Category Archives: Military UAS

X-47 Programme Boosted by Pentagon Cuts

Northrop Grumman X-47

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ plan to trim around $100 billion from Pentagon accounts over the next five years — the details of which he announced today — is being billed as a budget cut. Actually, Gates’ latest budget exercise represents a net boost for some projects.

The Navy will now get extra funding for the X-47, the first unmanned aircraft designed as a carrier-based strike jet. Northrop Grumman’s X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration drone has been performing taxi tests for several weeks at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Two X-47Bs have been built by Northrop’s Aerospace Systems sector under a 2007 development contract. The stealthy aircraft, which resembles a miniature B-2 bomber — also built by Northrop — is intended to test the concept of operating a small, unmanned, combat jet from aircraft carriers.

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Orbit Wins $3M Sea Borne Contract

ORBIT Communication Systems, Ltd., has won a contract valued at $3.1 Million for the supply of multiple ship borne Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) tracking and communications systems to an undisclosed customer.

The advanced tracking and communications systems are designed to be operated on platforms at sea. Compensating for the constant motion of the marine platforms, the stabilised systems deliver precise tracking of the UAS and will be utilised for communications, command, control and intelligence provided by the UAS in maritime environments.

The systems are part of ORBIT’s family of tracking antenna solutions, which enable reliable and high speed telemetry, data and video communication links with platforms in motion – for a broad range of applications, from flight tests to satellite imaging. The company provides comprehensive, fully customised tracking solutions, tailored to meet exact customer requirements. This is the second major contract ORBIT has been awarded recently for its tracking and telemetry systems following the $6.25 Million contract announced in October 2010.

“Our vast experience in developing tough, all-weather-proven communication systems allows us to offer our customers reliable systems that enable continuous UAS communication, even at sea,” says Avi Cohen, President and CEO of ORBIT CS. “We are proud to have been awarded this contract and foresee additional agreements in the near future.”

India Commissions New UAV Squadron

NEW DELHI: India is now deploying naval spy drones on the Gujarat coast to detect terror and conventional threats emanating from sea from across the border in real-time.  The naval UAV ( unmanned aerial vehicle) squadron, named INAS 343, with a mix of Israeli Searcher and Heron drones, will be formally commissioned at the coastal city of Porbandar on January 17.

This new UAV station comes at a time when India is trying to plug holes in its coastal security architecture, which were exposed by the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai, with an array of measures ranging from coastal radar networks to an extensive maritime intelligence grid.

The Indian Navy recently inducted two more advanced Herons, which are strategic MALE (medium-altitude, long endurance) UAVs and carry a payload of 250kg for around 50 hours of continuous flight, to its already existing fleet of eight Searcher-IIs and four Herons.

The first naval UAV squadron (INAS 342) has been operational at Kochi for the last few years. After Kochi and Porbandar, new naval UAV squadrons are earmarked for Uchipuli in Tamil Nadu and Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As part of Navy’s three-tier aerial surveillance grid for the Indian Ocean Region, the drones are already being used for innermost layer reconnaissance up to 200 nautical miles.

Euro Hawk Endurance Trials

Euro Hawk, the premier unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for the German Air Force, successfully proved its long endurance capability with a 30.3-hour flight over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and EADS Deutschland GmbH, operating through Cassidian, the defence and security division of EADS, the high-flying UAS took off Dec. 1 at 4:47 p.m. PST and landed Dec. 2 at approximately 10:59 p.m. PST.

“Soaring up to 60,000 feet, the Euro Hawk performed beautifully and has logged nearly 100 total flight hours since its maiden flight approximately five months ago,” said Duke Dufresne, sector vice president and general manager of the Strike and Surveillance Systems Division for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “This flight not only demonstrated the aircraft’s endurance capability, but it also enabled the team to collect crucial communications data points.”

The Euro Hawk is the first international configuration of the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance UAS. It also demonstrates the remarkable team spirit uniting Northrop Grumman and EADS Deutschland GmbH/Cassidian.

«This milestone is a significant step towards completion of the ferry flight to Germany next year,» said Nicolas Chamussy, senior vice president of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Cassidian. «The aircraft will undergo additional flight testing in Germany before being delivered to the German Air Force by the end of 2011 to replace the fleet of manned Breguet Atlantic aircraft which went out of service this year.»

Based on the Block 20 configuration, the Euro Hawk will be equipped with a signals intelligence mission system developed by Cassidian, providing standoff capability to detect electronic and communications emitters.

«We are very excited to soon have Euro Hawk flying over German skies and providing airborne wide-area surveillance and reconnaissance,» said Neset Tuekenmez, chief executive officer of the EuroHawk GmbH. «This trans-Atlantic cooperation has been a long time coming since the effort began in August 2000 and the contract awarded in 2007.»

Delivery of four subsequent systems is anticipated between 2015 and 2016 following successful testing and introduction in German operational service.

General Atomics $85M Support Contract

Sky Warrior

The US Defense Department announced that it has awarded $85 million to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to provide logistical support for its Warrior A/Warrior Block O unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which is being developed for the Army. The work will be performed in Poway but represents support to four unnamed sites outside of the continental United States. The company still refers to the UAS as Sky Warrior, although it is technically known as the MQ-1C Grey Eagle. The aircraft is a refined version of the company’s well known MQ-1 Predator UAS, and is part of the Army’s Extended-Range Multi-Purpose UAS programme.