complete guide the air, sea, land defence decision-maker’s … · tossed overboard by the...

Complete Guide

Drones

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issue 3/2008 Supplement to

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A .V. Roe (Avro), Breguet, Curtiss,Caproni, Convair, Dewoitine, Douglas,Grumman, McDonnell, Fairchild,

Fairey, Focke-Wulf, Handley-Page, Heinkel,Laughead (Lockheed brothers’ original name),Ford, Hurel-Dubois, Messerschmitt, Maurane,North American, Nieuport, Latécoère, Polikar-pov, Republic, Rockwell, Sopwith, Saunders-Roe, Spad, De Havilland, Supermarine, Vought –these illustrious names now belong to a longgone past. The list is much longer and could fill aphone directory, maybe two.

Today, how many names are left in the defenceaviation world? Fingers of only two hands sufficeto reckon them: Boeing, Dassault, Saab, Lock-heed Martin, Embraer, MiG, Eads, Sukhoi, BAESystems, a few trainer aircraft manufacturersand, apart from a few of code-numbered facto-ries in the Peoples Republic of China (generallyclones from the Eastern World), that is about it.But for how long? Particularly in Europe, wherethere currently are only two manufacturers thatstill produce fighter aircraft of their own.

The reader will, by now, have guessed what weare driving at. Look at the four-page spread inthe centre of this supplement. It is far, very far,from being exhaustive and only refers to dronesthat necessarily had to be cut down in terms ofnumbers by either technical or strategic rele-vance, or both – granted, it is a choice that canalways be disputed. Add to this the other makesand types mentioned in the text and many others

given in the earlier editions of Armada’s supple-ments on drones, and we would not fall too shortof the number of military aircraft manufacturersof yesteryear.

The development of military aviation onlystarted to soar during the Great War and went onto grow to the above-mentioned telephonedirectory situation until the Second World War.Then consolidations (as euphemistically put)started to take place. Extraordinarily, the devel-opment of drones followed the same applicationpattern as that of piloted aircraft at the begin-ning of the last century. The first aircraft wereused as observation “apparatuses” (aircraft wereinitially referred to as “apparatus” in early main-tenance manuals), particularly to spot enemyartillery movements. Then came the firstbombers – in fact initially the same types as theobservation aircraft, but from which bombs weretossed overboard by the ‘co-pilot’ in WWI. Final-ly these needed to be countered, so the intercep-tor aircraft was invented, which is possibly a taskthat will be transferred to the so-called Ucav forits own self-protection in the future.

There is every reason to believe that the dronecompany consolidation process will also followthe same pattern as that of traditional aircraftmanufacturers. In fact, it already started a fewyears ago when a Vietnam-age drone pioneer –Ryan – was taken over by Northrop Grumman,itself a company resulting from a massive consoli -dation.

Eric H. Biass

Premonition or Logical Assumption?

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armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

United States Fly High

While the United States and the Soviet Union were the first to re-exploreuncrewed aircraft technologies since the second world war in the 1960s, notablythrough Ryan and Tupolev (but with mixed results in both cases), Israel was real-ly the first nation to turn the discipline into a viable proposition in the 1980s,before being overtaken in terms of market size by the United States.

The Northrop Grumman Global Hawk willattract military and paramilitary users

Roy Braybrook

C ompared to spending on mannedaircraft (the Lockheed Martin F-22alone receiving over $ 3.5 billion in

FY08), that on drones is small, but risingimpressively. The Washington-based TealGroup estimated in late 2007 that theworldwide annual spend on drones willalmost double from the current $ 3.4 billion to around $ 7.3 billion within adecade, thereby making this the mostdynamic growth sector of the aerospacebusiness.

The Pentagon’s own forecasts show itsunmanned aircraft procurement budgetrising steadily from $ 878.4 million inFY07 to a peak of $ two billion in FY10.In the latter year, America’s correspon-ding RDT&E expenditure is predicted as$ 1.3 billion and operating & mainte-nance as $ 421.2 million.

The US armed services are estimatedto already have a total of around 5300drones in their inventories, and this num-ber is clearly set to rise dramatically. Pro-curement of the Aerovironment (AV)RQ-11 Raven alone is aimed at 3333 sys-tems, each with three air vehicles. TheRaven has been flying over 12,000hours/month, and is expected to fly300,000 in 2008.

The US military drone flying total was165,000 hours in FY06, and 258,000 in

FY07. Even when small hand-launchedsystems are excluded, American dronesare currently flying over 15,000 hours permonth in southwest Asia. The AAI RQ-7Shadow 200 is contributing over 7000, theGeneral Atomics MQ-1 Predator over6000 (out of a global total of more than10,000), the Northrop Grumman MQ-5Hunter around 1700 and the NorthropGrumman RQ-4 Global Hawk over 500hours.

Lighter-than-AirUncrewed lighter-than-air vehiclesexploit the drone’s freedom from theconstraints of human endurance. The sys-tems used operationally by the US Armyare the Raytheon/Tcom Raid (RapidAerostat Initial Deployment), the Lock-heed Martin/ISL-Bosch Aerospace Reap(Rapidly Elevated Aerostat Platform)and the Lockheed Martin PTDS (Persis-tent Threat Detection System). TheRaytheon/Tcom Jlens (Joint LandAttack Elevated Netted Sensor) is beingdeveloped to warn deployed US forces ofcruise missile attack.

