International Battlefield UAVs (2)

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Main article: History of unmanned aerial vehicles

This chapter completes the discussion of international battlefield UAVs, focusing on UAVs from other European nations and from other regions.

Contents

[edit] Italian UAVs: Meteor & Mirach Series

METEOR MIRACH 26
Payload Day / night imager.
Payload weight 50 kilograms 110 pounds
Length 3.85 meters 12 feet 8 inches
Wingspan 4.73 meters 15 feet 6 inches
Height 1.27 meters 4 feet 2 inches
Takeoff weight 200 kilograms 440 pounds
Maximum speed 220 km/h 138 mph / 120 kt
Service ceiling 3,500 meters 11,480 feet
Endurance > 6 hours
Launch scheme RATO booster.
Recovery scheme Parachute.
Guidance system Programmable with GPS, radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle


METEOR MIRACH 150
Payload Day / night imager, SAR, or EW module.
Length 4.7 meters 15 feet 5 inches
Wingspan 2.1 meters 6 feet 11 inches
Launch weight 345 kilograms 760 pounds
Maximum speed 855 km/h 530 mph / 460 kt
Service ceiling 9,150 meters 30,000 feet
Endurance 1.3 hours
Launch scheme RATO booster.
Recovery scheme Parachute.
Guidance system Programmable with GPS, radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle
  • Italy's Meteor company, discussed earlier as a maker of target drones, has developed a series of battlefield UAVs for the Italian Army. The "Mirach 20" combat surveillance UAV led to the similar but improved "Mirach 26", and Meteor is considering a next-generation combat surveillance UAV called the "Falcon" as a follow-on.

The Mirach 26 is of typical twin-boom pusher-prop battlefield surveillance UAV configuration. It is very similar to the older Mirach 20 in appearance but slightly bigger, the most visible difference being that the Mirach 26 has antenna disks on the top of the tailfins. It is powered by a 20 kW (26 hp) Sachs piston engine.

  • Meteor has also developed a longer-range turbojet tactical reconnaissance UAV, designated the "Mirach 150". It is apparently a derivative of the Mirach 100 series of targets, being of the same general size and also powered by a Microturbo TRS-18-1 turbojet.

Meteor is now promoting a new derivative of the Meteor 150, named the "Nibbio", for tactical reconnaissance and other missions. It has an operational radius of 380 kilometers (235 miles) and can carry a 60 kilogram (122 pound) payload, including EO-IR imagers, SIGINT payloads, or ECM payloads. It can be ground or air-launched, and is recovered by parachute.

[edit] British UAVs: Phoenix & Watchkeeper

BAE SYSTEMS PHOENIX
Payload Infrared imager.
Payload weight 50 kilograms 110 pounds
Wingspan 5.6 meters 18 feet
Launch weight 175 kilograms 386 pounds
Maximum speed 166 km/h 104 mph / 90 kt
Service ceiling 2,750 meters 9,000 feet
Endurance 5 hours
Launch scheme Pneumatic / hydraulic catapult.
Recovery scheme Parachute.
Guidance system Programmable with GPS, radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle
  • The British Army has had as much or more trouble fielding a tactical UAV as the US Army, but has finally settled on a solution, the BAE Systems Phoenix. First flight was in 1986, but introduction of the Phoenix was painfully delayed and the program attracted a good deal of criticism. The Phoenix finally saw limited action in the Kosovo campaign in 1999.

It is not clear if the Phoenix operated with British forces during the Afghan campaign of 2001:2002, but it was heavily used during the Iraq campaign in 2003. Phoenix attrition was high during the Iraq campaign, though British Army officials say it gave excellent service for artillery spotting, stating that some of the losses were due to deliberate sacrifices, in which the UAV was kept on station beyond the time it could be recovered rather than let targets get away.

The Phoenix is a fairly typical combat surveillance UAV, powered by a 20 kW (26 hp) piston engine, but is distinctive in that it is a "tractor" aircraft, with the propeller in the front. This tends to obstruct a sensor turret, and so the sensor payload, built around an infrared imager, is carried in a pod slung well under the fuselage. The Phoenix is recovered by parachute, landing on its back, with a crushable "hump" on the back taking up the impact. The Phoenix is mostly made of Kevlar and other plastics.

