UAVs and UCAVs

prahladh

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The ucav's are not going to be as good as the one in the movie "Stealth" for a2g roles. cause as AJ mentioned it will like searching for needle in hay stack. But I think it can automated for a2a combat. when a missile can lockon/maneuver/chase why can't UCAV in a2a?

UAV in air to air combat is not a good idea i mean IAF flying offcier once said " never send a machine to do a human job " .If any IAF jet finds a UAV adversary it can take out that UAV pretty easily.UAV role should be limited to RECON missions .suppresion of air defense.As of now manned air to air combat is here to stay.it will be a sad day when UCAV will replace pilots in the air .
I guess he made this point keeping in mind the current UAV's only and he is right.
 

AJSINGH

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The ucav's are not going to be as good as the one in the movie "Stealth" for a2g roles. cause as AJ mentioned it will like searching for needle in hay stack. But I think it can automated for a2a combat. when a missile can lockon/maneuver/chase why can't UCAV in a2a?



I guess he made this point keeping in mind the current UAV's only and he is right.
well if u see current trend UCAV will be better in a2g roles as the ones operated by USAF in desert war .A2A combat is very diffcult even if a person on the ground is controlling it .I mean right NOW UCAV are slow .not much stealthy either .They can only be used when enemy air defense is supressed and also the air force
low flying UCAV are sitting ducks for cheap anti aircraft guns as well as old vintage 1960 SAM
 
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Defunct Humanity: A Russian UCAV/UAV killer

A Russian UCAV/UAV killer

The Russian aircraft industry site 'AviaPort' reports 2009-09-09 about the development of an anti-UAV weapon in Russia. According to the plant chief-designer Sergey Yelizarov, the 'Radiozavod' company from Penza has started the tests of a new system for struggle the incoming UAVs\UCAVs. The system is based on the movable PU12M7 command point of the integrated anti-aircraft system, which can include "Strela-10", ZSU-23, "Tunguska", "Tor" and other SAAMs. This command point is initially used for the anti-aircraft purpose. For anti-UAV capability it was equipped with a new radar, the ELINT staton and the optic-electronnic sensors. The ELINT station discloses the UAV/UCAV datalink emission, giving the initial coordinates to the radar and OELS.


Then, the UAV-interceptor is directed to the zone of enemy mini- or micro-UAV cruising and jams its datalink. The enemy median and big-size UAVs are intercepted with the anti-aircraft measures available. The range of detection is about 25 km. During the tests the UAVs of ENIKS (Kazan) were used. This company has a family of UAVs for different purposes, with the different kinds of propulsion.
 

RPK

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The Technology Drivers of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

defence.professionals | defpro.com

06:28 GMT, September 30, 2009 The following article is part of defpro.com’s newest feature which will be available as of today: the defpro.focus. As one of the first focus entries of this innovation we have chosen one of the currently most pioneering fields of technology: unmanned aerial vehicles and systems. A link to the new defpro.focus will be made available here in the course of the day. -- Luca Bonsignore, Publisher


[You may find part 1 of the below published article here: ]defence.professionals | defpro.com

Technological advances are bringing new capabilities and functionalities to UAVs, to the point where they can be feasible, cost-effective alternatives to their manned counterparts in an ever-increasing number of mission sets. UAVs are now at the crossroads where growing technological capabilities are beginning to meet operational requirements.

Advances in micro-manufacturing technology will allow us to place a billion transistors on a single silicon chip in the 2010 timeframe, 20 times more than what current technology allows. Smaller transistors also mean faster processing speeds, resulting in an exponentially increasing trend for processing power. In this timeframe, defence scientists hope to use the available processing power to replace the pilot with its silicon equivalent - no less than a “pilot-on-a-chip”.

While one school of thought aims to effectively interface and integrate the pilot's thought processes with his machine, UAV proponents seek to develop a silicon-based pilot which can take inputs from sensors, make decisions based on that input, and engage the enemy with the appropriate effects - without the inherent reaction time delays associated with the human pilot.

The outdated mental model of an unmanned platform being an expendable camera with wings must be refreshed. The preferred model would be that of a pilot-on-a-chip able to perform at least as well as, if not better than current manned systems in a variety of missions.

The prime technology drivers for UAVs can be broadly categorised into the following groups: autonomy, communications, sensors, weapons systems, survivability and reliability, propulsion and ground control station.


Autonomy

Exponentially increasing signal processing speeds will enable greater levels of autonomy resulting ultimately in hands-free UAVs that could accomplish entire missions without man-in-the-loop (MITL) intervention if necessary. By the next decade, the sheer amount of brute computing power available will render human operators obsolete in an increasing number of tasks and missions.

Key foci for the development of autonomous technologies will include fault-tolerant flight control systems (FCS), in-flight mission management, cooperative engagement, distributed data fusion and automatic target recognition/engagement.

Fault-tolerant FCS under development can utilise alternative combinations of remaining control surfaces to maintain flight stability when a primary control effector fails. In-flight mission management refers to the ability to reconfigure flight path and navigation controls combined with onboard capability to react to changing mission needs. UCAVs will be capable of swarm engagements leveraging artificial intelligence and robust, Terabytes per second-capable data links to develop a decentralised, multiple tactical picture compilation of threats and targets before modifying in-flight tasking to cope with the altered tactical situation. Amongst other things, swarmed UCAVs can re-task each other, minimise target search time by cooperative searching, and engage targets and threats detected by other UCAVs.

Decentralised Data Fusion (DDF), i.e. the ability to fuse data from a variety of on- and off-board sensors without a central processing facility, will give UAVs situational awareness without having to transmit bandwidth-consuming video imagery back to a ground station. Taken to the next level, this battle awareness will allow next-generation UCAVs to automatically recognise targets and engage them with the appropriate munitions. They will demonstrate consistent positive identification of legitimate targets and rejection of illegitimate targets, with the degree of accurate identification impacting the Man-In-The-Loop (MITL) requirement and consequently the ORBAT needed to man such a system.


Datalink and Communication

High data rate, wideband, Low Probability of Interception (LPI), secure, all-weather data-links are needed for responsive C3 battle management. UAVs must be networked with other manned aircraft, UCAVs, off-board sensors and ground stations for overall battle management, in order to develop a single integrated air picture.

Optical systems based on lasers can potentially offer data rates two to three orders of magnitude greater than those of the best future RF systems. Airborne laser communication systems with small apertures (7-13cm) using low-power semiconductor lasers have a significantly lower probability of detection, weigh 30-50% of comparable RF systems and consume less power, whilst offering Tbps rates of data transmission.

Besides increasing available transmission rates, ongoing research into connectivity concepts such as the Small Unit Operations Situational Awareness (SUO SAS) programme will drive efficient bandwidth management using a “LAN within LANs” concept. Dynamic datalink sizing and nodal management will allow users to maintain low-, medium- or high-data rate connections with a continuously moving and changing host of nodes depending on proximity and community of interest.


