UAVs and UCAVs

[LETHALFORCE]

Heron drone proves a dud in tracking Maoists in Chattisgarh : East News - India Today

heron-uav-fails-to-track-maoists-in-chattisgarh​

 

[Patriot]

[h=2]Navy Balloon Launches Drone, Which Drops Two More Spy Bots[/h]

It just might be the most convoluted spy program in the Pentagon's history: Fly a balloon up to 60,000 feet, and have it unleash a drone. Then, have that drone deploy several smaller surveillance drones that glide to the ground and collect data. Rube Goldberg, call your office.
The elaborate plot comes courtesy of the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which recently announced successful completion of flight tests for their new, Autonomous Deployment Demonstration project. The goal sounds simple enough: land small, sensor-laden drones at precise locations, without being detected. That'd allow military personnel to have better intel inside enemy terrain, and avoid putting themselves in harm's way to deposit the devices.
But the anodyne title and seemingly simple goal don't begin to get at the complexity of the project.
The Navy started with a high-altitude balloon. To the end of the balloon, they attached a simple, mid-sized Tempest drone — each one has a 10-foot wingspan and can carry a 10-pound payload.
But we're not done yet. The Tempest, in turn, is carrying two tiny Cicada drones — one under each wing.
The Cicada drones are tiny gliders, each about the size of a small bird and undetectable to radar. Plus, because the drones don't have a motor or propulsion system, they're essentially noiseless.
And their simple construction and inexpensive airframe means that the drones are disposable. The Cicada's wings are made of nothing more than custom-printed circuit boards, which contain a basic navigation system and the requisite sensors for a given job.
Their drones-within-a-drone-within-a-balloon contraption complete, the Navy conducted a series of eight aerial tests. And — shazzam! — the clever plot worked: Unleashed at 57,000 feet, the Tempest drones traveled as far as 30 nautical miles before unleashing their Cicada cargo. Once deployed, the Cicada drones glided an extra 11 miles, and landed an average of 15 feet away from their target locations.
Whew.
"The mission profile is straight forward," Chris Bovais, an NRL aeronautical engineer and flight test coordinator, said in a statement. "The Cicada is dropped from another airborne platform, flies to a single waypoint, and then enters an orbit. It descends in that orbit until it reaches the ground."
Brace yourself, Bovais, because this "straight forward" scheme is expected to get a little more complex. Eventually, the Navy hopes to deploy hundreds of Cicada drones from an aerial vehicle, and disperse them to deluge a hostile area with secret sensors.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Kunal Biswas]

MALE UAV OPV CENTAUR, company Aurora.

The U.S. company Aurora presented a model of its new aircraft CENTAUR , UAV system can optionally be operated on board ( OPA - Piloted Aircraft Optionnaly ). Based on the surveillance platform version MPP (Multi Purpose Platform) twin-engine light aircraft Diamond DA-42 with diesel engines AustroEngine , the aircraft has a payload monitoring optronics pod type gyrostabilised EO / IR, d a real-time data link LOS (band Ku and L ) and SATCOM. In version drone aircraft wingspan of 13.4 for a total mass of 1.8 tonnes and with a battery life of 24 hours for a flight ceiling of 27,500 ft, will be fully autonomous with the installation ATOL a system of automatic takeoff and landing.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

MALE UAVs OPV FireBird Northrop Grumman.

The U.S. company Northrop Grumman , the largest producer UAV currently in service is the system HALE Global Hawk , presented a model of its new Firebird , which can be either an aircraft or UAV pilot on board ( OPA - Piloted Aircraft Optionnaly ) .

Having made "‹"‹its first flight just 12 months after the specifications are provided to the company Scaled Composites , the prototype drone OPA Firebird made "‹"‹its first flight in February and his first official demonstration at the U.S. Joint Exercise Empire Challenge with held in Fort Huachuca (Arizona) beginning in June 2011.