The Phoenix was originally supposed to remain in service until 2013, but the British felt they need something better, and set up an international competition designated "Watchkeeper" for a next-generation UAV system in 2002. A group led by Thales of France won the competition in late 2004, with the system built around the Elbit Hermes 180 tactical UAV (discussed earlier) and Hermes 450 endurance UAV (discussed later). The Watchkeeper system is expected to be fielded in 2005.

[edit] Swiss UAVs: Ranger

OERLIKON RANGER
Payload Day / night imager, with laser designator.
Payload weight 39 kilograms 86 pounds
Length 4.6 meters 15 feet 1 inches
Wingspan 5.7 meters 18 feet 8 inches
Height 1.13 meters 3 feet 7 inches
Launch weight 270 kilograms 595 pounds
Maximum speed 220 km/h 137 mph / 119 kt
Service ceiling 4,575 meters 15,000 feet
Endurance 5 hours
Launch scheme Hydraulic catapult.
Recovery scheme Wheel or skid landing with hook, parachute.
Guidance system Programmable with radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle
  • The Swiss Oerlikon Ranger is another reasonably typical combat surveillance UAV, with a twin-boom pusher-prop configuration, though it is slightly unusual in that it has both a low-mounted wing and tailplane. It is powered by a 32 kW (42 hp) piston engine and appears to be skid-recovered.

It was developed by IAI Malat to Swiss specifications, modifying Israeli technology to the European field environment. It is unclear if Oerlikon actually manufactures the Ranger in part or full, or if the company simply provides marketing and support. It would seem that the Ranger is probably built in Israel, as Malat also markets the UAV internationally. The Ranger has entered service with the Swiss Army, and is also being obtained by Finland.

[edit] German UAVs: Kzo, Taifun, & Luna

EURODRONE KZO
Payload Day / night imager.
Length 2.26 meters 7 feet 5 inches
Wingspan 3.4 meters 11 feet 2 inches
Height 0.9 meters 3 feet
Maximum loaded weight 150 kilograms 331 pounds
Maximum speed 250 km/h 155 mph / 135 kt
Service ceiling 4,000 meters 13,120 feet
Endurance 4 hours
Launch scheme RATO booster.
Recovery scheme Parachute with airbag landing system.
Guidance system Programmable with radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle


ATN LUNA
Payload Day / night imager.
Length 2.04 meters 6 feet 8 inches
Wingspan 3.98 meters 13 feet 1 inch
Launch weight 20 kilograms 44 pounds
Maximum speed 190 km/h 120 mph / 104 kt
Service ceiling 2,740 meters 9,000 feet
Endurance 4 hours
Launch scheme Bungee catapult.
Recovery scheme Parachute or parafoil.
Guidance system Programmable with radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle
  • Eurodrone, a collaboration of the Anglo-French Matra BAE Dynamics and the German STN Atlas Electronik companies, has been working on a small piston-powered battlefield drone known as the "Brevel" or "Kleinflugerät für Zielortung (KZO)" since 1980. First flight was in 1995.

The KZO is a delta-winged UAV, with a pusher propeller driven by a small piston engine, and disk-shaped antenna on top of the tail. It has "stealthy" features.

Service introduction of the KZO was long delayed, and the French pulled out of the project, with a French official bluntly stating: "The military requirement for this drone ceased to be relevant ten years ago." The Germans went on to field the UAV. KZOs are currently fitted with an infrared imager, though a SAR payload is also being considered. Eurodrone builds a similar but non-stealthy variant of the KZO named the "Tucan" for export and possible commercial applications.

  • The German Army is acquiring another tactical UAV from STN Atlas, the "Taifun" attack drone, to go into service in 2005. The Taifun is similar to the KZO, being a piston-powered UAV with a pusher propeller, and is fitted with an intelligent millimeter-wave radar seeker that perform search and destroy attacks autonomously. It destroys its target with a hollow-charge warhead. The company also is working on a jamming drone, the "Muecke", which is presumably similar, but details are unclear.

In addition, STN Atlas sells a mini-UAV named "Luna". It resembles a sleek RC airplane with a pusher propeller mounted above the wing, and is powered by a 4.5 kW (6 hp) piston engine. It can shut down its engine and glide over well-protected target areas as a stealth measure. It carries an EO/IR imaging system, though a SAR payload is now being developed. The Luna was evaluated by the German Army in the Balkans in 2001 and saw service with German forces in Afghanistan.