Weapons Systems for UCAVs

• Advanced Seekers
Internal carriage and aircraft survivability have driven the next generation of missile seekers towards a fire-and-forget capability, away from those requiring human guidance and intervention. These new weapons will likely rely on low-cost imaging infrared or millimetre-wave seekers that have become available. The degree of autonomy built into these weapons will impact the degree of human involvement required, directly relates to how many targets can be engaged in a given period of time, and translates to weaponised UAVs and UCAVs lethality and mission effectiveness.

• Smaller Munitions
For weaponised UAV and UCAVs to achieve their initial cost and stealth advantages by being smaller than their manned counterparts, they will need smaller munitions that are more powerful and more precise.

• Directed Energy Weapons (DEW)
In a not too distant future, weaponised UAV and UCAVs are expected to deploy DEWs such as high powered microwave (HPM) weapons systems. The HPM weapon system emits a transient, high-powered energy spike which shorts closely spaced transistor lines, destroying micro-fabricated sensors and processors. It is aimed at disabling platforms, transmitters in C3 centres, enemy radars and weapons with electronic sensors. Unmanned platforms are therefore most suited for deploying such weapons, where the possibility of self-inflicted damage from induced skin currents and electromagnetic interference (EMI) is far from trivial.


Sensors

Passive and low-signature sensors with LPI are essential to boost stealth and survivability of UAVs. Noteworthy advances include Hyper-spectral Imaging (HSI), Laser Radar (LADAR), and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with Moving Target Indicator (MTI).

Multi-dimensional sensors will provide increased target signature information by scanning across a large number of discrete spectral bands (multispectral, 10-100 and hyperspectral, more than 100) to gain more information about each image pixel, additively adding information gleaned from each band to form a more complete picture than single and dual band systems. Benefits of HSI include improved clutter rejection, decoy discrimination, higher reliability of detection and target ranging. An autonomous SAR/MTI radar detecting both ground and air targets is envisaged to be the primary sensor in future UAVs used mainly for air-to-ground warfare. With high resolutions of 30cm or better, the SAR/GMTI radar will locate precisely both fixed and moving ground targets while an AMTI radar surveillance mode may be required for air situation awareness.

Other techniques to achieve Low Probability of Detection (LPD) include frequency selective radome design, stepped Linear Frequency Modulation (LFM), pseudo-noise radar emissions, civilian waveform mimicry, and bistatic radar cooperative imaging.


Survivability and Reliability

The level of survivability for a UAV must be strictly defined at specific levels of attrition, beyond which performance and cost cannot be traded. This will determine its mission effectiveness vis-a-vis available platforms such as manned fighters and cruise missiles. Survivability of the platform will depend on its speed (see next section “Propulsion”) and low observability (“stealth”).

Stealth design considerations include engine intake/vent design, internal weapon bays, seamless composite skins, fewer windows and hatches, smaller platform sizes and radar-absorbent structures and material to reduce the IR/RF signature.

One way to minimise detection for the tactical UAV is to reduce acoustic signature by use of quieter electrical propulsion systems. However, despite extensive studies for airborne applications, electrical propulsion systems will meet the power requirements of only a limited number of UAV applications in the near future. Instead, in the near term, acoustic signature reduction will focus on areas traditionally associated with ship and submarine design such as acoustically absorbing materials; signature modelling, phenomenology and control; and structural characterisation.

With the increase in size, platform and sensor cost, future UAV systems are aiming for Mean Time Between Loss (MTBL) of at least 10,000 hours. Higher-value UAVs such as those in the strategic class are targeting 100,000 hours, equivalent to that of a business jet. The use of manned rated engines, triply redundant flight critical equipment, adoption of soft- and hardware architecture equivalent to that of manned aircraft with air-worthiness qualification are just some of the solutions to meet the expected demand for highly-reliable UAVs in the future.


Propulsion

No longer limited by human physiology, the UAV propulsion and airframe can now be designed beyond the 10g regime, to the theoretical limit of 20g where current turbines go out of round due to centrifugal forces. Greater speeds and higher manoeuvrability translates into greater survivability. Hypersonic UAVs may be contemplated - besides having a higher thrust-weight ratio and reduced aerodynamic drag, they do not need the pressurisation and temperature shielding required to accommodate human beings.


Ground Control Station

Future-oriented UAV operation concepts call for a Ground Control Station (GCS) to possess the capability to control multiple and different UAVs, in order to serve various users of the network. Such a GCS could easily be re-configurable in the field to control a different UAV or another payload. In addition, scalability facilitates the increase of GCS consoles to control many UAVs and perform additional applications or off-line processing.

Future GCS design will enable portability to different hardware, allowing easy customisation for Naval, Land and Air applications. It comprises commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) items for greater supportability and to harness the latest technology, incorporating intelligent design to reduce the task load imposed on the operators associated with UAV control and monitoring.

Being a crucial element in the UAV system, the next-generation GCS needs to be highly reliable. Hot backups for the critical control functions in different levels of system operation must be designed with fail-safe and fail-soft features.


Impact Of UAV Proliferation

The paradigm shift embodied by UAV employment spawns a multiplicity of implications.
First and foremost, population size will no longer be the system resource bottleneck. The balance of power is then no longer dominated by brute size and strength, but by the economic prowess of combatant nations. The considerations for “exchange ratio” will shift from lives and platforms lost, to the dollar value of the UAVs and unmanned platforms.

On the other hand, peacetime training requirements will significantly shape future UAV developments. To address safety concerns of operating in civilian airspace, UAV systems will have to become more reliable - with no small impact on system cost. Airworthiness certification issues have to be comprehensively tackled, to adequately address the concerns of airspace administrators in the operation of unmanned vehicles in civilian airspace.

With the proliferation of UAVs and other unmanned systems in the longer term, the barriers to entry will increasingly be lowered both in terms of cost and availability. What then constitutes an adequate defence against swarms of "fearless" UAVs? More so than manned assets, UAVs are more susceptible to electronic countermeasures such as jamming, spoofing and deception due to their reliance on a datalink to the ground crew as the primary control mechanism. However, increasingly autonomous and intelligent UAVs with “adaptive autonomy” may be able to overcome ECM by adaptively nulling interfering signals, or may even be sufficiently autonomous to complete the entire mission without input from the ground. Also, the increased employment of UAVs will result in greater amounts of information being produced by the sensor grid. From the defender’s point of view, emphasis will thus shift from destroying large numbers of enemy sensors, to exploiting the information they produce, either to sow confusion with false data or to gain information about enemy intent. The operational utility of manipulating enemy unmanned assets, as well as the threat of them doing the same to us, will spur continued advances in IW.

