The US Air Force said that it is retiring the 21-year-old MQ-1 PredatorUAV and is transitioning to the MQ-9 Reaper: "We are going to stop flying the MQ-1 completely by July 1, 2017,"20th Attack Squadron commander Lt. Col. James said in the release. "We're converting an MQ-1 squadron… to an MQ-9 squadron in combat operations without taking a single day out of combat."
The Air Force explained the MQ-9 Reaper will be used for close air support for US troops along human piloted aircraft, and also for intelligence gathering and real-time reconnaissance: "The MQ-9 is better equipped than the MQ-1 due to its high definition sensors and increased speed," the release stated. "The fresh MQ-9 design picked up where the MQ-1 left off, boasting a nearly 4,000-pound payload and the ability to carry missiles and bombs."
For the Pentagon, it seems, drones are invaluable: The United States is looking to reduce its man presence in Afghanistan, and instead “the Air Force aims to double the number of drone squadrons over the next five years,” the Hindustan Times reports. Drones are already a major presence in Afghanistan in particular, and in US missions around the world at large. “In the wars we fight, this is the future,” said drone pilot Lt. Shaw, who operates out of the US Air Force drone base in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. The US doesn’t release detailed statistics of drone involvement in Afghanistan, but it is clear that they play a major role in operations in the country. (Read more)
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has introduced a new sonobuoy capability for its MQ-9 Guardian maritime UAV which, alongside a number of other developing technologies, could make it a contender to help fill the UK’s maritime patrol gap.
While a requirement for a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) acquisition has yet to be released from the UK government, the developments that General Atomics is incorporating into the MQ-9 suggests that it will look to offer a modified Guardian to complement a manned MPA that is expected to be procured.
Other technology developments that the company is advancing include extended-range wings with external fuel tanks – something that has just been fielded with the US Air Force for the first time. The Guardian has a 1,000nm (1,850km) range and can stay on station for a further 10h, while the extended range variant has a 1,900nm range plus 10h on station.
Meanwhile, the company is developing a certifiable variant of the MQ-9 that will be able to fly in national airspace. This includes integration of the company’s detect and avoid Due Regard Radar system – for which it has been working with NASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration – into a modified MQ-9 nose, plus de-icing, lightning protection and a composite make-up similar to that on a Boeing 787.
A prototype of the detect and avoid system has just completed the third round of testing with NASA’s MQ-9-based Ikhana UAV, and testing using a certifiable system is expected to take place next year and be ready for certification in 2017.
Its new mission is a high-tech one: flying MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Reapers are remotely piloted and are primarily used for intelligence gathering. But according to the U.S. Air Force’s website: “Reapers can also perform the following missions and tasks: intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike, buddy-laser, convoy/raid overwatch, route clearance, target development, and terminal air guidance. The MQ-9’s capabilities make it uniquely qualified to conduct irregular warfare operations in support of combatant commander objectives.”
Nearly 600 people work for the 107th, making it one of Niagara Falls’ and Niagara County’s largest employers. Some have transferred to the 914th or transitioned into other roles with the Air Force, but the rest remain with the 107th, on the drone mission. The wing served as the 107th Air Refueling Wing from 1994 to 2008, flying a Boeing 707 configured to fuel fighters in mid-air. It became the 107th Airlift Wing in 2008, flying C-130s in partnership with the Air Force Reserve’s 914th Airlift Wing.
“The world changes, and we want make certain that our base is keeping on the cutting edge of what’s happening out there,” said Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster. “When military technology changes, the roles of military organizations change. That means that activities at bases change. I welcome the fact that we now have a new mission here, that looks like it’s a mission that’s going to be here to stay.”
“They continue to do great work here, and this is the transitioning of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, to always prepare itself to be able to accept new missions. And this marks the closing of one mission, but hopefully the opening of a new one,” said Congressman Brian Higgins.
Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center will host a multi-agency research program designed to drive innovation and reduce costs of government unmanned vehicle technology.
The Open Source Unmanned Remote and Autonomous Vehicle Systems (OS-URAVS) program is a collaborative, public-private program to be based at Camp Shelby and administered in conjunction with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Homeland Security, Defense Acquisition University and private-sector organizations, including the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI).
John Weathersby, executive director of OSSI, said the OS-URAVS program seeks to identify common open-source technologies and practices used within various agencies’ unmanned vehicle programs. “The goal is to identify and document specific technical, economic and administrative benefits provided by open technology solutions and to share this information with government unmanned vehicle programs, commercial suppliers and open-source development communities,” he said. OSSI developed the OS-URAVS program as part of the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate's Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) program. The DHS HOST program was launched in 2007 to identify open-source software solutions that support national cybersecurity objectives. The initial phase of the OS-URAVS program is scheduled to last one year.
The Netherlands is to purchase four General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related ground stations, the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 21 November.
The first Reaper should be fully operational in 2016, the last the following year. As opposed to MQ-9/RQ-9 Reapers in service with the US Air Force and the UK Royal Air Force, the Dutch version will not be armed, although this could change in the future "with a minimum of modification", the MoD stated.
The Reaper was the only system available, the MoD said, that met its requirement to conduct surveillance-missions with an endurance "exceeding 24 hours". The sensor load will be as standard for the platform:
EOIR
SAR
GMT
but will also include a special Dutch requirement to equip the UAVs with "a ground and surface radar with larger coverage" than standard and a specialised SIGINT pack.
The US Navy has released a request for proposal (RFP) to bring four potential Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) designs to maturity prior to a downselect. The RFP was released to four companies considered to have viable designs: Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI). The RFPs are individualized for each company and not public, so the exact specifications remain unknown. The RFP was initially due in late 2012, but subsequently delayed several times. After PDR is reached on the designs, a downselect to a single company is expected. The eventual result will be a stealthy unmanned air vehicle (UAV) for reconnaissance and light strike.
Thus far only Lockheed has publically unveiled its likely UCLASS offering, an aircraft bearing a strong resemblance to the classified RQ-170 reconnaissance drone flown by the US Air Force. Though no official bids have been made public, Northrop Grumman is thought likely to offer an aircraft based on the X-47B, which became the first unmanned aircraft to launch from a carrier deck in May. Boeing is likely to offer a derivative of its Phantom Ray, a company-funded demonstrator aircraft, while GA-ASI has the Avenger, jet-powered, high-speed version of the ubiquitous MQ-9 Reaper. Though as late as 2012 GA-ASI was undecided about offering the Avenger or the slower Reaper, the RFP reportedly includes specifications making the propeller-powered Reaper an unlikely choice. The Navy declined to provide additional information.
