The Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded a $7,996,471 contract to Raytheon Systems, Co., of El Segundo, Calif., for a surveillance sensor program. The two-year contract is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of Arlington, Va., in support of its Integrated Sensor IS Structure, or ISIS, program.
ISIS envisions a stratospheric airship operating as a surveillance platform more than 70,000 feet above the Earth.
The goal of the ISIS program is to develop a stratospheric airship-based autonomous unmanned sensor with years of persistence in surveillance and tracking of air and ground targets. It will have the capability to track the most advanced cruise missiles at a distance in excess of 370 miles and dismounted enemy combatants on the ground nearly 200 miles away.
Achieving this goal will require the development of technologies that enable extremely large, lightweight phased-array radar antennas to be integrated into an airship platform, according to laboratory officials.
Source and more information: tmcnet
United Industrial Corporation has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary AAI Corporation has acquired privately held Aerosonde Pty Ltd. and Aerosonde North America, Inc. in stock purchase transactions for an aggregate purchase price of $6.5 million, with additional consideration payable upon the achievement of certain milestones.
AAI is considered a premier U.S. designer, manufacturer, and systems integrator of tactical unmanned aircraft systems, ground control station technologies, and other innovative unmanned system capabilities.
Aerosonde Pty is a Victoria, Australia-based manufacturer and developer of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems with civil and military customers in Australia, Asia, and North America. Aerosonde North America operates the Aerosonde UAV in support of R&D and weather forecasting requirements of U.S.- based customers, including the U.S. Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA.
The acquisition of Aerosonde is a perfect fit for our blueprint of strategically expanding our unmanned aircraft systems capabilities to meet the growing and diversified requirements of military, homeland security, and civilian markets, said Steven E. Reid, AAI’s vice president of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Source and more information: tmcnet
US-North Korean tensions mounted — and currency exchange markets reacted — to unsubstantiated reports of a US military plane crash in North Korea on Thursday. Some 3,100 miles to the west, however, there was tangible evidence that a reconnaissance drone crashed in Afghanistan — including a hole in the side of a house.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports the seven-foot drone that plowed into a home in the southeastern Afghani village of Aliwot likely belonged to the US-led coalition, especially since a team of coalition soldiers showed up on Saturday to pick it up.
Provincial police spokesman Mohammad Haroon said the incident caused no casualties, but added, “We don’t know for what purpose it was used.”
“Villagers were scared to go close to it,” said an Aliwot villager, “Today Americans came and took it with them.”
AFP said the coalition could not immediately confirm the accident.
Source and more information: aero-news
A high-definition vision system for unmanned air vehicles and a directed infrared countermeasures system for aircraft are among projects included in Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s (DSTO) latest capability and technology demonstrator (CTD) programme.
Some A$26 million ($19.2 million) has been awarded to demonstrate 14 new defence technologies.
Melbourne-based Sentient Vision Systems is to develop its Sentient UAV Vision System, which enables a UAV to track moving targets on the ground.
Sentient says there is currently no vision system operating in real-time that is suitable for UAVs.
Tenix Defence Systems and Adelaide University are working on directed infrared countermeasures, designed to protect aircraft from shoulder-launched, heat-seeking missiles.
Source and more information: flightglobal
Italy’s Galileo Avionica has unveiled proposals for an aircraft carrier- or large-deck warship-launched and recovered version of its Falco tactical unmanned air vehicle.
A maritime configuration proto-type will be rolled out within one year, with this to be ready for initial shore-based trials in around two years, says marketing manager Carlo Siardi.
The new UAV variant would carry a dual sensor payload comprising an EOST-45 infrared and electro-optical turret and Selex’s new Gabbiano X-band multimode lightweight maritime radar. The latter already supports rotating maritime surveillance and fixed synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) modes, with development of an inverse-SAR capability also planned.
Siardi says the Falco’s existing short take-off and landing footprint of around 60m (195ft) means carrier landings should be feasible with minimal aircraft changes. Galileo Avionica has already undertaken extensive wake turbulence studies of the Italian navy’s current and proposed next-generation aircraft carriers, including windtunnel studies.
The UAV would take off on its own power, with deck landings to require augmentation of the navigation suite and some form of precision approach aid – radar and laser options are being considered. Studies are also underway on whether the UAV could be fitted with the same precision landing system carried by the Italian navy’s Boeing AV-8B Harrier II fighters.
The Falco air vehicle’s existing undercarriage has been designed to support hard landings during emergency parachute recovery operations and should also require few changes, says Siardi.
Source and more information: flightglobal
The Canadian Army will procure Elbit Systems Ltd.s (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) Skylark 2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for operations in Afghanistan. Three key US allies the UK, Canada, and Australia - are now using Israeli tactical UAVs.
The Canadian Army is procuring the Skylark 2 UAV as part of a program to expand its UAV capabilities. The Skylark 2 is a tactical UAV designed for brigade-level operations. It is easy to deploy, and provides visual tactical intelligence for military and homeland security missions. It has day and night intelligence gathering capabilities, can operate is severe weather conditions, and has a 50-km range.
The Skylark 2 is operated from a ground vehicle, which includes a launcher and double command and control station. The UAV is fully autonomous, and can take high-quality pictures under cloud cover, and has a night camera, third-general thermal imaging, and laser marker.