Unmanned systems may potentially be most vulnerable to HPM effects. Due to its asymmetric effect against semiconductors, the pilot-on-a-chip would be completely devastated. This in turn will drive the adoption of circuits which are not affected by this class of weapons, including micro-fabricated fluidic and optical chips, to offer the next level of sophisticated signal processing.

More fundamentally, the advent of UCAVs will likely spur a mini-arms race to develop and acquire increasingly capable attack-oriented systems. It appears that the only counter to UCAVs which can manoeuvre beyond the 10g regime would have to be even faster UCAVs or missiles.


Conclusion

UAVs are evolving rapidly to emerge as indispensable weapons of war. In order to stay ahead in the future unmanned battlefield, strategic technological areas must be identified early and built up as the technology matures. Otherwise, developments in UAV and unmanned technologies may outpace both our capacity to assimilate them and the ability to formulate coherent and effective warfighting strategies.
 

RPK

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The Technology Drivers of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/412/.]

Part-1

The increasing demand and reliance on unmanned air vehicles (UAV) in warfighting and peacekeeping operations has doubled the pace of UAV-related research and development in recent years. Equipped with more capabilities, UAVs today are able to play a greater role in critical missions. Achieving information superiority, minimising collateral damage, fighting effectively in urban areas against widely-dispersed forces, and striking autonomously and precisely are areas where UAVs will be increasingly indispensable.

Three major thrusts in UAV development include: the growth in size of strategic UAVs for better endurance and payload; reduction in size of tactical UAVs; and, the weaponisation of UAVs to offer lethal capability in combat missions. This paper describes future UAV technology trends and their evolution. The forecast of technology growth will focus on datalink, sensor and information processing capabilities.


The Future Unmanned Battlefield

The role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in modern warfare has evolved with each successive conflict, from naval gunfire support during the 1991 Gulf War to real-time satellite relay of video over Kosovo in 1999 to attacking mobile Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan in 2002/03 and continuing today. Afghanistan marked the formal debut of the HELLFIRE-carrying PREDATOR, giving warfighters a sneak preview of what tomorrow's dedicated Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) promise to offer.

Armed forces worldwide are beginning to explore the possibilities offered by unmanned systems as both sensor and weapons platforms. The promise of an autonomous, highly survivable and absolutely fearless UAV will usher in a new paradigm in which the ultimate consideration is no longer the value of pilots' lives, but rather the mission and cost effectiveness of UAVs.

Nations have to carefully study and redefine the value of human operators - where and how much to do away with humans, bearing in mind the costs to the economy at large. At the same time, unmanned systems have to evolve such that they can perform as well as, if not better than, current manned systems in order to gain the confidence of military commanders. Today, continued advances in unmanned systems technology are pushing the envelope in terms of performance, propelling UAVs into a greater variety of missions and applications to be true force multipliers.

UAVs will track the paradigm shift towards a network-centric warfare concept, seamlessly integrating into all three key areas of defence systems encompassing the sensor, shooter and Command and Control (C2) network. UAVs will allow the force commander to "see first, understand first, act first and finish decisively" by providing platforms for deploying sensors, weapons, and communications architecture.

Operation “Enduring Freedom” saw the first successful integration of sensor, shooter and C2 data streams using Link 16 and other datalink technology, including the RQ-9 PREDATOR UAV, RC-135V/W RIVET JOINT Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, E-8 Joint STARS aircraft, and the RQ-4A GLOBAL HAWK long-endurance UAV.


UAV Evolution

The furious drive towards UAV deployment in every theatre of war has seen the debut of many revolutionary concepts. Increasing demands for better performance and higher reliability will escalate the development and production cost of UAVs. Whether the platform is designed to be even more reliable than manned-rated aircraft or expendable depends on its application, the payloads it carries, mission pay-off and cost effectiveness. The misconception that all classes of UAVs will be low-cost and expendable has severe consequences downstream. Rather, it must be properly appreciated that for strategic high-value UAVs to perform as well as manned systems, their respective have similar complexity, and hence acquisition cost.

UAVs have traditionally been employed as sensor platforms in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, target acquisition, battle damage assessment, SIGINT, COMINT (Communications Intelligence) and ELINT (Electronics Intelligence). The advent of light airborne precision weapons, autonomous target acquisition and recognition technologies will push UAVs towards becoming armed and lethal unmanned platforms. UAVs with the ability to pick out targets and attack autonomously with persistent presence over areas of interest will come of age in the near future and commanders are beginning to see them as indispensable weapons of war.

The continued development of strategic and tactical UAVs follows the line of employing UAVs as multi-role multi-mission platforms. UAVs will see progressive developments towards both extreme ends of the size spectrum. Strategic UAVs will see continuous growth in size for better endurance, reliability and payload capacity, while the mini- and micro- UAVs will grow smaller, lighter and more expendable. The tactical, close-range platforms will become more versatile, with multi-mission, multi-role capability.

Strategic UAVs

Strategic UAVs will grow in size for greater payload capacity, reliability and endurance. High-altitude airborne surveillance and communications assets such as the E-3 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) and E-8 JSTARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) currently provide long-range, all-weather, wide-area comprehensive surveillance. However, they are handicapped by the penalties associated with human physiology, resulting in limited endurance and relatively lowered payload capacity. Strategic UAVs, designed from the ground up, will be able to remain airborne for days, weeks or even months at a go, providing a truly “unblinking” eye in the sky. These include Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) and HALE UAVs as well as lighter-than-air aerostat vehicles and balloons.

Tactical UAV

Tactical UAVs (TUAVs) will evolve towards multi-role multi-mission platforms. As UAV technology matures, we see that UAVs become increasingly cost-effective as they adopt more missions per platform MTOW - they either have to grow smaller, or be able to satisfy a greater number of missions and roles. Besides current applications in Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA), the tactical UAV mission set could be expanded to include target designation, strike, chemical/biological agents detection, mine countermeasures, Theatre Missile Defence, electronic warfare and information warfare. Payloads with functional and/or architectural commonality would be deployed on disparate TUAVs to reduce developmental costs and allow cost savings from economies of scale.

Micro UAVs

Micro UAV (MAVs) have significant military and law enforcement utilities because they are less detectable, cheap to produce, truly expendable and can be organic to smaller units such as special task forces, groups and companies, providing over-the-hill and urban area reconnaissance at reduced signature without risk to the personnel.

MAVs take the other path towards cost effectiveness - growing smaller and smaller. Advances in payload miniaturisation continue relentlessly with integrated Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) reducing payload sizes to that of the average silicon chip. While the performance of such sensors may not be as impressive as their larger counterparts, their small size, weight and power requirements make for deployment on increasingly smaller vehicles allowing close-up surveillance.

