AIR SURVEILLANCE AND RECONNAISSANCE

AIR SURVEILLANCE AND RECONNAISSANCE – SECTOR REPORT

By DefenceIQ/a division of IQPC

The UAV Market has an estimated value of more than$16 billion over the next 10 years.

Two contracts now in competition – for the US Navy and Marine Corps’ small tactical unmanned
systems (STUAS) and the US Air Force’s MQ‐X requirement – will define key roles for unmanned
aircraft systems operated by US forces for possibly decades to come. The STUAS/Tier II competition
is scheduled to conclude in September, although the award may be postponed until after late
September.
The USN and USMC have not published an estimate for total orders, but industry officials estimate a
production run of 250 systems, with three to four vehicles likely for each system. Four teams are
known to have submitted bids and performed flying demonstrations. Those competitors are the AAI
Aerosonde Mk 4.7, the Boeing/Insitu Integrator, the UAV Dynamics Storm and the Raytheon/Swift
Engineering KillerBee‐4. The USN and USMC have issued requirements for an aircraft at least three
times the size of the 18kg (38lb) Scan Eagle airframe. The services want an aircraft that can operate
up to 4km (2nm) from either a land‐ or ship‐based ground control station. The aircraft should have
at least 10h endurance, with up to 24h desired, providing full motion video throughout the flight.
The current schedule calls for initial operational capability (IOC) in fiscal year 2012.
The USAF has launched the first step in the process of finalising the requirements for the MQ‐X
programme. The initial capabilities document for the MQ‐X has already been completed. The
USAF’s newly released UAS flight plan up to 2047 lists several desired capabilities for the MQ‐X
aircraft, but the timelines for the programme remain in flux. The USAF has planned to acquire an
MQ‐X aircraft in the near term that would share many capabilities of the current aircraft performing
the role – namely the Predator/Reaper series. It would be followed by a family of increasingly
sophisticated aircraft designated MQ‐Ma to MQ‐Mb to MQ‐Mc, with the latter having an air‐to‐air
capability.

KEY FIXED‐WING UNMANNED AIR SYSTEMS

AEROVIRONMENT RAVEN
The US Army has an ongoing acquisition objective for about 2,200 Raven systems and has taken
delivery of more than 1,300 to date. A system consists of three Raven air vehicles, providing the
army with more than 6,500 of the vehicles.

BAE SYSTEMS MANTIS
The BAE Systems Mantis will fly later this year from a test site in Woomera, Australia. The
technology demonstrator for the high‐altitude, long‐endurance armed reconnaissance UAV was
originally to fly in February. After the phase one Woomera testing, Mantis may spend some of its
second phase development time in‐theatre in Afghanistan

BAE SYSTEMS TARANIS
A UK unmanned combat air vehicle technology demonstrator, Taranis is a £124 million ($205 million)
four‐year programme. The demonstrator is planned to enter ground testing this year and fly in
2010. It is part of the UK government’s strategic UAV experiment. The goal is a UCAV demonstrator
with fully integrated autonomous systems and low observable features.

BOEING PHANTOM RAY
Boeing on the 8th May unveiled the internally funded Phantom Ray demonstrator, which re‐uses the
prototype X‐45C vehicle developed for DARPA’s cancelled joint unmanned combat air systems (JUCAS)
programme. First flight of the Phantom Ray is scheduled for December 2010.

BOEING/INSITU INTEGRATOR
The Integrator UAS is in competition to win the US Navy/ US Marine Corps small tactical UAS
(STUAS)/tier II contract. Designed as a follow‐on to the Scan Eagle UAS, the Integrator was unveiled
in August 2007.

GENERAL ATOMICS MQ‐1C SKY WARRIOR
After operating several early versions of the MQ‐1C in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US Army has greatly
accelerated development and production of the MQ‐1C.

GENERAL ATOMICS MQ‐9 REAPER
The US Air Force declared the MQ‐9 Reaper operational in October 2007. Based on the Predator B
design, other customers include Italy, Turkey, the UK and the US Customs and Border patrol.
Germany is also evaluating a purchase of the MQ‐9.