Other nations using aerostat-mountedsensors include Israel, with Elta EL/M-2083 radars on Tcom platforms. India hasbought similar systems. Israel also oper-ates the Tcom 32M aerostat with EL/I-3330 radar. Pakistan uses the ILC DoverTars (Tethered Aerostat Radar System),

developed for the US Air Force. TheUnited Arab Emirates use the Tcom Tas(Tactical Aerostat System) with 17M and71M balloons.

HaleThe leader in the Hale (high altitude, longendurance) category is still the NorthropGrumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The firstof seven YRQ-4A development aircraftflew in 1998. Nine production RQ-4ABlock 10s (seven for the US Air Forceand two Global Hawk Maritime Demon-stration aircraft for the US Navy) havebeen followed by six stretched RQ-4BBlock 20s, with gross weight increased to14,628 kg. The first of 26 RQ-4B Block30s with ‘multi-intelligence’ payloadincluding Asip (Advanced Signals Intelli-gence Program) was delivered to the USAir Force in late 2007. The service plansto buy up to 15 RQ-4B Block 40s with theNorthrop Grumman/Raytheon MP-Rtip(Multi-Platform Radar Technlogy Inser-

W ill modularity have a futurein drones? Eads, France,Spain and Germany seem to

think so, as they are studying this fea-sibility with theAdvanced Modu-lar UAV featuring‘plug and play’modules, and thisnot only includespayloads but alsowings of varyingspans to best matchthe mission profile.

On the Cover

aaicorp.com

Unmanned aircraft from AAI are “looking good.”

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data. Next-generation micro air vehicles* “hover and stare.”

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military and civil missions.

On the ground, One System® advanced ground control

stations and other network technologies from AAI manage

multiple unmanned aircraft systems, including the Army’s

new Sky Warrior extended-range/multi-purpose aircraft

systems.*

Unmanned aircraft from AAI are “looking good.”

U.S. Army Shadow® 200 systems protect warfighters

in Iraq and Afghanistan with integrated situational awareness

data. Next-generation micro air vehicles* “hover and stare.”

Our Aerosonde® aircraft perform amazing long-endurance

military and civil missions.

On the ground, One System® advanced ground control

stations and other network technologies from AAI manage

multiple unmanned aircraft systems, including the Army’s

new Sky Warrior extended-range/multi-purpose aircraft

systems.*

Shadow and Innovation That Works are registered trademarks of AAI Corporation. One System is a registered trademark of the U.S. Army. Aerosonde is a registered trademark

of Aerosonde Pty. *AAI is teamed with prime contractors Honeywell on the Micro Air Vehicle program and with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., on the One System

Ground Control Station for the Sky Warrior Extended-Range/Multi-Purpose unmanned aircraft system program. Personnel seen in this ad are models, not soldiers.

4 armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

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e mated to be worth around $ 3.08 billion(including $ 780 million for the procure-ment of three initial production aircraft)over the next five years. A further 62 production aircraft are expected to cost $ 3.4 billion in current values.

The RQ-4 will form the uncrewedadjunct to the Boeing P-8A Poseidon. TheNavy wants to be able to mount five 24-hour orbits (one over each deployed fleet)for seven days at a time, at 3700 km radiusfrom their bases, with 80% reliability.

Northrop Grumman was selected forthe Bams SDD (system development anddemonstration) phase on 22 April 2008.This is to lead to first delivery in 2011,Lrip (low-rate initial production) in 2011,IOC (initial operational capability) withthree Lrip aircraft in 2015 and FOC (fulloperational capability) in 2019 at thesame time as the P-8A.

Australia will take part in the SDDphase, expecting to acquire Bams underthe RAAF’s Air 7000 programme, to oper-ate with the Lockheed Martin P-3C andlater the P-8A, at an increased radius of5560 km. It is planned to place a produc-tion order (probably for six aircraft with anoption on six more) in February 2012.

The Northrop Grumman proposal forBams is the ‘RQ-4N’, a modified RQ-4BBlock 20 with an endurance of over 24hours at 3700 km radius. This will allowthe requirement to be met by two orthree aircraft for each orbit.

One alternative to the RQ-4N was theoptionally manned Boeing Bams 550,based on the Gulfstream G550 corporatejet. The G550 was originally designated G-V SP, and is operated in small numbers bythe US services as the C-37A. An earlierGulfstream proposal for a drone versionwas labelled ‘RQ-37’. Around 200 mem-bers of the G-V series have been built.

Eads, was awarded a $ 559 million con-tract by the German Ministry of Defenceto build the Euro Hawk sigint, surveil-lance and reconnaissance system, a deriv-ative of the RQ-4B Block 20, with a payload developed by Eads. The first con-tract includes one Block 20 to be deliv-ered in 2010. The remaining four air vehi-cles are planned for delivery in 2011 and2014.

The RQ-4B has also been selected forNato’s Alliance Ground Surveillance(AGS) programme, now to be based oneight off-the-shelf RQ-4B Block 40s.Northrop Grumman will be prime con-tractor, supported by various companiesfrom the 21 participating nations.