Current research foci include flapping wing airframes, microscopic jet engines and molecule-size avionics. Flapping wing designs are increasingly attracting funding, because despite their relative immaturity compared to their fixed-wing counterparts, they seem able to address real operational needs such as high manoeuvrability and better aerodynamic performance.

VTOL UAVs

Experience with Vertical Take-Off Landing (VTOL) UAVs has been rather dismal over the last decade or so, as technology challenges and cost overruns led to repeated cancellations of developmental programmes. Despite the performance penalties suffered by VTOL aircraft, however, there remains a market for such UAVs especially for operations where space is limited - such as surface vessels and urban warfare. VTOL UAVs provide a small, highly manoeuvrable platform to conduct overhead surveillance, remote sensing, communications relay and ultimately “fly-on-the-wall' surveillance”. They are particularly attractive for ISR applications.

Further technological advances in areas such as shrouded rotors, composite manufacturing processes and canard rotor wings will usher in smaller, more capable VTOL UAVs ensuring their continued relevance in the future battlefield. Shrouded rotor concepts provide more thrust than the open blade design of conventional helicopters. Besides improving system safety, the shrouded rotor allows diameter reduction of VTOL rotors and hence platform sizes without compromising on performance.

Revolutionary manufacturing processes allow the low-cost production of complex rotors which represent a quantum leap in VTOL performance. The conventional flexible rotors, connected to the rotor hub through articulated joints, are replaced by composite rotor blades which are tapered and possess variable cross sections from the blade root to tip. The stiffness varies from the root to tip allowing a rigid and hingeless system, which features a larger diameter and lower disk loading, compared to a conventional helicopter rotor system with the same lift capacity. With low disk loading and rotor tip speeds, the variable speed rotor system is able to give efficient low power loiter.

Innovative concepts are also being explored such as the stoppable rotor design that would enable both a VTOL capability and efficient high-speed cruise in a fixed-wing mode.

Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles

The military establishment has always conceived the UAV as a sensor platform, leaving the manned systems to take up the role of shooter platforms due to their perceived value-add in making real-time decisions and in-flight mission reconfigurations. However, two main factors have prompted a shift in this conception, towards the employment of UAVs as attack platforms: the limits of pilot’s physiology, and the need for reduced sensor-to-shooter times.

The Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAV) is unfettered by a pilot's physiological constraints. Unlike manned fighters, it can pull manoeuvres beyond 10g, has no need for a controlled environment (temperature, pressure and oxygen), is truly fearless, and able to handle multiple sources of information and address them through real-time multi-tasking.

Also, experiences in Kosovo have prompted a re-examination of the Observation, Orientation, Decision and Action (OODA) loop in order to reduce the latency between sensor and shooter. During that campaign, targets of opportunity spotted by the PREDATOR UAV eluded destruction due to the time it took for attack aircraft deployed from Italy to engage them. In order to shorten the sensor-to-shooter cycle, efforts were made to adapt the PREDATOR to launch HELLFIRE missiles, with the first missile launch successfully conducted in February 2001 destroying a stationary tank. HELLFIRE-armed PREDATORs have subsequently been field-proven in both Operation “Enduring Freedom” and Operation “Iraqi Freedom”, providing a critically needed interim solution for engaging time critical targets and eventually leading to the development and fielding of the dedicated MQ-9 REAPER hunter-killer variant. Even this, however, is but one step towards the intended goal of ground-up design of the ultimate UCAV.

Optimised to undertake high-risk missions such as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), a stealthy, high-speed, high-g capable UCAV equipped with next- generation weapon systems is seen as a cost-effective alternative to manned systems.

UAVs in Network Centric Warfare

The concept of network-centric warfare embodies a paradigm shift from the traditional way users get information through a centralised collection agency to users getting information directly, near real time, from the sensors in a network-centric manner. The key tenets of the network-centric warfare concept which guarantee the widespread deployment of a variety of UAVs include data fusion and management of layered sensors for successful exploitation of knowledge and engagement of threats before closure using unmanned systems.

In this framework, besides being sensor and shooter platforms, UAVs will also serve as airborne communications nodes, providing mobile network coverage for manoeuvring forces, not unlike a satellite. This relieves manned systems for greater value-added missions whilst providing a cost-effective means of maintaining reliable communications. However, military planners have acknowledged that it would be a nightmare to manage bandwidth and the sharing of information between the sensor, shooter, knowledge and command grids, especially with intensive imagery and video applications.

Besides being platforms for distributed network architecture, unmanned systems will drive the interface standardisation of components such as payloads, datalinks and control stations towards a “plug-and-play” concept, enabling users to customise their UAV system according to the specific missions or needs. With standard interfaces, development costs for new capabilities will be significantly reduced.
 

RPK

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Part-2

]defence.professionals | defpro.com

Technological advances are bringing new capabilities and functionalities to UAVs, to the point where they can be feasible, cost-effective alternatives to their manned counterparts in an ever-increasing number of mission sets. UAVs are now at the crossroads where growing technological capabilities are beginning to meet operational requirements.

Advances in micro-manufacturing technology will allow us to place a billion transistors on a single silicon chip in the 2010 timeframe, 20 times more than what current technology allows. Smaller transistors also mean faster processing speeds, resulting in an exponentially increasing trend for processing power. In this timeframe, defence scientists hope to use the available processing power to replace the pilot with its silicon equivalent - no less than a “pilot-on-a-chip”.

While one school of thought aims to effectively interface and integrate the pilot's thought processes with his machine, UAV proponents seek to develop a silicon-based pilot which can take inputs from sensors, make decisions based on that input, and engage the enemy with the appropriate effects - without the inherent reaction time delays associated with the human pilot.

The outdated mental model of an unmanned platform being an expendable camera with wings must be refreshed. The preferred model would be that of a pilot-on-a-chip able to perform at least as well as, if not better than current manned systems in a variety of missions.

The prime technology drivers for UAVs can be broadly categorised into the following groups: autonomy, communications, sensors, weapons systems, survivability and reliability, propulsion and ground control station.


Autonomy

Exponentially increasing signal processing speeds will enable greater levels of autonomy resulting ultimately in hands-free UAVs that could accomplish entire missions without man-in-the-loop (MITL) intervention if necessary. By the next decade, the sheer amount of brute computing power available will render human operators obsolete in an increasing number of tasks and missions.

Key foci for the development of autonomous technologies will include fault-tolerant flight control systems (FCS), in-flight mission management, cooperative engagement, distributed data fusion and automatic target recognition/engagement.