HONEYWELL RQ‐16 T‐HAWK
Honeywell started developing the T‐Hawk with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
in 2003, and a Block 1 version was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan with the US Navy four years
later. The USN has ordered 180 RQ‐16s. The T‐Hawk is also being purchased by the British Army for
use in counter improvised explosive device stand‐off inspections.

ISRAEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES MALAT HERON 1/TP
Already operated by the French and the Canadians in Afghanistan, the Israel Aerospace Industries
Malat division Heron family are medium‐altitude long‐endurance UAVs that are now being
considered by France and Germay in competitions that could be resolved early next year. In
Germany the Heron TP is in competition with the General Atomics Predator B. The French
competition sees the Heron pitched against the tri‐nation Advanced UAV, a project led by EADS, and
which has been renamed Talarion. However, the German government is known to be unenthusiastic
about this twin‐engined multipurpose UAV concept.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN RQ‐4N
Since contract award in March 2008, Northrop Grumman has been working to refine the design for
the US Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) programme. The BAMS fleet is intended to
operate as an unmanned adjunct to the manned Boeing P‐8A Poseidon, with both types replacing
Lockheed P‐3C Orions in the maritime patrol and anti‐submarine warfare roles.

NORTHROP/EADS EURO HAWK
With a planned roll‐out in October and first flight early in the first quarter of 2010, the EuroHawk is a
Northrop Grumman RQ‐4 Global Hawk Block 20 that is being developed as an unmanned
replacement for the German navy’s Dassault‐Breguet Atlantic signals intelligence aircraft.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN RQ‐4B GLOBAL HAWK BLOCK 40
The latest model to debut in the RQ‐4b series was scheduled to complete first flight in late July 2009.
The USAF ultimately plans to buy 15 examples of the Block 40 type.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN X‐47B
Rolled out on the 16th December 2008, first flight of the X‐47B is on track for the fourth quarter this
year. Flight trials at sea are scheduled to begin in 2011. The demonstration has also been expanded
to include an aerial refuelling component during the later stages of the programme, which is funded
up to fiscal year 2013. The UCAS‐D programme survived a cancellation threat last year. USN officials
last year revealed a new plan to bridge to a new acquisition programme called F/A‐XX after 2020,
with both manned and unmanned aircraft under study.

QINETIQ ZEPHYR
Zephyr is to be the first solar powered UAV to be deployed in‐theatre.

RAYTHEON/SWIFT ENGINEERING KILLERBEE‐4
Raytheon’s future with the KillerBee‐ 4 is likely to be defined over the coming months. The aircraft is
in competition with three others for the STUAS/Tier II contract award.

THALES WATCHKEEPER
A UK version of the Elbit System Hermes 450, Watchkeeper will begin field trials at West Wales
airport in Parc Aberporth from October 2009.

ROTARY‐WING UNMMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
The success of fixed‐wing UAVs is now being followed by the development of roatary‐wing vehicles,
which bring unique abilities to the unmanned table. Initial developments have focused on
intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR), however, the
weaponisation of platforms is fast approaching. Rotary‐wing systems have the potential to provide a
wider range of uses including casualty evacuation and precision resupply, the latter of which
currently utilises a significant number of the International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF)helicopters.