The aircraft is a single-seater light aircraft of double girder 19.8 m span for 10.3 m long, with a total mass of 2.2 tonnes with a payload of 562 kg can be transported internally or external pod . Powered by a gasoline piston engine Lycoming of 300 hp, its flight ceiling is 30,000 ft for an endurance of 24 to 40 hours. This is the most important performance among different OPV existing on the market.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

helicopter Fire-X company Northrop Grumman

The company Northrop Grumman , also presented a model of its new helicopter UAV MQ-8C FireX , successor to the MQ-8B FireScout which covers the main systems installed this time in a cell Helicopter Bell 407 . This new formula will provide a volume and a payload mass and a more consistent than those of endurance FireScout home.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Test Autonomous Aerial Refueling for Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Navy Test Autonomous Aerial Refueling for Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration

Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed a series of flight tests to demonstrate technology that could help extend the operating range and flight duration of future carrier-based unmanned systems.

The flight tests, completed Jan. 21 in St. Augustine, proved the functionality of the hardware and software that will enable the X-47B unmanned aircraft to demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) in 2014.

The AAR activity is part of the Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Carrier Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. Northrop Grumman is the Navy's UCAS-D prime contractor.

"These tests are a critical step toward proving that the X-47B can perform autonomous aerial refueling using either the Navy's probe-and-drogue refueling technique or the U.S. Air Force's boom/receptacle approach," said Carl Johnson, vice president and UCAS-D program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector.

"Future unmanned systems will need to use both refueling techniques if they plan to conduct longer range surveillance or strike missions from the carrier."

The AAR tests were conducted by a Northrop Grumman/Navy team using Calspan Corporation's (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) Variable Stability Learjet as the X-47B surrogate aircraft, and a K707 tanker provided by Omega Air Refueling (Alexandria, Va.).

The tests included simulated flight demonstrations of both boom/receptacle and probe-and-drogue aerial refueling techniques. No fuel was exchanged between the aircraft during the test events, however.

The Learjet surrogate was equipped with real or functional equivalents of the navigation systems, flight control processor and vision system that the X-47B will use to conduct refueling operations.

The aircraft contained no refueling receptacle or refueling probe. The K707, which is nearly identical in size and shape to an Air Force KC-135, was equipped with a Navy style refueling drogue only.

For each simulated refueling event, the Learjet/X-47B surrogate was piloted to a rendezvous position approximately one nautical mile from the tanker. Then the pilot transferred control of the aircraft to the X-47B's autonomous flight control processor, which controlled the Learjet during the test event.

During a typical refueling event, the tanker operator or a mission operator on the ground commanded the Learjet to fly, in sequence, to each of the major positions associated with aerial refueling:

(1) the pre-tanking observation point off one wing of the tanker;

(2) the refueling contact position behind the tanker; and

(3) the post-tanking "reform" position off the other wing of the tanker.

"These flights demonstrated empirically that an unmanned system can conduct aerial refueling operations with accuracy and precision," said Pablo Gonzalez, program manager for Northrop Grumman's UCAS-D AAR program. "The aircraft never gets tired, and it responds exactly the same way to operator commands every time."

"The X-47B will use a hybrid GPS/vision-based relative navigation system in conjunction with its autonomous flight control system to establish and maintain a precise distance between tanker and the receiver aircraft," he added.

The Northrop Grumman/Navy test team plans to conduct additional AAR surrogate testing using the same aircraft when flight-qualified versions of the relevant X-47B hardware and software become available.

The UCAS-D program plans to demonstrate in 2013 the ability of the tailless, autonomous, low-observable relevant X-47B demonstrator to safely operate from a Navy aircraft carrier, including launch, recovery, bolter and wave-off performance, followed by the autonomous aerial refueling in 2014.

The program also plans to mature technologies required for potential future Navy unmanned air system programs.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Aerial Blimp Refueling of UAVs

Aerial Blimp Refueling of UAVs

Aerial refueling from blimps might be easier than we think. Currently we use C-130s to fuel Boeing Attack helicopters and Large Cargo Type helicopters, which can be a dangerous operation. The C-130 must slow down to very slow speeds and the helicopters are flying at high rates of speed. The problems occur when there is turbulence and the fully loaded with fuel C-130 is in the middle of a transfer of fuel. There are ways to slow down a C-130 and reduce it's turbulent airflows:

http://worldthinktank.net/wttbbs/index.php?showtopic=325

http://worldthinktank.net/wttbbs/index.php?showtopic=328

But when we are taking about refueling a swarm of UAVs it maybe very difficult to do so by use of a large aircraft. Small UAVs or MAVs will be quite adversely affected by even the slightest vortex or turbulence. Our solution is to provide a lighter than air slow moving craft with very mild and predictive induced airflows, slower speeds and a way to block wind while refueling a fleet or swarm of UAVs or MAVs without loss of aircraft or failure to complete refueling.