Fault-tolerant FCS under development can utilise alternative combinations of remaining control surfaces to maintain flight stability when a primary control effector fails. In-flight mission management refers to the ability to reconfigure flight path and navigation controls combined with onboard capability to react to changing mission needs. UCAVs will be capable of swarm engagements leveraging artificial intelligence and robust, Terabytes per second-capable data links to develop a decentralised, multiple tactical picture compilation of threats and targets before modifying in-flight tasking to cope with the altered tactical situation. Amongst other things, swarmed UCAVs can re-task each other, minimise target search time by cooperative searching, and engage targets and threats detected by other UCAVs.

Decentralised Data Fusion (DDF), i.e. the ability to fuse data from a variety of on- and off-board sensors without a central processing facility, will give UAVs situational awareness without having to transmit bandwidth-consuming video imagery back to a ground station. Taken to the next level, this battle awareness will allow next-generation UCAVs to automatically recognise targets and engage them with the appropriate munitions. They will demonstrate consistent positive identification of legitimate targets and rejection of illegitimate targets, with the degree of accurate identification impacting the Man-In-The-Loop (MITL) requirement and consequently the ORBAT needed to man such a system.


Datalink and Communication

High data rate, wideband, Low Probability of Interception (LPI), secure, all-weather data-links are needed for responsive C3 battle management. UAVs must be networked with other manned aircraft, UCAVs, off-board sensors and ground stations for overall battle management, in order to develop a single integrated air picture.

Optical systems based on lasers can potentially offer data rates two to three orders of magnitude greater than those of the best future RF systems. Airborne laser communication systems with small apertures (7-13cm) using low-power semiconductor lasers have a significantly lower probability of detection, weigh 30-50% of comparable RF systems and consume less power, whilst offering Tbps rates of data transmission.

Besides increasing available transmission rates, ongoing research into connectivity concepts such as the Small Unit Operations Situational Awareness (SUO SAS) programme will drive efficient bandwidth management using a “LAN within LANs” concept. Dynamic datalink sizing and nodal management will allow users to maintain low-, medium- or high-data rate connections with a continuously moving and changing host of nodes depending on proximity and community of interest.


Weapons Systems for UCAVs

• Advanced Seekers
Internal carriage and aircraft survivability have driven the next generation of missile seekers towards a fire-and-forget capability, away from those requiring human guidance and intervention. These new weapons will likely rely on low-cost imaging infrared or millimetre-wave seekers that have become available. The degree of autonomy built into these weapons will impact the degree of human involvement required, directly relates to how many targets can be engaged in a given period of time, and translates to weaponised UAVs and UCAVs lethality and mission effectiveness.

• Smaller Munitions
For weaponised UAV and UCAVs to achieve their initial cost and stealth advantages by being smaller than their manned counterparts, they will need smaller munitions that are more powerful and more precise.

• Directed Energy Weapons (DEW)
In a not too distant future, weaponised UAV and UCAVs are expected to deploy DEWs such as high powered microwave (HPM) weapons systems. The HPM weapon system emits a transient, high-powered energy spike which shorts closely spaced transistor lines, destroying micro-fabricated sensors and processors. It is aimed at disabling platforms, transmitters in C3 centres, enemy radars and weapons with electronic sensors. Unmanned platforms are therefore most suited for deploying such weapons, where the possibility of self-inflicted damage from induced skin currents and electromagnetic interference (EMI) is far from trivial.


Sensors

Passive and low-signature sensors with LPI are essential to boost stealth and survivability of UAVs. Noteworthy advances include Hyper-spectral Imaging (HSI), Laser Radar (LADAR), and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with Moving Target Indicator (MTI).

Multi-dimensional sensors will provide increased target signature information by scanning across a large number of discrete spectral bands (multispectral, 10-100 and hyperspectral, more than 100) to gain more information about each image pixel, additively adding information gleaned from each band to form a more complete picture than single and dual band systems. Benefits of HSI include improved clutter rejection, decoy discrimination, higher reliability of detection and target ranging. An autonomous SAR/MTI radar detecting both ground and air targets is envisaged to be the primary sensor in future UAVs used mainly for air-to-ground warfare. With high resolutions of 30cm or better, the SAR/GMTI radar will locate precisely both fixed and moving ground targets while an AMTI radar surveillance mode may be required for air situation awareness.

Other techniques to achieve Low Probability of Detection (LPD) include frequency selective radome design, stepped Linear Frequency Modulation (LFM), pseudo-noise radar emissions, civilian waveform mimicry, and bistatic radar cooperative imaging.


Survivability and Reliability

The level of survivability for a UAV must be strictly defined at specific levels of attrition, beyond which performance and cost cannot be traded. This will determine its mission effectiveness vis-a-vis available platforms such as manned fighters and cruise missiles. Survivability of the platform will depend on its speed (see next section “Propulsion”) and low observability (“stealth”).

Stealth design considerations include engine intake/vent design, internal weapon bays, seamless composite skins, fewer windows and hatches, smaller platform sizes and radar-absorbent structures and material to reduce the IR/RF signature.

One way to minimise detection for the tactical UAV is to reduce acoustic signature by use of quieter electrical propulsion systems. However, despite extensive studies for airborne applications, electrical propulsion systems will meet the power requirements of only a limited number of UAV applications in the near future. Instead, in the near term, acoustic signature reduction will focus on areas traditionally associated with ship and submarine design such as acoustically absorbing materials; signature modelling, phenomenology and control; and structural characterisation.

With the increase in size, platform and sensor cost, future UAV systems are aiming for Mean Time Between Loss (MTBL) of at least 10,000 hours. Higher-value UAVs such as those in the strategic class are targeting 100,000 hours, equivalent to that of a business jet. The use of manned rated engines, triply redundant flight critical equipment, adoption of soft- and hardware architecture equivalent to that of manned aircraft with air-worthiness qualification are just some of the solutions to meet the expected demand for highly-reliable UAVs in the future.


Propulsion

No longer limited by human physiology, the UAV propulsion and airframe can now be designed beyond the 10g regime, to the theoretical limit of 20g where current turbines go out of round due to centrifugal forces. Greater speeds and higher manoeuvrability translates into greater survivability. Hypersonic UAVs may be contemplated - besides having a higher thrust-weight ratio and reduced aerodynamic drag, they do not need the pressurisation and temperature shielding required to accommodate human beings.


Ground Control Station

Future-oriented UAV operation concepts call for a Ground Control Station (GCS) to possess the capability to control multiple and different UAVs, in order to serve various users of the network. Such a GCS could easily be re-configurable in the field to control a different UAV or another payload. In addition, scalability facilitates the increase of GCS consoles to control many UAVs and perform additional applications or off-line processing.

Future GCS design will enable portability to different hardware, allowing easy customisation for Naval, Land and Air applications. It comprises commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) items for greater supportability and to harness the latest technology, incorporating intelligent design to reduce the task load imposed on the operators associated with UAV control and monitoring.