BamsThe latest major win for the RQ-4 is theUS Navy’s Bams (Broad Area MaritimeSurveillance) programme, which is esti-

tion Program) sensor, giving it a total of54 production aircraft. Two of the YRQ-4As have been assigned to Nasa/Dryden.Three RQ-4A Block 10s are deployedwith US Central Command (and report-edly based in Qatar) for missions oversouthwest Asia.

The US Air Force FY09 budget requestincludes five RQ-4B Block 40s for $ 712.2million. Northrop Grumman has quoted aunit flyaway cost of $ 66.3 million for aBlock 40, including a $ 39 million payload.In 2007 Washington formally declined tosell RQ-4s to South Korea until MTCRregulations are changed.

On 22 March 2008, an RQ4 – the firstGlobal Hawk Block 20 – surpassed boththe official and unofficial world un-refu-elled endurance records by completing amission of 33.1 hours at altitudes of over60,000 ft over Edwards Air Force Base.

In January 2007 EuroHawk, a jointventure by Northrop Grumman and

Deliveries of the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper to the US Air Force began in March 2007. A Reaper is shown here in Afghanistanarmed with Hellfire missiles and GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. (General Atomics)

This illustration mayrelate to the studyprogramme for atwin-engined high-altitude, longendurance droneproject that Boeingis conducting incooperation withAurora FlightSciences. (Boeing)


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The Boeing Bams 550 would have beenabout three times as heavy as the RQ-4N,grossing 43,250 kg, and the airframe-engine combination cost at least 50%more, but offered a much larger payload.Compared to the RQ-4N, the Boeing proj-ect would have cruised somewhat lower,with a ceiling of 51,000 ft, and had a short-er endurance of 16 hours, but with a fasterdash speed, cruising at up to 890 km/h.

Extreme EnduranceIn 2007 Darpa launched its remarkableVulture programme, aimed at developinga drone that could stay in the air for fiveyears with a 450-kg payload. Vulture isseen as an alternative to Rapid Eye: a system to place a Hale drone anywhere inthe world within one hour using a ballistic rocket and a self-deploying air-frame.

In the solar-powered category it isnoteworthy that in 2007 a 31-kg QinetiqZephyr 6.1 achieved a flight of 54 hoursand reached a maximum altitude of58,355 ft during flight trials in New Mex-ico. The Zephyr used amorphous siliconsolar arrays supplied by United SolarOvonic, and Li-S (lithium-sulphur) bat-teries by Sion Power, giving a specificenergy of 350 Wh/kg.

Piston engines are relevant to lessextreme Hale missions. The 9000-kg Boe-ing Condor, powered by two 130-kW Con-tinental engines, reached 66,980 ft and hadan endurance of 80 hours. Boeing is nowworking with Aurora Flight Sciences under

Aurora is also participating in a Boeing-led study of a larger, twin-engined drone.

In February 2007 Mitsubishi wasawarded a contract as part of Japan’sTechnology Research and Development

Britain’s Royal Air Force regards the Reaper as a dual-role drone, with equal emphasis on the surveillance and attack roles, whereasthe US Air Force sees it more as a dedicated weapons platform. (General Atomics)

The MQ-1C SkyWarrior differs fromthe Predator inhaving a Thielertdiesel HFE (heavyfuel engine) andatol (automatictake-off andlanding) facility, toavoid the need fora qualified pilot.(General Atomics)

Italy is the first export customer for the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. The IAF haspurchased two batches, some of which began a deployment to Ali AB in Iraq inJanuary 2005. (General Atomics)

US Army funding on the 3175-kg OrionHall (High Altitude, Long Loiter) drone,which will burn hydrogen in a pistonengine, and is aimed at a four-dayendurance at 65,000 ft. The first of two Ori-ons may fly before the end of 2008 with aconventionally fuelled engine, leaving theadvanced version to fly in 2009.

Institute Future Unmanned Aircraft Sys-tems Study. Mitsubishi is to carry out thepreliminary design of a piston-engineddrone that could fly higher than theGlobal Hawk and carry radar andinfrared sensors to detect Chinese andNorth Korean missile launches.

In 2005 AV flew a sub-scale GlobalObserver with a hydrogen fuel cell, thisbeing the first flight by a hydrogen-fuelled aircraft. The projected full-scaleGO-2 would gross 4100 kg with a 450 kgpayload and fly for up to seven days at upto 65,000 ft. In September 2007 US Spe-cial Operations Command (Socom)awarded AV a contract for the develop-ment of the Global Observer, involvingthe construction of up to three aircraftand aiming to demonstrate an enduranceof seven days within three years.

High-to-MediumOnce drones began to be used as weaponsplatforms (in 2001), warload-range consid-erations militated in favour of somethinglarger than existing Male (medium alti-


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tude, long endurance) designs. This newneed might have been satisfied by a twin-piston engined project, but the simplerapproach was to install an off-the-shelf tur-boprop, such as the Honeywell TPE331 orPratt & Whitney Canada PT6A.

The leading drone in this new categoryis the 4763-kg General Atomics MQ-9Predator-B, which has been given the USAir Force name Reaper. The MQ-9 has apayload capacity of 1700 kg (including 363kg internal) and a ceiling of up to 50,000 ft.However, relative to the piston-enginedMQ-1, endurance is reduced from 40 to 30hours. It is powered by a 670-kW TPE331and will use the Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire II missile, and the RaytheonGBU-12 Paveway II and Boeing GBU-38Jdam guided bombs.