Man‐portable platforms such as Diehl’s SensoCopter and EMT’s Fancopter occupy similar closesupport
roles to AV’s Raven. Schiebel’s S‐100 Camcopter, with its ability to deploy rapidly and carry
sophisticated payloads, has a tactical position on the battlefield that is much like that of AAI’s RQ‐7
Shadow 200 and its contemporaries.
Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout, with its increased size and payload, is more comparable to the likes
of General Atomics’ Predator and Reaper UAVs.
It is in urban areas, even inside buildings themselves, that micro rotary‐wing UAVs find their niche.
The SensoCopter features a carbon fibre central body that houses the propulsion unit, lithium
battery, avionics and payload. Fancopter is designed to support urban operations. It features a
central body with twin rotors located above and below, and three landing legs at the end of arms
extending from the unit. Honeywell’s Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), which has been selected as the Class
I UAV for the US Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) programme, has an unconventional rotarywing
design.
Schiebel’s Camcopter S‐100 has a pod and boom fuselage design and a 3.4 m two‐blade main rotor.
Payloads of up to 55kg can be accommodated across two internal bays and external hardpoints. The
S‐100 has operated from the German Navy’s Braun‐schweig‐class (K130) corvettes. Additionally the
S‐100 has been trialled aboard the French Navy’s George Leygues‐class frigate FS Montcalm, as well
as Indian, Pakistan and Singapore Navy vessels. A bigger platform, the S‐200, is in the pipeline but
this will not be ready for at least another two years. Thus far the largest customer for the S‐100 has
been the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force. The S‐100 has also been acquired by the German
Navy and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird represents the high performance end of current rotary‐wing UAVs.
Roles that are envisaged for the Hummingbird include ISTAR, offensive, communications relay,
precision resupply and remote delivery of unmanned ground sensors and vehicles. To date Boeing
has been working with DARPA, the US Army, US Navy (USN) and SOCOM. In May, the US Special
Operations Command revealed plans to buy about 20 A160s, which would be designated the YMQ‐
18, in fiscal year 2010. The US Marine Corps is also evaluating the A160 to serve as an “immediate
cargo UAS” that could be deployed as early as February 2010, with the mission of hauling up to
910kg loads to forward bases within a 24h period.
The most significant rotary‐wing UAV programme at present is Northrop Grumman’s MQ‐8B Fire
Scout. Fire Scout has been selected as the Class IV UAV in the US Army’s FCS programme, and as the
vertical take‐off unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV) for the USN. The US Army Fire Scout’s primary
role will be to provide ISTAR. As with the US Army’s Fire Scout, the USN’s variant will principally act
in an ISTAR role. The USN has outlined three potential mission areas for Fire Scout; in antisubmarine
operations, surface warfare and mine‐warfare. Upon completion of the engineering
manufacturing and development phase, an MQ‐8B is to be trialled aboard the Oliver Hazard Perryclass
frigate USS McInerney. Further trials will then follow aboard Littoral Combat Ships.
A number of developers are also exploring re‐roling and coverting manned helicopters into
unmanned platforms as they have proven flight capabilities and large payload capacities. Notable
programmes include Boeing’s Unmanned Little Bird (ULB), and a joint project between Israel
Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the Indian Navy based on an Aerospatiale Alouette III.

SNOWGOOSE
Canada’s Mist Mobility Integrated Systems Technology (MMIST) is posed to enter the rotary‐wing
UAV market with a novel evolution of the legacy CQ‐10A, SnowGoose aircraft. As of March, the
company was integrating rotor packages onto two of the 18 CQ‐10As acquired by the US Navy and
Special Operations Command for further trials. Among other programmes, the system has been bid
in for the US Marine Corps’ new cargo UAV study.

AIRSHIPS
Lockheed Martin has won a $400 million contract to build a high‐altitude airship demonstrator
featuring radar technology powerful enough to detect a car hidden under a canopy of trees from a
distance of more than 300km (160nm).
The Integrated Sensor is Structure (Isis) programme aims to replace several airborne surveillance
platforms, including the US air Force’s Boeing E‐3 airborne warning and control system and Northrop
Grumman E‐8C JSTARS airborne ground surveillance aircraft with a fleet of stratosphere roaming
airships.
Selected by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the USAF over
Northrop, Lockheed’s Skunk Works division will build and fly a demonstrator aircraft with a scaleddown
sensor system in fiscal year 2013.
This will be equipped with a dual‐band UHF radar for tracking ground vehicles or dismounted
soldiers, and an X‐band radar for spotting small cruise missiles or unmanned air vehicles.
The planned massive size of the radar aperture would make the sensors more capable than the
375km‐range AWACS radar and the JSTARS payload’s maximum 300km detection range. An
operational aircraft could remain on station for several years, as its solar powered fuel cells would
not require ground refuelling.
An Isis platform staged in the middle of the Luzon Strait could monitor China and Taiwan across the
Taiwan Straits, according to DARPA briefing chart presented to contractors. The airship could
reposition itself anywhere in the world within 10 days, it adds.