Using a large foamy mattress like mesh with cone shaped pores it maybe possible to refuel large swarms of UAVs using a lighter than air blimp or airship. The large airship would have it's population system on top, while underneath on the bottom skin would be this foamy mesh which would drop down and unfold. The bottom of the foamy mesh would be Kevlar to prevent small arm strikes, which might ignite the fuel being used. On the foam side would be cone shaped receptors, which would only activate when and if a small UAV came in contact with them, once it pulled away that nozzle would disengage. Only those cone receptacles, which have UAVs on the other end would dispense the fuel. This process would work well for small UAVs in a swarm or even MAVs. In the event of use with MAVs each cone much closer together. As the UAV or MAV approached it would not need a perfect lock on the receptacle as is now needed for in-flight refueling of fighter aircraft or the larger Predator UAVs. Imagine a gigantic cupcake pan.

only made of foam with each hole coming to a point, which would match the exact shape of the UAV or MAV as the hole got smaller. These large foam meshes for refueling could be up to several hundred square feet or as small as many square meters. If a UAV fails to attach to the mesh it would simply fly back around and try again. Once attached it's forward propulsion would insure it stays connected as it presses against the mesh. The foam mesh devise would drop and extend downward at an angle as the air pressure caused by the relative wind against it will push it slightly towards the rear of the aircraft, therefore each cone would be slightly angled downward, so it will be level during refueling. Most UAVs have large proportional fuselages and the front ends stick forward for stability. In this concept it would be best for the UAV to be a pusher-propelled craft;

http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2002/p...2/dvd-171-1.jpg

although would also work well for a craft which has motors as much as 6 or more inches from the front farthest forward point. If most or all of the front fuselage embeds itself in the receptacle made to match, the aircraft will remain in place, with even the smallest amount of forward pressure from the thrust of the motor or power plant. If a UAV or MAV is unable to be refueled or it's sensors are showing damage in anyway, it can then be secured within the mesh and upon retraction into the airship remain in the mesh. Once within the Blimp its tail will be secured by a series of hanging hooks, then brought back with the airship. This methodology may also be used to collect UAVs or MAVs upon completion of mission, without the damage incurred by nets. Such a system can launch and retrieve UAVs or MAVs without the need for landing gear thus saving the weight for additional sensors or mission components.

About The Author

Lance Winslow - Discuss Thought Provoking Concepts, Controversies and Major Social, Economic, Political, Science and Technology Issues That Impact Our Planet At The Online Think Tank: http://www.WorldthinkTank.net/wttbbs Geniuses Wanted. Join our free forums to develop the genius in you or share your unique perspectives.

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[LETHALFORCE]

UAV to UAV Refueling Developed

UAV to UAV Refueling Developed

A team of Students in the Technion's Faculty of Aerospace Engineering in Israel have succeeded in developing a system capable of refueling one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using another. The academic project might have very practical applications helping to extend the range of UAVs and allowing them to perform longer missions.


Midair refueling is a complex task developed by Alexander P. de Seversky, a Russian pilot which immigrated to the U.S., who first applied for and received a patent for midair refueling in 1921. Two years later, the U.S. army began operational testing of midair refueling, but although successful, another decade passed before the necessary technology and technique were perfected and midair refueling became routine. Today most combat aircraft are capable of midair refueling although the task is still considered complex and done manually. Currently several companies world-wide are developing automatic technologies for aerial refueling, designed to further increase the safety of this complex procedure.
The Technion students, under the direction of Prof. Benjamin Landkof and Robert Zickel, worked on the project for the past year. The project did not include the development of an actual UAV refueler, instead the 10 student team focused on a special algorithm that controls a camera attached to the end of the refueling pipe. The camera focuses on a small red light that marks the target for it, calculates the distance between the pipe and the fuel opening and instructs the small wings that guide the fuel pipe towards the opening. The camera can give instructions not only with respect to pipe direction but also to extend its length, if necessary, from six to 12 meters (20-40 feet).