Being a crucial element in the UAV system, the next-generation GCS needs to be highly reliable. Hot backups for the critical control functions in different levels of system operation must be designed with fail-safe and fail-soft features.


Impact Of UAV Proliferation

The paradigm shift embodied by UAV employment spawns a multiplicity of implications.
First and foremost, population size will no longer be the system resource bottleneck. The balance of power is then no longer dominated by brute size and strength, but by the economic prowess of combatant nations. The considerations for “exchange ratio” will shift from lives and platforms lost, to the dollar value of the UAVs and unmanned platforms.

On the other hand, peacetime training requirements will significantly shape future UAV developments. To address safety concerns of operating in civilian airspace, UAV systems will have to become more reliable - with no small impact on system cost. Airworthiness certification issues have to be comprehensively tackled, to adequately address the concerns of airspace administrators in the operation of unmanned vehicles in civilian airspace.

With the proliferation of UAVs and other unmanned systems in the longer term, the barriers to entry will increasingly be lowered both in terms of cost and availability. What then constitutes an adequate defence against swarms of "fearless" UAVs? More so than manned assets, UAVs are more susceptible to electronic countermeasures such as jamming, spoofing and deception due to their reliance on a datalink to the ground crew as the primary control mechanism. However, increasingly autonomous and intelligent UAVs with “adaptive autonomy” may be able to overcome ECM by adaptively nulling interfering signals, or may even be sufficiently autonomous to complete the entire mission without input from the ground. Also, the increased employment of UAVs will result in greater amounts of information being produced by the sensor grid. From the defender’s point of view, emphasis will thus shift from destroying large numbers of enemy sensors, to exploiting the information they produce, either to sow confusion with false data or to gain information about enemy intent. The operational utility of manipulating enemy unmanned assets, as well as the threat of them doing the same to us, will spur continued advances in IW.

Unmanned systems may potentially be most vulnerable to HPM effects. Due to its asymmetric effect against semiconductors, the pilot-on-a-chip would be completely devastated. This in turn will drive the adoption of circuits which are not affected by this class of weapons, including micro-fabricated fluidic and optical chips, to offer the next level of sophisticated signal processing.

More fundamentally, the advent of UCAVs will likely spur a mini-arms race to develop and acquire increasingly capable attack-oriented systems. It appears that the only counter to UCAVs which can manoeuvre beyond the 10g regime would have to be even faster UCAVs or missiles.


Conclusion

UAVs are evolving rapidly to emerge as indispensable weapons of war. In order to stay ahead in the future unmanned battlefield, strategic technological areas must be identified early and built up as the technology matures. Otherwise, developments in UAV and unmanned technologies may outpace both our capacity to assimilate them and the ability to formulate coherent and effective warfighting strategies.
 

Maverick007

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Is it possible to arm the Heron (we have more than 50 of them) with a light ASM or precision munition for surgical strikes..........Or maybe (hey, no freaking harm in wishing eh ;) ) the US might sell us come predator/reaper post inducting them in sufficient numbers in their own forces..........a UCAV along with a govt permission to strike would certainly strike fear for all insurgent/terrorists
 
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India To Source Harop UCAV From Israel | India Defence Online

India To Source Harop UCAV From Israel


The Indian Air Force (IAF) has said that Israeli-made ‘Harop’ Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) will join the IAF by 2011 and it will enhance the war-fighting capabilities of the IAF. ‘Harop’ UCAV is Israel’s first unmanned aerial vehicle for offensive strikes. Developed by Malat division of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the Harop UCAVs were bought by India recently through for an estimated $100 million deal for up to 10 drones.

The induction of these lethal killer drones will make the IAF capable to engage in both conventional and low-intensity conflict. IAF will be able to hit high value targets such as enemy missile, radar sites and terrorist hideouts. Senior IAF officials said that though the IAF has ‘Searcher’ and ‘Heron’ UAVs to perform surveillance and reconnaissance roles, the ‘Harop’ UCAV will provide IAF the capability to take down enemy positions without having to send its manned fighter aircraft to hit ground targets.

Usually launched from ground- or sea-based canisters, the “Harop” can be also be adapted for air-launch. The Harop is a vehicle launched, UAV controlled by a remote operator and capable of flying more than 1,000 kilometers and loitering for hours with a 51 pound warhead. Like the autonomous Harpy, the UAV is primarily geared toward the Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) role. It features two modes of guidance to the target. One is homing-in on radio emissions with its anti-radar homing system, or unlike the Harpy, have its operator select static or moving targets with the drones electro-optical (TV) sensor. Using the operator mode, targets can be hit regardless of whether they emit signals or not. This line of sight capability can be used at ranges up to 150 kilometers or
longer using relays built into each weapon.
 
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MQ-9 Reaper: The First Operational UCAV?

MQ-9 Reaper: The First Operational UCAV?



DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. The MQ-9 Reaper, once called “Predator B,” is somewhat similar to the Predator. Until you look at the tail. Or its size. Or its weapons. It’s called “Reaper” for a reason – while it packs the same surveillance gear, it’s much more of a hunter-killer design. The Reaper is 36 feet long, with a 66 foot wingspan. Its maximum gross takeoff weight is a whopping 10,500 pounds, carrying up to 4,000 pounds of fuel, 850 pounds of internal/ sensor payload, and another 3,000 pounds on its wings. Its 6 pylons can carry GPS-guided JDAM family bombs, Paveway laser-guided bombs, Sidewinder missiles for air-air self defense, and other MIL STD 1760 compatible weapons, in addition to the Hellfire anti-armor missiles carried by the Predator. When loaded up with laser-guided Hydra rockets, the Reaper becomes the equivalent of a close air support fighter with less situational awareness, lower speed, and less survivability if seen – but much, much longer on-station time. Some have called it the first fielded Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV).

That capability set makes the MQ-9 considerably more expensive than its MQ-1 Predator counterparts, whose price also benefits from volume production orders. Given these high-end capabilities, and high-end expenses, one might not have expected the MQ-9 to enjoy better export success than its famous cousin. Nevertheless, that’s what appears to be happening. MQ-9 operators currently include the USA and Britain, who have both used it in hunter-killer mode, and Italy. If current contract requests are fulfilled, Germany may soon add MQ-9s to their forces as well.

New material is indicated in green type. The latest additions includes support and spares contracts for the USA and Italy, development of a SIGINT/COMINT payload, and reports of interest from France…
 

RPK

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DRDO’s Rustom UAV to take first flight this month

Link

In a significant step that will give the Indian armed forces an indigenously designed and developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a technological demonstrator (TD) of the Rustom will take to the Hosur skies this month.

