DE vs UAV

The state of the art of DE (Directed Energy) technologies against UAVs (and many other targets) were exposed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), at the recent Air Force Association Conference in Washington, D.C. Let us see them briefly:

Microwave

• A single High Power Microwave (HPM) weapon could provide low-collateral damage of multiple targets.
• It is an alternative to the kinetic means of defeating an emitting/electronic target.
• The next step will be to design, develop and test a multi-shot, multi-target HPM cruise missile.

Laser: COIL vs HEL

• The Chemical-Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) technology demonstrated by the Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser Testbed has effectively been superseded by solid-state high-energy lasers. 
• The next step, by 2022, will be to repackage a HEL (High Energy Laser) in the 10kW-class into a pod that could be carried by an F-15 fighter. Such an airborne HEL could engage and defeat enemy aircraft or air-to-air missiles at moderate range, or provide precise and selectable (power), low-collateral attack of ground targets.
• Later in the next decade, a sixth-generation fighter could carry an efficient, lightweight HEL in the 100kW class with a conformal aperture beam.

Textron, Airbus To Bid on Expected French UAV Tender

Airbus Defence & Space has teamed with Textron to prepare a joint bid for an expected French tender for a tactical UAV, a competition likely to attract a lively clutch of international offers, said Senior Vice President Jens Nielsen. (Read more) 

¿How the Predator UAV Works?

Military commanders use tactics and strategy in combat to inflict as much damage on the enemy while trying to risk as few personnel and resources as possible. This principle was at the heart of the development of the RQ-1 and MQ-1 Predator UAV. (Read more)

Black-i Robotics: UGVs anti-hackers para la USAF

Black-i Robotics Inc. (Middlesex, MA, USA) ha ganado un contrato del Laboratorio de Investigación de la USAF (Air Force Research Laboratory) ubicado en Rome (NY, USA) al objeto de suministrar UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) invulnerables ante posibles ciberataques.

Bajo los términos de ese contrato, Black-i Robotics suministrará UGVs a la USAF en virtud del proyecto HACMS (High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems) auspiciado por la agencia DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)

El contrato contempla un desembolso de 528.000 dólares para la entrega inicial, que deberá ser completada en Octubre de 2012. Black-i Robotics construirá tres unidades LandShark Series H. Cada unidad constará de un UGV LandShark de tamaño medio, una unidad de control, un sistema de radio militar y varias cargas de pago especiales para el proyecto. Inicialmente, las cargas de pago incluirán una torreta movil, un sistema rádar anti-colisión, y una plataforma sensorial dotada de cámaras ópticas y térmicas de muy alta definición.

El encargo de la USAF viene al parecer motivado por el ciberataque sufrido por un UAV Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel a finales de 2011, cuando sobrevolaba el espacio aereo de Iran. Según los expertos el UAV habría sufrido un ciberataque centrado en sus sistemas de navegación, dando como resultado la captura del mismo por parte de las fuerzas militares de Irán.