It should not be surprising that Israel has become a leader in military innovation given the demands of national security. Among the technologies that it has advanced are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Even though other nations have conducted experiments with these vehicles, Israel developed and fielded them as battlefield systems.
Developed from the Israeli-developed Elbit Hermes 450, the Watchkeeper is operated by the British Army as an unarmed Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platform.
The UAV came down close to the airfield from which it was operating, bringing to five the number of Watchkeepers that have now been lost. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the incident but declined to divulge details, except to say that an investigation has been launched.
With 54 air vehicles having been acquired, the army is now down to 49 as a result of its losses. A senior service official previously told Jane’s that expected attrition losses were built into the original number of Watchkeepers procured, though it was noted that this was to enable the platform to be used in less permissive environments rather than to cover for expected accidents.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms are of major interest to Defense, Government, and commercial industries. The ability to remotely control an aerial vehicle capable of surveillance, offensive and defensive maneuvering, reconnaissance, or numerous other applications without the need to put a human life in jeopardy is a major attraction to their use. Furthermore, there exists opportunities to make these airborne vehicles largely autonomous, further reducing the need for even remote human operators. However, for all of the significant advantages of UAVs, there is a significant negative: the cost of manufacture, and the cost of design. Due in part to the substantial amount of complex electronic equipment on board, UAVs become not only a design of aeronautics, but an experiment in energy conservation through optimization. A limited range of UAV power becomes a limiting factor of UAV application. The challenge becomes to optimize the size, weight, and aerodynamics of the UAV based on the application.
Airbus has demonstrated he benefits of using UAVs for aircraft visual inspection at the Farnborough International Airshow.
With this new method, the aircraft downtime for inspection is reduced to 10 to 15 minutes, instead of 2 hours using conventional methods.
The images catched up by the UAV cameras and especially those showing any potential non-quality such as scratches, dents and painting defects, are compiled in a 3D digital model, recorded in a database and then analysed.
In addition, picture analysis can be done anytime afterwards and in an office, so the benefits of this innovative tool and process are significant: “The use of this new technology offers better working conditions including improving the safety and comfort for the quality inspectors”, says Nathalie Ducombeau, Airbus head of quality.
The SDF shot down an ISILISR-UAVequipped with imaging devices and bombs, flying over their positions near the town of Manbij in Northeastern Aleppo. The UAV was brought down after it was intercepted over positions of Manbij Military Council, affiliated to the Kurdish-led SDF.
During a presentation at the UNVEX16 event at Madrid–Cuatro Vientos Airport, Spain, José Luis Saiz, INAER Spain’s director of research and development, explained that the extensive experience of INAER Spain using EO / IR, SAR and LIDAR sensors for surveillance services, grounding that will allow them to become the first European operator to perform surveillance and observation activities in firefighting missions, not only daytime but also at night. (Read more)
Frank W Pace, president, Aircraft Systems, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc, said: ‘This flight was a significant milestone for Predator B ER in that it closes out its Phase 1 flight test period. The entire RPAS was successfully tested from start to finish, including flying a real-world representative mission with significant loiter time, and then returning to base.’
The ER (Extended Range) variant optimises the aircraft for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions with a projected increase in endurance from 27 to 33-35 hours by adding two external fuel tanks to its existing wings and heavy-weight landing gear to accommodate an increase in maximum gross takeoff weight.
The flight, which took place from 17-18 June, saw the Predator B ER demonstrate its ability to carry an external fuel tank on each wing, and used a new fuel management system which ensures fuel and thermal balance amongst all fuel sources, including the external tanks, the wing, and the fuselage.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has commissioned the country's latest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) which will be deployed as an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaisance(ISR) platform in the fight against terrorism, maritime piracy and crude oil theft. "Besides its diverse military applications, the UAV provides us with a range of benefits in disaster management, power line surveys, law enforcement operations, telecommunications, weather monitoring and aerial imaging/mapping. It is also becoming an important tool in news coverage, environmental safety monitoring, and oil and gas exploration surveys," Jonathan said.
The aircraft, which has been named 'Gulma' meaning 'gossip' in the local Hausa language, was produced by the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) with the help of aerospace engineers from Cranfield University in Britain. The UAV was unveiled in a ceremony on Tuesday 17th December attended by senior government officials and defence officials led by Air Force Chief of Staff Air Marshall Alex Badeh at the Kaduna Air Force base. “The Gulma has been designed to meet vast expectations and needs. It could be employed by the armed forces and security agencies for the protection of Nigeria. We also envisage viable partnerships with agencies such as National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the area of disaster management and the Nigerian Air Space Management Agency (NAMA) in the area of weather forecasting," Badeh said. He added the government should upgrade the AFIT from a limited innovative research outfit into a viable aircraft production centre with the capacity to mass-produce indigenous UAVs.
Acting defence minister Labaran Maku said Nigeria needs a comprehensive policy to support the development of indigenous UAVs to enhance the operations of security services presently battling the Boko Haram insurgency in the north and maritime crimes and oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea and Niger Delta areas.He added it is important for the Air Force to allow other security agencies to incorporate its UAVs into their operations so that the whole sector can make use of their full strategic potential. "Emphasis should now be placed on the harmonisation of our research and development programmes towards the attainment of a common goal to transform the Nigerian Armed Forces into one of the top fighting forces in the world.Working hand in hand with NAF and other (security) services, the Federal Ministry of Defence shall sustain its efforts at encouraging local content in its pursuit of military asset acquisition. Also the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigerian (DICON) shall be further empowered to provide support to the services in their respective and collective research and development efforts," Maku said.
Powered by a 17 hp engine, the Gulma is built on a composite aluminium alloy structure, operates via radio control on a Micro Pilot FCS avionics system and weighs 40 kilogrammes. It has a maximum cruise range of 923 km and a top flight speed of 86 knots. It can cruise at a maximum altitude of 10 000 feet and has an endurance of up to 5.8 hours. The AFIT team has so far trained 15 pilots to operate its growing fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Algeria is considering the Adcom Systems Yabhon United 40 Block 5Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to fulfill its Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE)Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) requirement, a company official said at the Dubai Air Show 2013.
The North African country is looking for an Unmanned Platform to track militants and traffickers in its vast southern desert regions, and while Algerian media has previously revealed that the air force is interested in the US-made General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GAASI) Predator/Reaper platform, this is the first time the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-developed Yabhon United 40 Block 5 has been touted as a possible candidate.
The Algerian Air Force does currently operate the Denel Dynamics Seeker UAV, and the Denel Seeker 400 and Selex Falco have also been touted as potential candidates. The two Yabhon United 40 Block 5 UAVs displayed at the show (both of which have been built for unspecified customers) were shown fitted with four Adcom Systems Namrod stand-off missiles (two under each wing), and two torpedoes on the centreline hardpoints (which can be equipped with a company-made wing-kit for enhanced stand-off capabilities). The internal rotating dispenser can drop munitions or 24 sonobouys.
Carolina Unmanned Vehicles, Inc. (CUV) announces the delivery of the Rev-1 version of the Small Tactical Multi-Payload Aerostat System (STMPAS), for deployment to Afghanistan. STMPAS is suitable for surveillance, communications relay and research for DOD and Homeland Security missions. (Read more)