Although giants like Boeing are currently testing UAV automated aerial refueling capabilities there is no system capable of refueling one UAV using another on the market. The Technion's system is a completely independent, operated by a computer in the refueling UAV. It carries 400 kg of fuel and is capable of refueling another UAV. According to the team UAV aerial refueling will enable the UAV to remain airborne for 36 additional hours between refueling (there was no mention which specific UAV this number was referring to).

In 2006 TFOT covered in depth a different concept under development in Israel - AirBorne ReArming - which will allow both manned and unmanned aircrafts to rearm using a modified cargo aircraft C-130, C-17, or even a C-5).
The Technion's UAV refueling project will be presented at the 47th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences, which is set to open on February 21, 2007 in Tel Aviv and at the Technion.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

Turning UAV-to-UAV Refueling on its Head

Turning UAV-to-UAV Refueling on its Head

Northrop Grumman has turned the concept of aerial refueling completely on its head for the KQ-X UAV-to-UAV autonomous high-altitude aerial refueling demonstration.

In time-tested air-to-air refueling practice, the tanker deploys its hose and drogue (or boom) and flies a racetrack pattern, providing a stable target for the receiver, which maneuvers behind the tanker to connect with, or "plug" into, the refueling basket (or boom). Fuel then flows downhill.

Northrop does it exactly the other way round. In the KQ-X demonstration, planned for 2012, one of NASA's Global Hawks will fly a racetrack and deploy a hose and drogue - but as the receiver. The second NASA Global Hawk - the tanker - will then maneuver into position behind the receiver and plug its refueling boom into the basket. Fuel will flow uphill.


All of this is taking place at 45,000ft, between aircraft that are not designed to maneuver at such altitudes. Well above the normal altitudes for aerial refuelling, 45.000ft has been picked because it's close to the Global Hawk's cruise altitude and well above atmospheric turbulence that would make connecting difficult.

Northrop is pursuing air-to-air refueling as a low cost and low risk way to extend the endurance of high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft - lower cost and risk than a hydrogen- or solar-powered UAVs, that is. ANd the company argues that conventional aerial refueling would require every UAV to be equipped for and capable of maneuvering behind the tanker.

But with its "reverse-flow refueling" concept, only a small number of UAVs need to be permanently modified to rendezvous and maneuver as tankers - the bulk of the fleet can be equipped as "passive" receivers simply by fitting a buddy hose-and-drogue refueling pod as required.

Tests are getting under way with a January close-proximity flight in which Scaled Composites' manned Proteus, simulating the Global Hawk tanker, flew to within 40ft of a NASA Global Hawk, simulating the receiver, at 45,000ft. The test was intended to measure the wake effect on the aircraft, check for engine plume ingestion, and test the autonomous "break-away" maneuvers required if the tanker misses the basket or has to break off refueling.

All of which reminds me this is not the first time the direction of air-to-air refueling has been reversed. In the 1930s, Royal Air Force Sqn Ldr Richard Atcherly developed the "looped hose" method. The receiving aircraft trailed a long line with a grapnel at the end. The tanker trailed a weighted line and approached the receiver from behind and one side, the crossed over to the other side so the lines touched. The receiver then hauled in the lines and the hose from the tanker.

Ultimately this was refined by Alan Cobham into the hose-and-drogue method used today - and the company he formed is providing the refueling system to Northrop for KQ-X.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

In the KQ-X demonstration, planned for 2012, one of NASA's Global Hawks will fly a racetrack and deploy a hose and drogue - but as the receiver. The second NASA Global Hawk - the tanker - will then maneuver into position behind the receiver and plug its refueling boom into the basket. Fuel will flow uphill.

"Don't ask, don't tell.":shocked:

 

[talmash]

multifunctional relay station:

AcceleRadio developed a multifunctional relay station, that could be carried by a UAV.

