. ‘As a result, we
looked out into the wider market to examine
what was available off the shelf that could
meet our requirement.’
 COMPARE THE MARKET
This took the form of an alternative
non-developmental flight demonstration
programme to enable NAVAIR to evaluate a
wider range of potential targets that could
potentially fulfil its future SSAT requirement.
Composite Engineering (CEi) of Sacramento,
California, was contracted by NAVAIR
in September 2006 to conduct flight
demonstrations of the BQM-167X, a system
evolved by the company from its BQM-167A
Skeeter target (selected in July 2002 to meet
the requirements of the USAF Subscale
Aerial Target programme).
Offering improved low-level performance,
the BQM-167X built upon the -167A air
vehicle but introduced a new fuselage
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UV_AugSep11_p51-54_Targets:Layout 1 1/8/11 12:52 Page 53

53

AERIAL TARGETS

with area rule, high-mounted wings and an the threat equivalency boundaries. It also AN/DPT-2B (H/I/J-band) and AN/DPT-2C
embedded Microturbo TRI 60-5+ turbojet for determined that no existing USN subsonic (I/J-band) pulse-modulated radar
reduced transonic drag. target could be modified to achieve the transmitting sets (used to simulate the
An initial aerial demonstration was characteristics required. RF signatures of anti-ship threat radar
performed in September 2007, with the fifth Following an initial draft in May 2009, a systems) and the AN/ULQ-21 electronic
and final flight trial completed in February final SSAT RfP was released in December countermeasures system.
2008. ‘We were very impressed by what we 2009, calling for a recoverable aerial vehicle
saw [of the BQM-167X] in the demonstration,’ capable of M0.90-0.95 at low altitude, able  SELECTION SUCCESS
McNamara said. ‘This was a target vehicle to realistically represent threats that operate SSAT proposals were submitted in March
that could already meet many of our at high subsonic speeds, be launched from 2010. CEi bid a production variant of the
threshold requirements.’ land, sea and potentially air platforms, and be BQM-167X, DRS Technologies (teamed
The success of this demonstration was remotely controlled utilising the System for with sister Finmeccanica company Selex
the key enabler to support full and open Naval Target Control. Galileo) bid the Mirach 100/X, and Northrop
competition for a new SSAT that could fulfil Other key performance characteristics Grumman proposed its BQM-74X (an
two distinct roles: first, serving as a high- included operation at altitudes from 10 to evolution of the abortive BQM-74F).
fidelity subsonic target to replicate the threat 35,000ft mean sea level (MSL), a minimum Following an extended source selection
characteristics of specified threat missiles; range of 280km (while maintaining 50ft process, in January 2011 NAVAIR selected
and secondly, performing as a special absolute altitude and M0.90), the ability CEi as the winner and awarded the company
configuration target vehicle to support to perform a sustained level flight turn of a $31.5 million cost-plus-incentive-fee 
a variety of test and evaluation needs. at least 6g
‘We were looking to build on an existing (objective 8g) at
target solution that gave us a lot of confidence 500ft MSL with
with regard to performance,’ said McNamara. less than 50ft
‘That meant something that was mature, of altitude loss
requiring limited engineering development through a 180°
and refinement of an existing target vehicle horizontal
that could carry large payloads and electronic heading change
attack packages, and offer much better when initiated
performance in speed and range. at M0.90, and
‘For the most part, we don’t have a unique a capability to
target to emulate each specific threat. Instead, execute fixed
we try to have generic target vehicles that can as well as
be configured, through changes in radar programmable
cross-section, flight profile and electronic terminal weave
payloads, to cover a wide envelope of threats. manoeuvres.
‘We’re in a pressurised budget As regards
environment, but we must continue to payload
provide the most realistic training systems integration, the
to the fleet for their readiness before they RfP specified
sail into harm’s way, and to our weapons equipment
development programmes to maintain our installation kits
technological edge.’ to support a
number of
 SUITABILITY STUDIES alternative
An analysis of alternatives/sensitivity study target
completed by Johns Hopkins University augmentation
Applied Physics Laboratory in April 2008 and auxiliary
identified key SSAT performance attributes systems. These
required for combat systems testing, and set included the