The GAO has estimated that the MQ-9 programme will cost $ 782.2 million (inFY07 values) for 63 aircraft, including $209.4 million for R&D. The FY09 US AirForce budget request includes nine MQ-9s for $ 161.4 million, indicating $ 18 mil-lion apiece with initial spares, comparedto less than $ ten million for the MQ-1.The US Navy is acquiring one MQ-9 forR&D purposes.

The first YMQ-9A flew in 2001. Deliv-eries to US Air Force’s first operationalReaper unit, the 42nd Attack Squadronat Creech AFB, Nevada, began in March2007, and the first operational sortie wasflown over Afghanistan in the followingOctober. The service plans to buy 50 to 70Reapers by 2012 to equip and sustainnine four-aircraft systems.

In April 2007 the US Air Force issueda request for information for a multi-pur-pose drone system to replace both theMQ-1 and MQ-9.

Britain’s RAF has purchased an initialbatch of three Reapers, the first of whichwas deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan inSeptember 2007. A further batch of ten hasbeen requested, together with nine Gener-

extended the wingspan from 20.1 to 26.8metres. Fuel has been increased by 907 kg to2722 kg, and payload is up to 2426 kg

The Mariner’s cruise speed will be 350km/h, with a dash capability of 425 km/h.Endurance is increased to 48 hours andferry range to 13,000 km. Ceiling is 50,000ft, but patrols would normally be per-formed at around 40,000 ft. Compared tothe high-flying jets, the Mariner is arguedto be more suited to frequent changes ofaltitude, to take a closer look at ships.

In promoting the Mariner for theBams programme, General Atomicsteamed with Lockheed Martin, whodesigned a fully computerised ‘stickless’cockpit. Four or five aircraft were pro-posed for each US Navy orbit. A Marinerdemonstrator has already been evaluatedby the Australian authorities in the con-text of surveillance of the country’sNorth-West Shelf, the principal problemarea for drug-running, people-smugglingand illegal fishing.

MalesThe drone that is piling up the hours forthe US Air Force in southwest Asia is the

The 170-kg AAI RQ-7B Shadow 200 has served with the US Army since 2002 andhas also been adopted by the US Marine Corps to replace the RQ-2 Pointer. It islaunched from a ten-metre rail. (AAI)

The AV RQ-11BRaven-B is thecurrent leader inthe hand-launcheddrone category,with well over5000 alreadydelivered andproduction headingfor more than twicethat number. (USAir Force)

One of the mostsignificantdevelopments in the20-kg category hasbeen the InsituInsight, whichprovided the basisfor the 18-kgBoeing/InsituScaneagle and itslaunch andrecovery system.(Insitu)

al Atomics APY-8 Lynx radars and nineRaytheon Das-1 multi-spectral targetingsystems (also known as the MTS-B). How-ever, Reaper production is booked by the Air Force until 2012 and, besides, the British Ministry of Defence is short of funds.

In developing the Mariner version toprimarily meet the US Navy’s Bamsrequirement, General Atomics increasedthe gross weight from 4763 to 5897 kg, and

General Atomics MQ-1B Predator-A,which is operated from Balad AB in Iraqand Kandahar AB in Afghanistan. In-flight control is provided via landlinesand satellite links from the PredatorOperations Center at Nellis AFB,Nevada or (more recently) Air NationalGuard bases in Arizona, California andNorth Dakota. The US Air Force plans toincrease its current twelve Predator in-theatre combat air patrols to 21 byDecember 2009.

Over 170 MQ-1s have been delivered(out of the 250+ Gnat/Predator/Reaperfamily total) and 97 currently remain inthe US Air Force’s published inventory.The service has requested 38 MQ-1s (for$ 378.2 million) in the FY09 budget, fol-lowing 48 in FY07 and 24 in FY08. SixMQ-1s have been sold to Italy (fiveassembled by Meteor), and five more areon order. Since 2005, three Italian AirForce Predators have been operatingfrom Ali (formerly Tallil) AB in Iraq.

The MQ-1B has a gross weight of 1022kg and is equipped with an 86-kW Rotax914F engine and a Raytheon AAS-52MTS-A EO/IR turret. It can carry two

unmatched in unmanned

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Technical information: 505.828.7895

© 2008 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved


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e Defense Systems BLU-108 munition. Itwas deployed to Macedonia in 1999 andto Iraq in 2003.

In Iraq the Hunter serves alongside theUS Marine Corps’ elderly 205-kg RQ-2Pioneer (33 still available), which is beingreplaced by the 170-kg AAI RQ-7B Shad-ow 200. The latter achieved IOC with theUS Army in 2002 and is used in both Iraqand Afghanistan. The RQ-7B is poweredby a 28-kW UEL AR-741 engine and hasan endurance of six hours.