1. support any radio in the field
2. small size and light weight (450gr)
3. support also telephones (radio to telephone emergency)
4. gives F1F2 relay services (voice / data / secure)
5. EW features
6. full controllability
7. support IP
8. pat pend: the relay behaves as a scanner that looks for networks (brigade and below) that need a relay, the relay will report the com. center, and the com. center will set the correct frequency/channles for relaying service

for more details

[email protected]

 

[LETHALFORCE]

A future for drones: automated killing - The Washington Post


A future for drones: Automated killing

One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, Ga., two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search of an orange, green and blue tarp.

The automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own, with no human guidance, no hand on any control.

After 20 minutes, one of the aircraft, carrying a computer that processed images from an onboard camera, zeroed in on the tarp and contacted the second plane, which flew nearby and used its own sensors to examine the colorful object. Then one of the aircraft signaled to an unmanned car on the ground so it could take a final, close-up look.

Target confirmed.

This successful exercise in autonomous robotics could presage the future of the American way of war: a day when drones hunt, identify and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, not decisions made by humans. Imagine aerial "Terminators," minus beefcake and time travel.

The Fort Benning tarp "is a rather simple target, but think of it as a surrogate," said Charles E. Pippin, a scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which developed the software to run the demonstration. "You can imagine real-time scenarios where you have 10 of these things up in the air and something is happening on the ground and you don't have time for a human to say, 'I need you to do these tasks.' It needs to happen faster than that."

The demonstration laid the groundwork for scientific advances that would allow drones to search for a human target and then make an identification based on facial-recognition or other software. Once a match was made, a drone could launch a missile to kill the target.

Military systems with some degree of autonomy — such as robotic, weaponized sentries — have been deployed in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea and other potential battle areas. Researchers are uncertain how soon machines capable of collaborating and adapting intelligently in battlefield conditions will come online. It could take one or two decades, or longer. The U.S. military is funding numerous research projects on autonomy to develop machines that will perform some dull or dangerous tasks and to maintain its advantage over potential adversaries who are also working on such systems.

The killing of terrorism suspects and insurgents by armed drones, controlled by pilots sitting in bases thousands of miles away in the western United States, has prompted criticism that the technology makes war too antiseptic. Questions also have been raised about the legality of drone strikes when employed in places such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, which are not at war with the United States. This debate will only intensify as technological advances enable what experts call lethal autonomy.

The prospect of machines able to perceive, reason and act in unscripted environments presents a challenge to the current understanding of international humanitarian law. The Geneva Conventions require belligerents to use discrimination and proportionality, standards that would demand that machines distinguish among enemy combatants, surrendering troops and civilians.

"The deployment of such systems would reflect a paradigm shift and a major qualitative change in the conduct of hostilities," Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said at a conference in Italy this month. "It would also raise a range of fundamental legal, ethical and societal issues, which need to be considered before such systems are developed or deployed."

Drones flying over Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen can already move automatically from point to point, and it is unclear what surveillance or other tasks, if any, they perform while in autonomous mode. Even when directly linked to human operators, these machines are producing so much data that processors are sifting the material to suggest targets, or at least objects of interest. That trend toward greater autonomy will only increase as the U.S. military shifts from one pilot remotely flying a drone to one pilot remotely managing several drones at once.

But humans still make the decision to fire, and in the case of CIA strikes in Pakistan, that call rests with the director of the agency. In future operations, if drones are deployed against a sophisticated enemy, there may be much less time for deliberation and a greater need for machines that can function on their own.

The U.S. military has begun to grapple with the implications of emerging technologies.

"Authorizing a machine to make lethal combat decisions is contingent upon political and military leaders resolving legal and ethical questions," according to an Air Force treatise called Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047. "These include the appropriateness of machines having this ability, under what circumstances it should be employed, where responsibility for mistakes lies and what limitations should be placed upon the autonomy of such systems."

In the future, micro-drones will reconnoiter tunnels and buildings, robotic mules will haul equipment and mobile systems will retrieve the wounded while under fire. Technology will save lives. But the trajectory of military research has led to calls for an arms-control regime to forestall any possibility that autonomous systems could target humans.