The Skylark 2 is a development of the Skylark 1, which is in operational use. Both versions have an especially quiet electric engine. Janes International Defence Review quotes Royal Canadian Air Force Lt.-Col. Gord Smith as saying that the Skylark 2 would meet the demands of the Canadian Army for a man-packed hand-launched UAV. The Canadian Army has already bought five Skylark systems, and is expected to buy five more.
The Skylarks small size means that it costs less than larger UAVs. The deal is worth several million dollars, and because of its low costs, Elbit Systems expects the order to grow.
The IDF Land Forces Command is testing similar tactical mini-UAVs built by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI) and Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd.. Although the testing is not yet completed, the IDF decided to procure additional Skylark 2s. The Skylark is currently in us with eight NATO armies.
Source and more information: globes
Saab’s Skeldar V-150 vertical take off and landing unmanned air vehicle, unveiled at last week’s Eurosatory exhibition in Paris, is a derivative of CybAero’s Apid 5 series UAV.
Saab Aerosystems deputy director for UAV programmes Anders Carp says the company has negotiated arrangements for use of the basic airframe and mechanical systems supplied by the fellow Linkoping, Sweden-headquartered company, but is optimising these to support Skeldar-specific requirements.
The shaped Skeldar fairing is unique to that air vehicle, with the Apid 5 in its basic configuration using a “box” fairing arrangement. CybAero’s Apid 5 variant now entering into limited series production for the United Arab Emirates special forces has limited shaping in its fairing and a pipe-form tail boom.
Source and more info: flightglobal
The US Air Force is planning to fit its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1 Predator unmanned air vehicles with an interim, optically based air traffic sense-and- avoid capability by mid-2008 using technology in the final stages of research testing.
The prototype technology is being developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s [AFRL] sensors directorate under a technology demonstration effort that is also looking at a fully autonomous version. That advanced variant would be developed into an operational suite between 2007 and 2009 for the USAF Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV and to replace the interim Predator system.
The planned suite will be based on optical sensors and processing systems jointly developed by AFRL and Defence Research Associates.
According to the deputy head of AFRL’s sensors directorate Col Garry Hopper, the technology will be “ready at the end of this month” for handover to the USAF Predator system programme office.
The suite being used in the trials programme, carried aboard an Aeronautics Aerostar UAV and flown out of Las Cruces airport in New Mexico, comprises three off- the-shelf electro-optical cameras in staring mounts.
Each camera covers an arc of ±95º ahead of the UAV. Imagery from the cameras is analysed in real time to identify deviations from the prevailing optical flow pattern.
Speaking at UVS International’s UAV 2006 conference in Paris earlier this month, Hopper said the algorithms used by the analysis software are based on the USAF’s own optical encounter model that has been used by the service since 1980 to develop high and low observability colour schemes for its aircraft. The research suite weighs 25lb (11kg) and draws 0.11kW of power.
Source and more info: flightglobal
International interest in ParcAberporth Unmanned Systems 2006 (PAUS06) is hotting up with many of the world’s leading organisations signed up to exhibit at the only event in Europe this year to feature flying demonstrations of unmanned systems.
Delegates attending the event on July 7 are drawn from industry, government, military and academic organisations from around the world and anyone wishing to register is advised to do so promptly¹ to avoid disappointment.
The demonstrations will feature a range of micro systems from AeroVironment Inc that are deployed by the US Armed Forces, including the Raven which has notched up more than 15,000 sorties for the US Army.
Scenarios illustrating the capability and flexibility of UAVs for defence and civil use will be enacted during the day and will range from surveillance - spotting a ’suspect’ in a crowd - to the use of UAVs for broadcast coverage of sporting events.
One of the stars of the show will be Falco from SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems which is targeted for the medium altitude endurance and tactical UAV markets for optronic and electronic surveillance roles.
SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems are Platinum Sponsors of the event including the gala dinner which will be hosted by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government, in Cardiff Castle.
EADS UK, which is Gold Sponsors of PAUS06, will be exhibiting and participating in the flying demonstrating with a rotary wing system. EADS UK has a long involvement in developing the operations of UAV systems in both the medium altitude long endurance and tactical sectors.
Bob Channon, an independent design engineer, will be demonstrating NITROHAWK, a lightweight and highly manoeuvrable rotary wing UAV which is capable of being carried and operated by a two man team.
Source and more info: shephard
The Greek Armed Forces have just ordered two additional Sperwer tactical UAV systems from Sagem Défense Sécurité (SAFRAN group).
Two initial systems were delivered at the end of 2004 and the beginning of 2006; they have been in use by the Greek Army – for the first time - since mid 2005.
The Sperwer systems’ configuration has been adapted to the mountainous terrain in Greece by adding aerial relay functions, carried out by a second UAV. This allows a direct link to be maintained with the aircraft ahead (up to a distance of 200km), while preserving the high resolution of images.
The Sperwer tactical UAV system is used today by our clients, in particular in several theaters of operations by multinational forces for peackeeping missions.
Developped by Sagem Défense Sécurité, the Sperwer UAV is a remote-controlled aircraft with a 4.2 meter wingspan, carrying a highly sophisticated optronic payload. Launched by a catapult, operating night and day, the aircraft is then remotely controlled by an operator in a ground control station.
The Sperwer drone system is 100% developed and produced in France. Including Greece, it has also been chosen by five other nations to date: Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, France and Canada. Already deployed by Canadian forces in Afghanistan, it is now the benchmark in tactical UAVs and the flagship of France’s product and service offering in this fast-growing market.
Source and more info: shephard