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UV_AugSep11_p51-54_Targets:Layout 1
1/8/11 12:52 Page 54
54
AERIAL TARGETS
contract to undertake a three-year EMD
phase. The contract also includes two firm
fixed-price options for production, plus
options for Contractor Logistics Support.
Follow-on production is planned from
FY2013, and is currently envisaged to cover a
15-year period at a rate of approximately 45
or more vehicles per annum. ‘We assessed
each proposed system from a holistic cost
perspective, to get a sense of the overall cost
of ownership for each system up front, as we
will probably be using SSAT for the next 20
years,’ McNamara pointed out. ‘What we saw
with the CEi proposal was a target vehicle
that was mature, very robust in terms of its
performance, particularly speed, signatures
and payload capacity, and offering significant
capability for future growth.’
He added: ‘The BQM-167X has already
been exported to South Korea and Taiwan.
And CEi is also subcontractor to ATK for the
MSST programme, using the BQM-167X as
the building block for the subsonic vehicle
component of the GQM-173A target. So
there is going to be a lot of commonality
between SSAT and the MSST “bus”.’
The USN intends to introduce SSAT
(a formal nomenclature has yet to be
announced) from 2015 and achieve full
fielding in 2017 from multiple operating
sites around the world. According to
McNamara, a decision has now been taken
not to pursue the requirement for an air-
launch capability. ‘We did some historical
analysis on when and why air launch was
used for the BQM-74, and the simple answer
was to increase the target’s range. But SSAT
will have significantly greater range, so the
need for air launch is obviated.’
 INTERIM UPGRADES
In advance of the introduction of the SSAT,
PMA-208 is overseeing a programme of
limited updates designed to keep the
existing target inventory viable in the
short-to-medium term. In June 2010,
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems
completed deliveries to the USN of the last
of 25 enhanced BQM-34S Firebee targets
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
The BQM-167X was first tested by the USN as
part of a non-developmental subsonic flight
demonstration programme. (Photo: CEi)
under a programme designed to address
avionics obsolescence. This upgrade saw the
legacy autopilots replaced by an integrated
unit that delivers an avionics, radar altimeter
and support equipment package common
to that of the BQM-74E.
As regards the BQM-74E, almost 340
vehicles remained in the USN’s inventory as
of October 2010, with Northrop Grumman
completing the delivery of the last new
production air vehicle in December 2010.
A BQM-74E product improvement
programme, for which Northrop Grumman
was brought under contract in August 2009,
adds new flight control functionality using
Programmable Autonomous Waypoint
Navigation (PAWN) software. The insertion
of PAWN means the BQM-74E can now fly
completely autonomously while performing
multiple evasive aerial manoeuvres (such as
programmed climbs, dives, speed changes,
times of arrival, low-altitude waypoint control
and weaves from 40,000ft to as low as 7ft
from the sea surface).
PAWN additionally allows for more
complex mission profiles, with precision 6g
turns, ‘serpentine’ and ‘corkscrew’ terminal
manoeuvres, and other evasive ploys. Users
can also fly in and out of manual control,
transition between missions and override
speed or altitude while still flying within the
target’s program.
The new software functionality was
successfully demonstrated in two test flights
performed in October 2010 at the Naval Air
Warfare Center Weapons Division test range
at Point Mugu, California. A third flight test,
completed in mid-November, validated the
results of the first two. UV
www.UVonline.com
 During the past 25 years the Banshee aerial target has become the industry
standard in affordable aerial targetry for surface-to-air and air-to-air, weapon
systems. But now

it’s just got faster

The latest Banshee derivative now has a jet engine but it retains all of the
attributes of earlier Banshee targets such as:

Patented Hot Nose, Black Body IR enhancement.