The US Army is already funded toacquire 85 RQ-7B systems with four airvehicles in each. In Iraq, a single systemcan generate up to 20 sorties per day.Some Army RQ-7Bs are being equippedwith Harris PRC-152C Falcon III radiosto act as communication relays. The USMarine Corps selected the Shadow in2006 and fielded the first of 13 systems inMay 2007

Other drones employed operationallyby American services include: the 59-kgBAI Aerosystems Tern, the 9.1-kgAdvanced Ceramics Research Silver Foxand (in the electrically-powered hand-launched category) the 3.2-kg LockheedMartin Desert Hawk, and AV’s 3.76-kgFQM-151A Pointer, 2.7-kg RQ-14 Drag-on Eye and 1.9-kg RQ-11B Raven.

The Tern is an unusual design, is oper-ated by Socom but is no longer in produc-tion. The first operational version was fit-ted with massive tyres to allow the use ofrough runways in Afghanistan where itwas used for force protection and to dis-pense a 9.0-kg unattended ground sensor.A naval version was developed in 2004with skids and a tail hook to allow its usefrom helipads fitted with arrester wires.Socom is now believed to be operating theViking family consisting of the Viking 100(68 kilos, nine kg payload, 14 hoursendurance), Viking 300 (144 kilos, 13.6 kilopayload, eight to ten hours endurance) andthe Viking 400 (224 kilos, 27 kg payload tento twelve hours endurance). The companyis also building the Tiger shark for theNaval Air Command. The aircraft is basedon the Viking design and carries L-3 BAI’sserried 66 electro-optical sensor orinfrared payloads.

production decision is set for February2010, and IOC for March 2010.

The Army reportedly asked for the SkyWarrior to be designated MQ-12A, but itappears in a May 2007 contract as theMQ-1B Block X, and has now become theMQ-1C. There is naturally pressure for theUS Air Force and Army to buy and oper-ate a common drone. The former is takingdelivery of two MQ-1Cs in July andAugust 2008 for evaluation, presumablyfrom the Army’s FY06 batch.

In May 2007 Lockheed Martinannounced that it had been selected bythe US Army to provide a low-frequency,synthetic aperture Tactical Reconnais-sance and Counter-ConcealmentEnabled Radar (Tracer) for Predator-class drones, based on the company’sfoliage penetration technology. The con-tract is valued at around $ 40 million.

Tactical AmericanThe type that the Warrior will replace inUS Army service is the Northrop Grum-man MQ-5B Hunter, of which 54 remainin service with III, V and XVIII Corps.The 885-kg MQ-5B is powered by two42.5-kW Mercedes heavy fuel engines,and is cleared to use the Northrop Grum-man Viper Strike missile and Textron

Hellfire missiles under the wings. It has aceiling of 25,000 ft, a cruise speed of 130km/h and a dash speed of 217 km/h. TheMQ-1 requires a runway at least 23metres wide but only 1500 metres long. Itis capable of sorties of over 24 hours, or16 hours with external stores.

General Atomics’ I-Gnat-ER(Improved Gnat, Extended Range) or‘Warrior Alpha’ is similar to the MQ-1but has satcom capabilities and animproved sensor/designator. Five havebeen acquired by the US Army and a fur-ther dozen are being acquired. The typewas first deployed to Iraq in 2004.

The US Army’s production Sky War-rior is a further development of the USAir Force’s MQ-1B, with a 100-kW Thiel-ert diesel heavy fuel engine. This burnsJP-8, rather than the Avgas required bythe Rotax unit. A change to automatictake-off and landing (atol) reflects thefact that Army drones are not operatedby qualified pilots. Unlike the Predator-Ait will have a synthetic aperture radar(Sar) with moving target indicator (MTI)facility, complementing the EO/IR sensorand laser ranger/designator.

The Sky Warrior also has an airborneEthernet connecting the vehicle’s avion-ics, payloads and weapons, and a multi-role tactical common datalink to commu-nicate with ground stations and otherArmy aircraft. Take-off weight isincreased to 1450 kg, and there are two227-kg and two 113-kg hardpoints forweapons. Each Sky Warrior system willinclude twelve air vehicles.

The US Army now plans to acquireeleven Sky Warrior systems with 132 airvehicles by 2015, and possibly more later.In 2007, when twelve systems wereplanned, the GAO had estimated a pro-gramme expenditure of $ 1.825 billion tothat date.

The Sky Warrior SDD contract wasawarded to General Atomics in August2005, four air vehicles were purchased inFY06 and the manufacture of a batch of 17SDD aircraft was funded in FY07. Thelow-rate production decision is scheduledfor July 2008, leading to twelve aircraft peryear from FY08 onwards. The FY09 dozenis budgeted as $ 174.6 million. The full-rate

The 9.1-kg AdvancedComposites ResearchSilver Fox is to bepurchased for the USNavy, US MarineCorps, US Army andSocom. This examplewas being used bythe US GeologicalSurvey. (AdvancedComposites Research)

On the USS Saipan(LHA-2) amphibiousassault ship, thisBoeing/InsituScaneagle,launched from thecatapult on the left,has just beenrecovered byengaging a cablesuspended from theSkyhook rig. (USNavy)

AV_Armada_6_08_OL.eps 5/5/08 1:45:46 PM


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six systems are being leased by the USMarine Corps for use in Iraq and sevenmore are deployed on US Navy ships,based on a non-competitive contractawarded in 2004.