Official sources at the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory that is spearheading the Rs.1,000-crore Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Rustom UAV programme, told The?Hindu that with the high speed taxi trials of the TD almost over, the inaugural flight “could happen anytime soon.” The taxi trials are being conducted at the airstrip belonging to Taneja Aerospace at Hosur.
The Rustom, which will have capabilities equal to, or even better than contemporary UAVs such as the Israeli Heron (currently in use by the armed forces), is derived from the National Aerospace Laboratories’ Light Canard Research Aircraft (LCRA), an aircraft developed by a team under the leadership of late Professor Rustom B. Damania in the 1980s. The ADE have taken the LCRA airframe and structurally modified it for unmanned flights.

Officials said that the TD, which has the same configuration as that of a full-fledged Rustom UAV, but is smaller in size, will undertake around 10 flights — taxiing, taking off and landing like a conventional aeroplane, the only difference being that there will be no pilot aboard. But being smaller than the full-fledged production standard Rustom, the TD will have an endurance of only 12 to 15 hours, approximately half of what the Rustom is being designed for. The ADE are using the TD as a stepping stone to proving the technologies that will go into the Rustom. The initial flights of the TD are being restricted to an altitude of around 500 metres. All three defence services have shown interest in acquiring the Rustom.

The Rustom programme will also marks a first for the DRDO. Traditionally, the DRDO laboratories develop a product or system, build a prototype, prove it in field trials and then transfer the technology to a production agency.

In the case of the Rustom, the DRDO are moving to a regime of concurrent engineering practices where initial design efforts also take into consideration production issues, with the production agency participating in the development of the system right from the design stage, and concurrently developing the necessary infrastructure and expertise for the product and product support. This approach could become a trendsetter for future DRDO projects.

A DRDO technical evaluation committee is examining the proposals of Tatas, Larsen and Toubro, Godrej and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-Bharat Electronics Limited (joint bid), one of whom will join the ADE as the production agency cum development partner (PADP). A price negotiating committee, headed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony, is looking into the commercial aspects of the proposals.

Both the PADP and the users (armed forces) will have a financial stake in the Rustom project.
 

s_bman

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i dont know if this has been posted before

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to be used in anti-Naxal operations

NEW DELHI: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will be used for the first time to detect Naxal hideouts in dense forests and hilly terrains and
monitor the movement of ultras to help ground forces carry out precision attacks. ( Watch Video )

The UAVs, with in-built camera, well-equipped data link and video link, will gather and record information which will be shared among the security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations, specially in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

The trials of the UAVs, developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), have recently been conducted in Hissar and Delhi while more trials will be conducted in jungles of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand soon.

"We are satisfied with the UAV trials in Hissar and Delhi. If we are satisfied with next stage of trials, we will take the help of UAVs in our operations against Naxals," a Home Ministry official said.

Security experts also want to see which of the UAV variants will be useful in forests and hills as most of the Maoist bases are located there only.

The UAVs also provide flexible surveillance and reconnaissance capability with external payload, including weapons capability.

"Since Maoists are keep changing their movements, deployment of UAVs will certainly be an advantage for security forces," the official said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...anti-Naxal-operations/articleshow/5232366.cms


what uavs is this taking about........rustom?
 

jakojako777

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Russian Air Force Seeks New UAVs

Russian Air Force Seeks New UAVs

Nov 3, 2009




By Maxim Pyadushkin
Moscow

The Russian air force is looking to modernize its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fleet. Officials have developed requirements for new UAVs, but a lack of local products that meet these needs is forcing them to turn to foreign suppliers, notably Israel.

The air force has purchased 14 drones from Israel Aerospace Industries, including Bird Eye 400 mini-UAVs and the 400-kg. (880-lb.) Searcher Mk II tactical reconnaissance model. Vladimir Popovkin, armed forces chief of armaments, says the aircraft were acquired to develop UAV techniques and train personnel. “We don’t . . . [plan to] stop domestic developments in this field.”

Requirements for a new generation of UAVs are being coordinated with the defense ministry, general staff and navy, says air force commander Gen. Col. Alexander Zelin. Speaking at the MAKS 2009 air show here in August, Zelin said new vehicles are slated to enter service in 2011 and will eventually account for 40% of combat aircraft.

“We need high-quality unmanned aircraft capable of providing real-time data, and which can be used, if necessary, to strike enemy bases,” he added.

The air force wants a family of UAVs with capabilities for land strike, air defense and reconnaissance. Air force chief of armaments Gen. Maj. Oleg Barmin said at MAKS that a new unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) is planned to go into service with Russia’s fifth-generation PAK FA (T-50) fighter, and should use the same weapons (DTI October, p. 44).

The last large-scale Russian effort to develop a generation of drones dates to the 1980s and included development of three UAV types: Story-P, for regiments; Story-A, for an army (several divisions in Russia’s military organization); and Story-F, for several armies. The only one to enter service, in the 1990s, was the 138-kg. Pchela (bee), a Story-P reconnaissance drone.

Story-F candidates, the heaviest, included the 3,500-kg. Tupolev Tu-300 jet-powered drone. Leonid Kulikov, Tupolev’s chief designer for unmanned systems, tells DTI the Tu-300 passed factory trials in the 1990s, and performed reconnaissance and land-strike missions. Kulikov says the Tu-300 had a combat load of almost 1,000 kg., and during trials engaged land-based targets with unguided bombs. But the military suspended development. Two prototypes remain but work is unlikely to continue, as the design is obsolete, he says.
Tu-300 UAV from Tupolev can carry a 1-ton bomb load. Credit: TUPOLEV

Another attempt to develop a high-speed UAV with strike capabilities was made by MiG and the Yakovlev companies. MiG unveiled in 2007 a full-scale engineering mock-up of the 10-ton Scat UCAV with a stealthy flying-wing design. Powered by a non-afterburning Klimov RD-5000B engine, Scat was designed to reach 800 kph. (500 mph.). According to designers, Scat was supposed to carry a payload of up to 2 tons in two internal weapon bays, each of which could accommodate one Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton) air-to-surface missile, or a guided 500-kg. bomb. Yakovlev planned to develop an unmanned derivative on the basis of its new Yak-130 jet trainer.

Both companies won’t reveal details about development. MiG and Sukhoi CEO Mikhail Pogosyan said in August that the companies will demonstrate the results of their work to the defense ministry as soon as they receive requirements.

Some progress is reported in the development of low-speed UAVs with strike capabilities. St. Petersburg Transas demonstrated at MAKS a mock-up of the 600-kg. Dozor-3. Powered by a pusher propeller, it offers endurance in excess of 24 hr. at 130-150 kph. Dozor-3 carries a 120-kg. multisensor payload including an in-house-designed, forward-looking radar and laser designator. Gennady Trubnikov, chief UAV designer, says the automatic control system for the Dozor-3 was tested on the smaller Dozor-5 during the Zapad-2009 military maneuvers with Russia and Belarus in September. A weapon load for Dozor-3 is possible, says Trubnikov, but designers haven’t received requirements from the military, although discussions are underway.