In Berlin last year, a group of robotic engineers, philosophers and human rights activists formed the International Committee for Robot Arms Control (ICRAC) and said such technologies might tempt policymakers to think war can be less bloody.

Some experts also worry that hostile states or terrorist organizations could hack robotic systems and redirect them. Malfunctions also are a problem: In South Africa in 2007, a semiautonomous cannon fatally shot nine friendly soldiers.

The ICRAC would like to see an international treaty, such as the one banning antipersonnel mines, that would outlaw some autonomous lethal machines. Such an agreement could still allow automated antimissile systems.

"The question is whether systems are capable of discrimination," said Peter Asaro, a founder of the ICRAC and a professor at the New School in New York who teaches a course on digital war. "The good technology is far off, but technology that doesn't work well is already out there. The worry is that these systems are going to be pushed out too soon, and they make a lot of mistakes, and those mistakes are going to be atrocities."

Research into autonomy, some of it classified, is racing ahead at universities and research centers in the United States, and that effort is beginning to be replicated in other countries, particularly China.

"Lethal autonomy is inevitable," said Ronald C. Arkin, the author of "Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots," a study that was funded by the Army Research Office.

Arkin believes it is possible to build ethical military drones and robots, capable of using deadly force while programmed to adhere to international humanitarian law and the rules of engagement. He said software can be created that would lead machines to return fire with proportionality, minimize collateral damage, recognize surrender, and, in the case of uncertainty, maneuver to reassess or wait for a human assessment.

In other words, rules as understood by humans can be converted into algorithms followed by machines for all kinds of actions on the battlefield.

"How a war-fighting unit may think — we are trying to make our systems behave like that," said Lora G. Weiss, chief scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

Others, however, remain skeptical that humans can be taken out of the loop.

"Autonomy is really the Achilles' heel of robotics," said Johann Borenstein, head of the Mobile Robotics Lab at the University of Michigan. "There is a lot of work being done, and still we haven't gotten to a point where the smallest amount of autonomy is being used in the military field. All robots in the military are remote-controlled. How does that sit with the fact that autonomy has been worked on at universities and companies for well over 20 years?"

Borenstein said human skills will remain critical in battle far into the future.

"The foremost of all skills is common sense," he said. "Robots don't have common sense and won't have common sense in the next 50 years, or however long one might want to guess."

 

[LETHALFORCE]

'3 Idiots' UAV inducted into counter-insurgency operations


'3 Idiots' UAV inducted into counter-insurgency operations
India Gazette
Monday 30th January, 2012
(IANS)


The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), that awed viewers in the Bollywood hit '3 Idiots', has been officially inducted into the paramilitary forces. The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are using the drone, titled 'Netra', in counter-insurgency operations.

The autonomous UAV for surveillance and reconnaissance was inducted into the paramilitary forces last month while the army, navy and several state police forces have shown a keen interest in acquiring it, say its makers.

It was developed by Ideaforge Technology Pvt Ltd, a company floated by a group of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Mumbai alumni, and the Pune-based Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

DRDO, after watching the 2009 Aamir Khan-starrer '3 Idiots', tied up with IdeaForge to refine the Netra.

It is designed specifically for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations in forested areas. It can be used in hostage situations like the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, border infiltration monitoring, local law enforcement operations, search and rescue operations, disaster management and aerial photography.

'Ten units of Netra have already been taken by the DRDO for research related works in their laboratories like Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) in Manali while less than a dozen have been provided to paramilitary forces,' IdeaForge vice-president (marketing and operations unmanned systems) Amardeep Singh told IANS.

Netra is light-weight (1.5 kg) and portable, constructed using carbon fibre composites, allowing a user to carry the system along with the control station to field locations. Each unit costs around Rs.15-20 lakh.

The operator simply selects the locations from a graphical interface showing the map of the area and specifies the heights with command either to hover or traverse through them.

'We have developed 10 prototypes of Netra that can suit the requirements of paramilitary forces, police and defence forces. We have now given the right of production to IdeaForge and those interested in buying it can directly get in touch with the company,' Alok Mukherjee, head of the robotics division of DRDO, told IANS.