At time of writing a competitive fol-low-on contract award by the US Navy isawaited, the alternatives reportedlybeing the AAI Aerosonde Mk 4, AuroraFlight Sciences Golden Eye 80 (the Gold-en Eye 100 is terminated), MTC Tech-nologies Spyhawk and Swift EngineeringKiller Bee. This new contract (again withcontractor personnel operating the sys-tems) is expected to bridge the gap to theUS Marine Corps’s new Tier II, which theUS Navy refers to as the Small TacticalUnmanned Aerial System (Stuas) and isdue for initial operational capability inFY11. The various competitors are dis-cussed below.

Australia’s 15-kg Aerosonde Mk 3crossed the North Atlantic in 1988 in atime of 27 hours burning less than six litresof fuel. The Mk 4 with winglets has demon-strated an endurance of 38 hr 44 min, andthe Mk 4.4 has an enlarged fuselage to suit

Corps as an interim ‘Small UAS’ toreplace the Dragon Eye, and by US Spe-cial Forces to supersede the Pointer. TheUS Army’s FY09 request is for 504Ravens costing $ 30 million, down from apeak of 702 air vehicles for $ 33.3 millionin FY08. (The $ 45.8 million US Armyorder placed in February 2008 includesRavens for the US Marine Corps). The5000th Raven has already been deliv-ered, and at least 10,000 will be producedfor the American services.

Between the US Marine Corps’s Tier I1.9-kg Raven-B and Tier III 170-kg Shad-ow 200, Tier II is currently represented bythe 17.2-kg Boeing/Insitu Scaneagle,which has a nominal endurance of 15hours, although 28.7 hours has beendemonstrated. The Scaneagle is launchedby a compressed-air catapult from a shortrail and recovered by a patented Skyhooksystem, engaging a cable suspended froma gantry with a tip-mounted claw.

It appears that the only Scaneagle systems so far purchased by the US serv-ices are two owned by the US Air Force,with a total of 16 air vehicles. In addition,

Another one-of-a-kind is the SilverFox, which was developed under fundingfrom the US Office of Naval Research asa low-cost, relatively long-endurance sen-sor platform, and was deployed to Iraq in2003. It is rail-launched by a compressedair catapult (which is small enough to beoperated from an inflatable craft), andbelly-landed in a small cleared area. Theheavy fuel version has demonstrated anendurance of 21.5 hours. A total of 17 sys-tems with 54 air vehicles are planned forthe US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Armyand Socom. The Canadian Forces haveacquired a Silver Fox system via ThalesSystems Canada for evaluation under thedesignation CU-167.

The US Air Force employs the DesertHawk to protect its bases in Afghanistan.The drone is built by Aeromech Engi-neering under licence from LockheedMartin Skunk Works. Since 2002 a total of18 systems with 96 air vehicles have beendelivered. It is also used by the BritishArmy’s Royal Artillery in Afghanistan.Britain has been testing the 4.5-kg Mis-sion Technologies Buster, which serves asa tested for US Army sensors and is alsooperated by Socom.

Illustrating the potential of smalldrones, in early 2008 a 5.5-kg AV Puma(which was designed as a Pointer-replace-ment) achieved an endurance of ninehours (three times the figure with a stan-dard battery) using a fuel cell/batteryhybrid system.

America’s leader in the two-kilo classis now the RQ-11 Pathfinder Raven fromthe same company. Following introduc-tion of the RQ-11A as an interim solutionto an urgent US Army requirement, theimproved RQ-11B Raven-B attained IOCin 2006 and entered full-rate production inOctober 2007. The Raven can be remotelypiloted, or fly completely autonomously,with an endurance of 1.5 hours. It is com-paratively cheap and – being constructedof Kevlar – is able to survive an average of200 belly landings.

The Raven-B is also used by theBritish, Danish and Italian Armies andhas been adopted by the US Marine

Building on Scaneagle experience, Insitu sees the way ahead as a far heavier (59 kg) conventional twin-boom configuration. ThisIntegrator prototype flew in August 2006 and a near-production aircraft appeared a year later. (Insitu)

The shape of thingsto come? Successfulevaluation in Iraqof the Honeywell G-Mav (gasoline-powered micro airvehicle) has led toa US Navy orderfor 186 productionRQ-16A systems.(US Navy)

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Com

ple

te G

uid

e

sidered sufficiently promising to pursuedevelopment of a heavy fuel derivative ofthe G-Mav, possibly using a unit by RCVEngines. Initial operational capability isplanned for 2015.

In a surprise move, in January 2008 theUS Navy announced the intention to buy186 two-drone RQ-16A systems with 93ground stations for delivery between Juneand November 2008, evidently expandingthe service’s EOD mission in Iraq.

At the upper end of the FCS dronescale, the US Army’s Class IV is to be the1430-kg Northrop Grumman MQ-8B FireScout helicopter, which is based on theSchweizer 333 and first flew in late 2006.The MQ-8B has also been selected as theUS Navy’s Vtuav, and nine aircraft havebeen ordered for trials, with deliveriesrunning from November 2007 to the endof 2008. IOC is scheduled for early 2009.The US Army programme alone is worth560 drones, with IOC around 2014. The USCoast Guard is considering a radar-equipped development of the MQ-8B as asubstitute for the Bell Eagle Eye tilt-rotor,which the service abandoned in 2007.