KEY MANNED AIR SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMMES
JSTARS
Upgrades for the E‐8C Joint Stars aircraft that would allow it to operate more effectively in
Afghanistan are being threatened by what critics in the Pentagon and Congress say are flawed
analyses and by zeal for cutting budgets in Fiscal 2011 and beyond. Military strategists are worried
that the financial juggling could scupper plans to create a second Joint Stars orbit in order to focus
support on the increasingly lethal war in Afghanistan. Because of the small number of E‐8Cs, the T‐3
test aircraft – with advanced engines and a full‐motion video sensor – was expected to do double
duty as part of the new orbit.
Joint Stars re‐engining is only one of a number of programmes being offered by the services for cuts
in the 2011‐15 future‐years defense plan. Of the 17 operational Joint Stars aircraft, five are already
deployed, four are in maintenance and eight are dedicated to training at Robbins AFB, Ga. The test
aircraft plus some training aircraft would have to be re‐stationed to create the second orbit. The
Joint Stars modification programme has several elements – radar software, engines and additional
sensors. A new low‐cost, radar software upgrade is available for the E‐8C Joint Stars that would let it
track people moving at walking speed at ranges up to 150 mi. This would enlarge the concept of
operations – for Afghanistan in particular – for the airborne ground surveillance radar system.
A single E‐8C Joint Stars (T‐3 testbed) equipped with more powerful Pratt & Whitney JT8D‐219
engines is expected to conduct a series of test flights in Afghanistan next summer, although so far
there is no Air Force programme for the effort. About $600 million spent on the programme
through Fiscal 2010 has already paid for seven ship‐sets of engines out of the 19 needed to re‐equip
the fleet. The total allocation of $1.4 billion should pay for itself through decreased maintenance by
2017 and create a saving of £10 billion in sustainment costs by Fiscal 2035. In a third improvement,
Joint Stars may be equipped with new and additional sensors, in particular the Senior Year Electrooptical
Reconnaissance System (SYERS III). Despite its potential, the Joint Stars project is expected to
become a budget battlefield over its engine upgrades when Congress returns after its summer
break.

SENTINEL R1
Raytheon Systems Ltd (RSL) announced on the 10th February that it had delivered the fifth and final
Sentinel R1, ZJ694, to the RAF’s 5 (AC) Squadron at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It is still believed
that (Full Operational Capability) FOC can be achieved in 2011 – currently 5 Squadron has only four
crews, two of which have now been declared combat ready. The full complement of ten crews
should be qualified by the time the aircraft achieves FOC.
In addition to the five Sentinel aircraft RSL has delivered six tactical ground station units, two
operational level ground station units, support vehicles and extensive support infrastructure. In a
trial of the aircraft in Afghanistan last November and December, two Sentinels were deployed to the
region and proved their ability to feed information about the movements of enemy forces to ground
commanders in near real time. The aircraft undertook a total of 19 missions during the operational
trial, some lasting more than ten hours.

NT‐ISR
The USAF ‘Liberty Bell’ programme takes the form of a 37‐aircrat acquisition believed to comprise 29
new‐build King Air 350s plus at least a further seven second‐hand aircraft. The USAF has fielded its
new asset, with type training taking place under the auspices of the Mississippi Air National Guard’s
186th Air Refuelling Wing at Key Field, Meridian, Mississippi.
The UK Ministry of Defence is undertaking a programme that will see four King Air 350 CER aircraft
modified for the role. Intended for the RAF, these Shadow aircraft are being equipped with mission
systems by UK contractor Raytheon Systems. The Shadow platform will be assigned to the RAF’s No.
5 (Army Co‐operation) Squadron based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.