Talking about its usage in paramilitary forces, Singh said Netra can help in catching the images of the mass movement of Maoists hiding in difficult terrains and alert the forces about their presence.

'We have also demonstrated the Netra during a political rally in Chandigarh at the request of police and several other state police forces have shown keen interest in procuring it,' said Singh.

The company is now working on the next version of Netra in order to increase the flight time from the present 30 minute per battery charge. It can fly in a radius of 1.5 km at an altitudes of around 200 metre.

'Netra flies using four high-speed propellers that allow vertical take-off and landing and provide the power to soar through the skies. It has a wireless video transmitter and high resolution CCD camera with pan/tilt and zoom that sends images back to the operator,' said Mukherjee.

The built-in intelligence in the controller allows for fail-safe operations wherein in case of either a communication failure with base station or low battery, the UAV returns to take-off position automatically.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

DRDO lab tests UAVs

DRDO lab tests UAVs


In a significant boost to Indian capabilities in using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) — a laboratory under DRDO — conducted flight trials of micro and mini UAVs at Hoskote near Bangalore.

According a press release from the DRDO, three Micro Air Vehicles named Black Kite, Golden Hawk & Pushpak with sizes ranging from 300 to 450 mm with a maximum 'all up' weight of 300 gms to 500 gms have been flight demonstrated and these vehicles have an endurance of 30 minutes and carry a miniature daylight video camera as payload that relays the imagery of the gaming area to ground control during its flight. The video and telemetry range is about two kilometres.

These vehicles are designed and developed to meet requirements including countering low intensity conflicts, counter terrorism and for rescue operations during natural calamities. These small vehicles are capable of flying in full autonomous mode and transmitting live day and night video to the portable Ground Control Station (GCS) in real time. Two mini UAVs categorised under 2 Kg class vehicles with endurance of 1 hour were also demonstrated and these vehicles carry either a daylight camera or thermal/night vision camera (one at a time) as payload and thus have capability for both day and night surveillance.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

SAR LENSES PLANNED FOR RUSTOM

 

[jamwal]

Brochures of Netra + some other ROVs from Def Expo 2010

 

[LETHALFORCE]

NATO to spend 3.0 billion euros on drone program

NATO to spend 3.0 billion euros on drone program


NATO will spend 3.0 billion euros ($3.9 billion) to buy and operate five US-built drones over 20 years in an effort to fill a gap exposed in the Libyan air war, an official said Wednesday.

Allies will pay at least 1.0 billion euros to acquire the Global Hawk drones from Northrop Grumman, a price that includes ground support stations, image analysis technology and training for operators, the official said.

Operating the drones, which will be based at the NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily, will cost the alliance another 2.0 billion euros over the next two decades, the official said on condition of anonymity.

"Libya showed the importance of having such a capability," the official said.

While European air forces carried out the bulk of bombing missions in Libya last year, they relied heavily on drones provided by the United States to identify and hit targets during the campaign.

NATO defence ministers finally agreed on the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) after two decades of wrangling over its funding.

The drones are being purchased by 13 NATO nations: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States.

The aircraft will then be available to all 28 allies who will contribute to the cost of operating them. France and Britain will mostly contribute by providing their own surveillance aircraft to the programme.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has hailed the AGS programme as a prime example of the alliance's efforts to pool and share resources at a time of economic crisis chipping away at defence budgets.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

2011 ASDA Elbit Systems products

Skylark 1-LE Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Hermes 90 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Unmanned Vehicles: Liberating or Enslaving? - Blog

Unmanned aircraft have been billed as the ultimate in efficiency, a model for the Pentagon's vision of substituting technology for labor.

But don't be fooled, Pentagon officials warn. Unmanned aerial vehicles are great for spying over enemy territory, but they are a huge drain on human resources. In fact, a combat air patrol that relies on UAVs demands more operators and support staff than if it were conducted by conventional aircraft with a pilot in the cockpit.

"Over 150 people are needed to do one combat air patrol" with U.S. Air Force Predator or Reaper drones, says Reginald Brothers, deputy assistant secretary of defense for research.