The MQ-8B is powered by a Rolls-Royce 250-C20W turbo-shaft, and equip-ment fit includes a Flir Systems Brite StarII thermal imager. Maximum enduranceis eight hours, and a four-aircraft systemcan provide continuous 24-hour opera-tion. Shipboard atols have already beendemonstrated.

MicroThe most important development in themicro air vehicle (Mav) category is the 454-gm AV Wasp III, another fruit of Darpa funding. The lithium-ion batteryalso serves as the structure for the 72.4-cm span wing. An endurance of 107minutes has been demonstrated, but amore typical figure is 45 minutes. In late2006 the US Air Force selected the WaspIII for its Batmav (Battlefield Air Target-ing Mav), and in January 2008 authorisedfull-rate production, leading to the pro-curement of 314 systems.

In November 2007 the US MarineCorps placed a $ 19.3 million order forWasps to complement the larger Raven.

US ArmyThe US Army’s Future Combat System(FCS) was originally to include fourclasses of drones, but in 2007 it was decid-ed to defer Classes II and III. Following a$ 40 million Darpa technology demon-stration contract in 2003, in May 2006Boeing and SAIC (joint FCS lead sys-tems integrator) awarded Honeywell the$ 61 million development contract for theRQ-16A Class I platoon-level drone, aducted-fan vtol device.

In January 2008, Boeing and SAICannounced an accelerated test schedulefor the Class I, requiring delivery over thefollowing six months of eleven Block 0prototype drones. This followed evalua-tion in Iraq of around 20 examples of the8.4-kg Honeywell micro air vehicle (cur-rently referred to as G-Mav, denoting theuse of gasoline) by a US Navy-led jointexplosive ordnance disposal group. For-ward speeds up to 130 km/h have beenachieved, but the G-Mav is operationallyrestricted to 93 km/h by software limita-tions. Endurance is only 30 minutes(against 50 required) and vtol is subjectto a maximum wind speed of 28 km/h.However, these trials are evidently con-

increased payloads. The US Navy’s Officeof Naval Research has purchased severalAerosondes, and the type is also being test-ed by Nasa and the US Air Force.

The Goldeneye 80 is an 82-kg ducted-fan vtol air vehicle with wings that arefree-floating in incidence and allow tran-sition to conventional flight. It has anHFE, and an endurance of eight hours. Itfirst flew in November 2006, and isregarded as Aurora Flight Sciences’‘third-generation’ ducted fan drone, fol-lowing the Goldeneye 100 of 2003 andthe smaller Goldeneye 50 of 2005.

The 39-kg Spyhawk is a derivative ofthe Arturus T-16, with a Honda GX-57 pis-ton engine. An unusual feature is aretractable ventral-mounted sensor turret(by Optical Alchemy). In November 2006MTC Technologies was awarded a twelve-month concept demonstration contract bythe Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratoryto provide an air vehicle (XMQ-17A) toserve as a testbed for new technologies,and to assist in developing new tactics andprocedures. However, in January 2008MTC announced that it was negotiating acancellation agreement. It is anticipatedthat by mid-2008 BAE Systems will havetaken over the company.

Swift Engineering, having earlierworked with Northrop Grumman on itsKiller Bee drone, has since July 2007 beenteamed with Raytheon. The 62-kg KillerBee is a flying wing design (for increasedvolume), with a pusher propeller anddownturned winglets. It is rail-launchedand recovers into a net. Maximumendurance is 15 hours.

Suggested warloads for the Killer Beeinclude a Rippel Effect M32 six-shot 40-mm grenade launcher, a green laser (pre-sumably for dazzling the enemy) and theAmerican Technology Lrad-500 long-range acoustic device. The latter wasselected in May 2007 by the US Army andNavy as their hailing and warning devicefor small vehicles and boats. Aside fromproviding clear communication to 500metres it can generate noise beyond thepain level.

The Fire Scout hasbeen chosen as theClass IV dronecomponent of theUS Army’s FutureCombat Systems.(NorthropGrumman)

Developed with Lockheed Martin in view of the Bams programme, the GeneralAtomics Mariner has also been evaluated by Australia as a possible anti-smugglingobservation platform on the North-West Shelf. (General Atomics)


Com

ple

te G

uid

e User criticism led to an improved ver-sion, now marketed by ARA as the 725-gram Nighthawk. The Nighthawk hasfolding propeller blades and a carbon-fibre wing (increased to 66-cm span) thatwraps around the fuselage for transport.The drone is stored in a tube of 15.25-cmdiameter, and the wing snaps back toflight position as it is pulled out of thetube. It has a ceiling of 11,000 ft, and anendurance of up to 90 minutes.

tated by a vtol version, studies of whichare being jointly funded by AV andDarpa. Concepts under considerationinclude tilt-rotors, buried fans and a tail-sitter configuration.

In 2004 the US Army’s Rapid Equip-ping Force acquired six AppliedResearch Associates (ARA) Tacmav sys-tems for evaluation, and subsequentlypurchased 78 under a $ three billion pro-gramme for use in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The service plans to acquire 21 systemsand about 80 drones. Since late 2005 tri-als of the Wasp’s suitability for jungleoperations have been run jointly byDarpa and Singapore’s Defence Science& Technology Agency.