[edit] Russian UAVs: Yak-61 Shmel, Kamov KA-137

YAKOVLEV YAK-61 SHMEL
Payload Day / night imager.
Length 2.77 meters 9 feet 1 inch
Wingspan 3.23 meters 10 feet 7 inches
Launch weight 129 kilograms 285 pounds
Maximum speed 140 km/h 87 mph / 76 kt
Service ceiling 2,900 meters 9,480 feet
Endurance 2 hours
Launch scheme Catapult.
Recovery scheme Parachute.
Guidance system Programmable with radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle


KAMOV KA-137
Payload Day / night imager.
Body diameter 1.22 meters 3 feet 11 inches
Rotor span 5.3 meters 17 feet 5 inches
Maximum loaded weight 280 kilograms 617 pounds
Maximum speed 175 km/h 110 mph / 95 kt
Service ceiling 3,500 meters 11,500 feet
Endurance 4 hours
Guidance system Programmable with radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle
  • The Red Army fielded a tactical UAV, the Yakovlev "Yak-60", in the early 1980s. This machine had a pusher prop in a duct, a high wing, and an inverted vee tail. It was used for daylight reconnaissance and jamming.

The Yak-60 is now out of first-line service, having been replaced by the improved Yakovlev "Yak-61 Shmel (Bumblebee)", also known as the "Pchelka 1T". The Shmel has a nose-mounted sensor turret; a pusher prop in a duct, powered by a small piston engine; a top-mounted wing in the rear, and a fixed landing-gear scheme whose struts seem to be designed as airfoils. It has been in service since 1994, and is believed to have seen extensive service in the Chechnya conflict.

Yakovlev is currently working on two new tactical UAVs, the "Albatros" and the "Expert". The Albatros is a tiltrotor design along the lines of the Boeing Eagle Eye, except that it has an inverted-vee tail. It will have a 120 kW (160 hp) engine, seven-hour endurance, and a 100 kilometer (60 mile) range, with the range limited by the command-data radio link. It is primarily focused on shipboard applications.

Details of the Expert are unclear, but it appears to be a small battlefield surveillance UAV, of the sort usually launched by a bungee catapult.

  • The Russian Kamov helicopter OKB (design bureau) has also built a tactical UAV, the Kamov "Ka-137". Kamov has produced a number of different manned helicopter designs since the 1940s, focusing on the "coaxial" rotor configuration, with twin rotors spinning in opposite directions on the same shaft.

Kamov flew Russia's first unmanned helicopter, the Ka-37, in 1993, after developing the UAV with their own funds. The "Ka-37" looked like a scaled-down version of a Kamov manned helicopter, with the coaxial rotor configuration and a tailboom with fins. The Ka-37 was apparently sold in some numbers for agricultural applications, and led to an improved "Ka-37S" prototype in 1996 that featured a new engine.

The Ka-137 is a next-generation follow-on to the Ka-37, and has been substantially redesigned. The Ka-137 is an endearingly toylike machine, somewhat in a class with the Canadair CL-227, with a ball-shaped body, four landing legs, and a coaxial rotor system powered by a 49 kW (65 hp) piston engine. It can carry a TV imaging system, and can be operated using a truck-based support and control system. The Ka-137 is currently in use with Russian border guards and possibly Russian coast guard patrol boats.

[edit] EADS Orka 1200, Scorpio, Surveyor

  • The European Aerospace & Defense Systems (EADS) company is currently promoting a number of UAVs. One, the "Orka 1200", is a UAV helicopter with an airframe length of 6.2 meters (20,3 feet) and a weight of about 700 kilograms (1543 pounds) for use by the army and on naval vessels. It is currently favoured as the likely replacement for the larger and heavier SEAMOS helicopter UAV that was abandoned by the Germans.

Orka 1200 is derived from a light helicopter the Cabri built by Hélicoptères Guimbal of France. It has a conventional helicopter configuration, with a three-bladed main rotor with a diameter of 7.2 meters (23.6 feet), an enclosed "fenestron" tail rotor favoured by the French, and landing skips. There is a sensor turret under the nose and an antenna or sensor drum under the belly between the landing skids. The production Orka 1200 is expected to have an endurance of 8 hours and a payload of 150 kilograms (331 pounds).