Passive and Active Radar Augmentation.
IR and Radar Countermeasure Dispensers.
Acoustic and Doppler Radar MDI Scoring Systems.
Low Level, Sea Skimming capability

but most importantly it now has a maximum speed in excess of

260 Knots
(Straight and Level flight, Sea level, ISA)

Meggitt Defence Systems Ltd Tel: + 44 (0) 1233 505600

The Boulevard, Orbital Park, Ashford, Kent, TN24 0GA, UK Fax: + 44 (0) 1233 503707
www.meggittdefenceuk.com

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UV_AugSep11_p56_BackPage:Layout 1 1/8/11
56
INTERVIEW
Darren Lake talks to Frank Pace of General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems about his transition to president of the
company and the frustrations regarding export sales and
the current lack of civil airspace integration.
A change of pace
t has been a little over a year since
I Frank Pace took over leadership
of General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems (GA-ASI) from the formidable
Tom Cassidy, and it seems that he has
settled well into the role, talking tough
when it comes to how he sees the future
of the company.
In particular, Pace is frustrated with some
of the restrictions placed on international
sales of aircraft and the lack of assistance
from the current administration when it
comes to export negotiations. Both the
Predator B and Gray Eagle are ‘category I’
systems under the provisions of the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which
makes things exceedingly difficult from
an export viewpoint.
II MTCR WOES
‘It is a very difficult process,’ said Pace.
‘If you are category I, it is called presumed
deniability. In other words, the presumption
is you are going to be denied. It is only a
special case waiver that lets that go out.
‘During the Bush administration, the
decision was made that close NATO allies
and Australia could get these category I
airplanes. That was OK, but then it turns
out that it was just a temporary thing.
So now we are back under a new
administration with no set policy.’
The lack of a policy has clear implications
when it comes to GA-ASI finding new
customers, and is an obvious sore point
for the company. ‘You have to go fight
for each one of them individually,’ Pace
explained. ‘Northrop Grumman got their
Global Hawk out to Germany, [and] I know
UNMANNED Vehicles | August/September 2011 | Volume 16 Number 4
12:52 Page 56
they are trying to go to [South] Korea – we
haven’t even been able to market Korea.
‘It’s a real battle with that MTCR issue. If
countries knew they could get the aircraft,
there wouldn’t be issues and we would be
selling a lot more. But the US has taken a
slow-role position that, even within NATO,
it’s going to be questionable whether they
will be approved. Even if they are, will they
be able to have high-quality video payloads
put on? Are they able to have weapons and
all that is up to debate these days? We
don’t personally understand why.
‘We think that our allies should be allies,
and we should treat them as such. These
aren’t nuclear weapons or something that
you would have to have the utmost care
with – they are airplanes that are less ‘The FAA needs to just sit down
capable of doing damage than the with some smart people and
fighters we sell worldwide.’
figure this thing out.’
The domestic market also seems
to be viewed as similarly restrictive by
GA-ASI, which is frustrated by the lack of
movement on civil airspace integration administrator of the programme, decided
in the US. Currently, the Federal Aviation to cancel it because [there was not] enough
Administation (FAA) expects to have a technology richness in the programme,
plan in place for moving towards airspace which I think was totally wrong.
integration by 2018, which is not quick ‘So now the country has been
enough in Pace’s view. stagnant for the past five years, basically
doing nothing to integrate these things
II ACCESS DENIED into the airspace.’ The newly established
‘That’s ridiculous, we are flying in Italian Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus
airspace – there are hard problems to helps give political support to restarting
solve. We had a programme called Access 5, the process. However, Pace does not see
which was supposed to give us access it as the answer. ‘You have a complete
to the airspace in five years – everybody organisation called the FAA – why do they
was involved in it. That was a $100 million need Congress? They need to just sit down
programme over five years. [It was] not a with some smart people and figure this
very big cost, and NASA, who was the thing out,’ he concluded. UV
www.UVonline.com
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