NII Kulon is developing a 500-kg. UAV dubbed Prokhodchik that flies at 250 kph. and has endurance of 12 hr. It carries a 100-kg. payload that includes X-band radar and electro-optics.

Russian Air Force Seeks New UAVs | AVIATION WEEK
 

bengalraider

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Netra: This light weight hovering UAV is a brain child of a group of young IITians from Mumbai who have floated company called Ideaforge and developed the UAV with DRDO’s assistance. Netra is ideal for crowd control, disaster management, border management and can be used in a 26/11 like situation where the UAV can keep a track of the terrorists by transmitting a live video of the ground situation from above. If a similar situation arises, Netra can fly all around the attacked area and take pictures, record voices without getting noticed thus helping the security forces in planning the offensive effectively.
Netra flies using four high-speed propellers that allow Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL). The operator simply selects the waypoints from a graphical interface showing the map of the area and specifies the heights at these positions with command either to hover or traverse through them. The built-in intelligence in the controller allows for failsafe operations wherein, in case of either a communication failure with base station or low battery, the UAV returns to home position and lands safely. “NETRA is a collaborative project between ideaForge and DRDO’s R&DE (Enggrs.) based in Pune. In this project, ideaForge is designing and developing the autonomous aerial vehicle and R&DE is developing the back-packability of the ground side equipment. This portable one man wearable back-pack system would allow a soldier to run or hike mountains while being in a position to operate the UAV,” Ideaforge VP marketing & operations, unmanned vehicles, Amardeep Singh said. The UAV weighs only 1.5 kilograms and is easily portable in a backpack. It has a smart intelligent indigenous auto-pilot controller receiving inputs from a GPS, gyro, magnetometers, accelerometers and altitude sensors to relieve the operator from skillful manoeuvering and helping it to achieve on-board stabilisation.
a picture is there in the latest force magazine couldn't find any on the web.
 

bengalraider

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Dassault neuron the next generation european UCAV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf8WOZnTcX0


The real-size model of the Neuron demonstrator on display for the first time at the Paris Air Show, June 2005.


The model of the Neuron demonstrator alongside the Dassault Rafale fighter at the Paris Air Show 2005.

Neuron is the European Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator for the development, integration and validation of UCAV technologies and is not for military operational deployment. Dassault unveiled a life-size model of Neuron at the 2005 Paris Air Show. The operational UCAV is expected to be a larger design than the Neuron demonstrator.

A main aim of the Neuron programme is to sustain and develop European manufacturers' aeronautic and other technologies for next-generation combat aircraft and UAVs.

By summer 2005, a series of memorandums of understanding had been signed and industrial teaming arrangements been set up. By the end of 2005, the governments of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland had agreed to invest in the Neuron programme.

In February 2006, the Neuron programme was formally launched with the award, by the French DGA on behalf of the participating nations, of a contract to Dassault as prime contractor for the design and development of the Neuron demonstrator.

This began a 15-month feasibility phase. DGA awarded a contract for a 19-month project definition phase in June 2007. This will be followed by production of a Neuron demonstrator with first flight in 2011. Flight tests will begin in France followed by tests in Sweden then Italy.

The UCAV will be able to launch precision-guided munitions from an internal weapons bay and will have a stealth airframe with reduced radar and infrared cross-sections.

PROGRAMME

Dassault Aviation is the design authority with responsibility for the general design, system architecture, the flight control system and final assembly together with ground tests and flight tests. Dassault's UAV and UCAV design capability was developed under a sequence of experimental development and validation programmes, Aeronef Validation Experimental (AVE). Dassault started the AVE LogiDuc programme (AVE Logistics to Demonstrate UCAV) in 1999.

Saab Aerosystems, based in Linkoping, Sweden, is responsible for overall design, fuselage, avionics, fuel system, flight control, airworthiness, autonomy, multi-payload capabilities, structural design and manufacture and ground and flight testing.
Saab has built strong capability in UAV and UCAV technology with the SHARC Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration demonstrator, FILUR Flying Innovative Low-observable Unmanned Research UAV, the EuroMALE European Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV with EADS and the establishment of the Link Lab drone development centres, a joint venture with Linkoping University. Technology development on the Neuron program would be applicable to planned upgrades of the Saab Gripen fighter aircraft which is expected to remain in service until about 2035.

In March 2004, Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) and Dassault signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Dassault UCAV programme which became the Neuron programme. Under the terms of the MOU, HAI is responsible for the engine exhaust and the rear fuselage section, and the test rig.

EADS CASA of Spain is responsible for the wings and also the ground station and integration of the data link. EADS CASA and Dassault signed the MOU agreement in May 2005.

Ruag in Switzerland is responsible for the weapons interface and wind tunnel testing.

Alenia Aeronautica in Italy is responsible for the development of the electrical power system, the air data system, development of the Smart Weapon Bay, and for flight testing.

During 2005, Turkey formally applied to take part in the EADS MALE Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV program and the Dassault led Neuron programme and is currently waiting a response to establish the scope and timing of any possible participation.

NEURON DESCRIPTION

The Neuron is of similar appearance to the AVE-C which is the second prototype of the Dassault Petit Duc and which has high manoeuvrability unstable yaw aircraft control. Like the Ave-C, the Neuron has no tail fin and a swept W-shaped wing design

The system will incorporate highly advanced avionics, stealth and network centric technologies. Simulations and flight tests will demonstrate the capability of flight in controlled airspaces and the operation of the Neuron in a network centric battlefield environment.

The air vehicle fuselage length and the wingspan are approximately 10m. The empty weight of the air vehicle is around 4,500kg and with a full payload the weight will be about 6,000kg. The air vehicle has tricycle-type landing gear for runway take-off and landing.

Neuron will have the capability to carry two laser guided 250kg (550lb) bombs in two weapon bays. The air vehicle is expected to have an endurance of several hours and high subsonic speed i.e. a maximum speed of Mach 0.7 to Mach 0.8.

The unmanned Neuron will be controlled from ground based stations and from control stations in combat aircraft such as the French Rafale or the Swedish Gripen.

In June 2005, Thales was selected to develop the datalink system for Neuron. The system will connect the ground control station with the UCAV by a high-rate NATO standard STANAG 7085 datalink and a low-rate datalink: The high-rate datalink will allow secure transmission of application data (video, imagery and radar) and air vehicle command and control data. The low-rate datalink will use secure technologies and a different frequency band to ensure data integrity.

ENGINES

The air vehicle will be powered by two Adour Mk 951 jet engines from the Rolls Royce and Turbomeca joint venture RRTM. The Adour Mk 951 is already fitted on BAE Systems Hawk 128 aircraft. The air intake is in a flush dorsal position above the nose.
 

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