  • The EADS "Scorpio" is a much smaller battlefield helicopter, focused on special operations. It is also of conventional helicopter configuration, with a two-blade main rotor with Hiller-type stabilization paddles, an exposed two-blade tail rotor, and landing skids. A sensor turret may be fitted between the landing skids. There are several variants in the Scorpio line:
  • The 13 kilogram (29 pound) "Scorpio-6" flies at 35 km/h (22 mph) and has an endurance of an hour.
  • The 40 kilogram (88 pound) "Scorpio-30" flies at 50 km/h (31 mph) and has an endurance of two hours.
  • The EADS "Surveyor" is still in preliminary investigation phase. It will be a fixed-wing, jet-powered UAV and is being positioned as a replacement for the CL-289. EADS is currently working on a demonstrator, the "Carapas", modified from an Italian Mirach 100 drone. The production Surveyor would be a stealthy machine with a top speed of 850 km/h (530 mph), an endurance of up to three hours, and capable of carrying a sophisticated sensor payload, including SIGINT gear. It would also be able to carry external loads, such as air-dropped sensors or light munitions.

[edit] Other International Battlefield UAVs

  • Tactical UAVs are something of a growth market, and a great number of different types have been built, most of which have only seen service in limited numbers. It is worth sampling them here.
  • The Belgians were actually early adopters of battlefield UAVs, introducing the "Epervier (Sparrowhaw)" UAV in the early 1970s. It was built by Manufacture Belge De Lampes Et De Materiel Electronique SA (MBLE) of Belgium. Epervier prototypes were propeller-driven, but the production Epervier UAV, the "X.5" model, was fitted with a Rover TJ125 turbojet with 510 N (52 kgf / 114 lbf) thrust. It was launched by a RATO booster and recovered by parachute.

It had a boxy fiberglass fuselage with a rear-mounted truncated-delta wing, a single tailfin, and winglet fins at the end of each wing. It had a length of 2.25 meters (7 feet 4 inches), a wingspan of 1/72 meters (5 feet 8 inches), and a launch weight of 142 kilograms (313 pounds), The Epervier has now been replaced by the IAI Hunter, which was obtained by the Belgian military with Belgian-specified systems.

  • Schiebel of Austria has developed a helicopter mini-UAV named the "Camcopter", which was evaluated the US Air Force as part of studies in developing improved defenses from terrorist attacks on military installations.

The Camcopter has a conventional main-tail rotor helicopter configuration, with twin-blade main rotor. It uses an 55 hp rotary engine. It has a length of 3 meters (and a loaded weight of 200 kilograms (440 pounds).

  • Following South African evaluation of a Malat Scout in the late 1970s, in the early 1980s Kentron built a relatively large combat surveillance UAV, the "Seeker", of conventional twin-boom pusher-prop configuration, with a 38 kW (50 hp) engine. It had a length of 4.43 meters (14 feet 6 inches) and a loaded weight of 225 kilograms (562 pounds). It was adopted by the South African army but apparently given up due to reliability problems.
  • India has developed a tactical UAV named the "Nishant". Details are unclear, but it appears to be in the same class as the IAI Malat Searcher, and is apparently being developed with Israeli help. It has not reached full operational status, and for the time being the Indian Army has been making do with IAI UAVs, apparently the Searcher and the Hunter. Although it isn't really a battlefield UAV, India has also developed a UAV named the "Lakshya" that is used as a target, medium-range reconnaissance UAV, and supposedly even a cruise missile. The Lakshya looks like a near-clone of the Beech Streaker.
  • Not to be outdone, India's rival Pakistan has also developed a number of battlefield UAVs. Pakistan's "Air Weapons Complex (AWC)" has completed development of their "Bravo" battlefield surveillance UAV, and is now in service with law enforcement and border security organizations. The Bravo is apparently a fairly conventional piston-powered small battlefield UAV, has a composite airframe, a maximum payload of 20 kilograms (44 pounds), and a radius of action of up to 80 kilometers (50 miles). It is guided by a preprogrammed navigation system. The AWC "Vision-1" is an improved version of the Bravo, , and AWC also makes a high-altitude reconnaissance drone, the "Vector", as well as two target drones, the "Nishan" and the "Hornet".
  • Croatia has fielded a series of tactical UAVs, beginning with the MAH-1, which are said to strongly resemble IAI Malat tactical UAVs and were likely developed with Israeli assistance. Finally, Iran has developed a tactical UAV, some of which were provided to the Hizbollah group in southern Lebanon. These machines performed scouting mission over northern Israel in 2004, much to the consternation of the Israelis.

[edit] References

This article contains material that originally came from the web article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.

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