A Defence trial, using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Armidale Class patrol boat, will be conducted across Australia’s North West Shelf region in September 2006, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Senator Sandy Macdonald announced today.
Senator Macdonald said the proposed trial was a commitment made by the Australian Government in its 2004 election policy Securing Australia’s North West Shelf.
“The North West Shelf region is of vital strategic and economic interest to Australia and enhancing existing security in this area is a priority for the government. Criminal activities such as illegal fishing, drug running and people smuggling must be stopped,” Senator Macdonald said.
Senator Macdonald said the trial will assess the potential of UAVs to operate under a joint, integrated surveillance capability with the Navy’s Armidale Class Patrol Boats to provide an additional layer of surveillance in Australia’s approaches.
The trial is being led by the Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO) in collaboration with the Navy, RAAF, Army and other areas of Defence, as well as the Joint Offshore Protection Command (a partnership between Defence and the Australian Customs Service).
US company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) will be jointly conducting the trial with Defence. A UAV system, made by the company, will serve as the aerial platform for the trial.
Source and more info: shephard
The first fleet of the indigenously built Unmanned Aerial Vehicle “Nishant” will be delivered to the Army by mid-2007.
The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) conducted the UAV’s 106th flight trial, which included a successful launch and recovery exercise.
“The uniqueness of Nishant is that it has no wheels at the bottom and is ready for launch and recovery from any point,” said G Elangovan, Director of the ADE.
The Indian Army has already placed orders for the UAV with the Bangalore-based ADE, and the first fleet will be delivered by the middle of next year.
“Nishant will be a state-of-the-art UAV that will be acquired by the Army after Lakshaya, which is presently used as an aerial target system for shooting,” said Programme Director Natarajan.
Source and more info: ndtv
Although the cost of the 13 ton Global Hawk continue to rise, the U.S. Air Force can’t get enough of them, fast enough. Total program cost, including a lot of research and development, is now pegged at $7.8 billion. That pays for 54 aircraft, including spares, ground stations and so on. That’s $145 million per aircraft. Seven have already been built, and another 17 are under construction. The air force wants to turn out seven a year. The original cost projections (with R&D) were under $50 million an aircraft. Several things happened to drive up the cost. First, the aircraft was a great success, and more powerful (and heavier) sensors were loaded on. This led to a slightly larger “B” version of the aircraft, and a big jump in price. Another issue was reliability. This is the first UAV to take automation so far, and there were problems that were expensive to fix. This was made worse by the fact that the Global Hawks were in great demand (it’s wartime), but that the aircraft was still in development on September 11, 2001. Finally, there’s the usual low balling carried out both by the air force and the contractors that build things. Congress always falls for this, often with a wink, and then loudly protests when the final cost spiral out of site.
Source and more info: strategypage
In “One Small Step for a UAV, One Big Step for FCS Class I,” DID offered in-depth covered Honeywell’s Class I UAV Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), which had an inside track to become the US Army’s Future Combat Systems’ Class I backpackable platoon-level UAV. A $1.7 million order from Honeywell Aerospace in February 2006 for 55 Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) airframes was an indication that things were ramping up - and now Honeywell is very close to its goal.
Future Combat Systems lead integrators Boeing and SAIC have now awarded Honeywell Defense & Space Electronic Systems a $61 million contract to develop the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System.
See DID’s in-depth coverage of FCS Class I-IV UAVs for a review of the various competitors and how the selection process works. In addition to its MAV/Class I activity with DARPA, Honeywell has been working under an FCS systems engineering contract, including gap analysis and early risk mitigation, to ensure MAV technology will meet the full set of FCS Class I requirements. The team recently completed a system functional review verifying that the technology is on track and, following an update to the design to meet all FCS requirements, will be ready to be integrated into the FCS networked system-of-systems. First prototype deliveries and flight tests are scheduled for December 2008, and the Class I UAV is slated as a second-stage early spinout within the FCS program.
Source and more info: defenseindustrydaily
In 2000, the world market for UAVs represented only approximately $2.4 billion, but in the next decade, that figure is expected to top $15 billion, according to a new visiongain report.
The study, entitled ‘The World UAV Market 2006′, reveals that the U.S. alone plans to invest $1.9 billion by 2011. As unmanned aircraft continue to prove their worth in the battlespace - and their potential in civilian applications - the demand for increased capabilities, and the accompanying technology, will continue to drive this dynamic market.
To date, UAVs have primarily been used as reconnaissance vehicles or target drones. This, however, provides only a partial indication of future uses and applications of unmanned aircraft. Visiongain believes there will be a vast expansion in terms of their roles and capabilities, which will encompass both military and civilian applications. The main market opportunities will be in advanced sub-systems and payloads, as well as in associated support and training packages, according to the study.
“UAVs are transforming the defence aerospace business. The extent to which this will be a truly revolutionary change is still an open question,” comments report author Professor Keith Hayward. “But there is no doubting that these systems have come of age and, given further technological innovation, will offer new market opportunities for traditional aerospace suppliers and new entrants alike.”
Unmanned aircraft are a key element in Network Centric Warfare / Network Enabled Operations strategies in both the United States and Europe. The development of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) is also increasingly seen as vital to the future of combat aerospace industrial capabilities in those countries. A growing appreciation of a potential civil market for UAV platforms is also developing, but there are a number of technological, operational and regulatory issues that must be resolved before the full potential of UAVs will be realised.
Source and more info: tmcnet
The Israeli police and Defense Ministry are conducting an investigation into an Israeli company suspected of attempting to send military reconnaissance drones to China, according to Israeli media reports.
The company, Amit, builds unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at its plant in Kadima, central Israel. The drones can also be used as a weapons platform.
Police detectives searched the Amit factory on Monday afternoon and planned to arrest the company’s owner and several employees at the plant.
Ha’aretz reports that the company and its owner are suspected of transferring a UAV to an unnamed foreign nation on the pretext that it was to be displayed at a weapons show. Amit had entered into a partnership with a company in that country to jointly build UAVs.
Investigators believe that the drone and other UAVs were to be shipped to China without Israeli defense ministry documentation in a multi-million dollar deal.
Factory owners are also suspected of forging export documents and leaking sensitive security information to China.
A special branch was created within the Israeli Defense Ministry to vet future defense exports after previous military sales to China led to a crisis in relations with the US.
A proposed UND project to turn the inactive Stanley R. Mickelson Safeguard Complex here into a testing and certification center for flying drones has local residents anxiously waiting to find out if it will be restored to its old glory.
Mickelson Safeguard Complex was the only operational antiballistic missile system ever deployed by the United States.
The massive concrete military radar site is about 100 miles northwest of Grand Forks, in Cavalier County.
If approved, the UND school of aerospace project would bring fresh blood to the veins of Nekoma, a 101-year-old municipality suffering from loss of population and deteriorated job market, residents said.
UND is hoping for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to turn the site into a commercial UAV testing and training facility.
Marvin Gronhovd, 72, has farmed for decades near the military site and has seen its impact on the local economy.
“I’m quite sure local residents would like to see something constructive in the area,” Gronhovd said. “But if they’re just going to start something for a couple of days and then close it down like last time, it’s crazy.”
Source and more info: grandforks
Government Awaits Crash Investigation
In the wake of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crash last month, Congress has taken action on the program’s future by tightening at least some of its purse strings. The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday passed a homeland security funding bill that would withhold $6.8 million in UAV funds until U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports on the findings of the crash investigation.
“While the federal government definitely sees UAVs in the future as part of its overall homeland security and border patrol plan, this sends a clear signal that there are safety concerns,” said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs (pictured below during a 2005 ANN Aero-Cast).
“AOPA members want UAVs to be certified just like manned aircraft, and the simple answer of restricting the airspace through TFRs [temporary flight restrictions] is not acceptable.”
But the recent bill would only affect funding for fiscal year 2007, which begins next October 1. Because the UAV program has funding from the 2006 budget, UAV operations could resume before that date.
Source and more info: aero-news
The ScanEagle UAV has successfully demonstrated new maritime capabilities for the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) while supporting “Trial Vigilant Viper” off the Scotland coast.
The trial’s goal was to evaluate how a low-cost intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform can contribute to amphibious operations.
Working with Thales and QinetiQ as part of the Joint UAV Experimentation Program, ScanEagle during 10 flights completed autonomous launch and recovery operations from a Type 23 Frigate in rough sea conditions. Missions included land and sea surveillance, beach reconnaissance, force protection, maritime interdiction and naval gunfire support.
“This program marks a major endorsement of ScanEagle’s ISR capabilities, which have the potential to enhance future amphibious operations,” said Steve Krause, Boeing Advanced Systems Business Development lead. “Equally significant is the fact that ScanEagle conducted the first autonomous take off and recovery from a UK warship, the Type 23 Frigate HMS Sutherland.”
Source and more info: aero-news
On Monday morning, after weeks of undercover investigation, an elite police investigative unit detained the CEO, owners and some of the employees of the EMIT Company under suspicion that they illegally sold military technology to the Chinese government.
Detectives from the police’s International Serious Crimes Unit detained the suspects for further questioning, and after doing so, made public allegations describing a web of forgeries and lies through which the suspects allegedly conspired to sell the sensitive military technology - including the Sparrow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) - to the east Asian superpower.
Source and more info: jpost