The US Navy and US Marine Corpsare using the USS Philippine Sea (CG 58)to evaluate the water-landing version ofthe Wasp, which is 50 grams heavier. Mar-itime operations would clearly be facili-

Non-American

In the non-American league of drone manufacturers, Israel’s (who incidentallyoffered a stepping stone to America by supplying the first Hunters through TRW)take the lion’s share, although a number of other nations have put their foot inthe door, especially during the former-Yugoslavia conflict.

Only current rival to the MQ-9Reaper is the IAI Heron TP

This recent photograph of an IAI Heron I shows it camouflaged light blue on theundersurfaces and painted white on top, presumably to reduce the heating producedby solar radiation. (IAI)

The 970-kg Elbit Systems Hermes 900 is a larger, retractable-gear, mid-wing derivativeof the 550-kg Hermes 450. Unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2007 it was to fly inearly 2008. (Elbit)

Amongst the first European manu-facturers to have entered theobservation drone market were

Sagem with the Crecerelle (itself basedon a Meggitt target drone) and EMT withthe Luna. Since, other manufacturershave joined the dance, like Thales, Ruag(with Israeli-based airframes), BAE Sys-tems (lately with the Herti), Selex,Galileo, Saab and Schiebel to name but afew. Given the large range of drones thatthis nation alone can supply, we shallbegin the second section of this surveywith Israel.

IsraelThe development and operation of tacti-cal drones was pioneered by Israel,although America was soon to achievedominance in larger and more expensive

industry can still thrive, selling advancedsystems free of political strings. Heron TP: The top of the Israel Aero-space Industries/Malat range is now the4650-kg Heron TP or Eitan (Strength),which is powered by an unspecified 895-kW turboprop. In the same weight cate-gory as the General Atomics Reaper, ithas more power and wingspan.

It carries a 1000-kg payload at up to45,000 ft and has an endurance of 36hours. Hermes 1500: Before the Heron TP, theheaviest Israeli drone was the 1650-kgElbit Systems Hermes 1500 powered bytwo 75-kW Rotax engines. It has anendurance of 26 hours and a ceiling of33,000 ft. The 1200-kg IAI Heron I has an85-kW Rotax, an endurance of 45 hoursand a ceiling of 30,000 ft. The Heron I isoperated by the Israeli Air Force underthe names Machatz (Strike) and Shoval(Trail), presumably in different roles. TwoShovals have recently been equipped withmaritime surveillance sensors to replacecrewed IAI Seascans (modified Westwindbizjets). The Heron is flown by all threeIndian services, the Turkish Army and theFrench Army (as the Eads Sidm).Hermes 900: The 970-kg Rotax-enginedHermes 900 is the latest member of Elbit

systems. However, some nations areunwilling to buy military equipment fromthe United States, hence Israel’s drone

Systems’ Male family, featuring an ‘inde-pendent’ atol system that allows it to usealternate non-instrumented runways.Unveiled at the 2007 Paris Air Show, theHermes 900 was to fly in the first quarterof 2008. Near-term potential marketsinclude Canada.Hermes 450: The 550-kg Elbit Hermes 450is the first drone certified to fly in Israelicivil airspace. It has been operated underthe name Zik by the Israel Defense Forcesince 2000 and is reported to have been

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Changhong IC

People’s Republic of China acft/para2450

na

0.75

1x WP6

CL-289 Piver

Bombardier-Eads rato/para

240

2.00

125

1xBMW

RR T117+s/b

Skeldar V-150

Saab vtol

150

11.0

n/a

2-stroke2-piston55 hp

Aerostar

Aeronautics conv/conv

200

18.0

14.0

Zanzottera2-piston490ia38 hp

D-1A SR

Dara Aviation25.0

na

4.00

QA400,37cc

2.5 hp

Aqua Puma

AV (AeroVironment)6.35

2.50

2.50

600 W

Eagle 1

Eads-IAI Malat conv/conv

1150

25.0

24.0

1x Rotax914

Eagle 2

Eads-IAI Malat conv/conv

3600

45.0

24.0

1x 1200 hpP&WC

PT6A-67A

Eagle Eye

Bell Helicopter Textron1290

20.0

8.00

1xP&WC200-55

A160T Hummingbird

Frontier Systems-Boeing2540

30.0

24.0+

1x 572 hpP&WC

PW207D

Aerosky

Israel Aerospace Industries conv/conv

70.31

15.0

5.00+

(typeundis-closed)

Aerosonde Mk 4

AAI-Aerosonde hand/belly

15.20

15.0

30.0

H-Type24 cc

EFI

Aladin

EMT hand/belly

~3.0

low

0.75

1xelectric

MAV RQ-16A

Honeywell vtol6.80

10.5

0.70

2-stroke3W

engine4 hp

Bateleur

Denel conv/conv

1000

25.0

24.0

1x Rotax914 orSubaruEA-82T

Aerolight

Aeronautics cat/parafoil

40

10.0

4.00

8 hp(typeundis-closed)

Camcopter S-100

Schiebel200

18.0

6.00

1x 55 hpDiamond

Carolo P50

Mavionics-Eads hand/belly0.53

na

0.30

20 21armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

Unmanned Aircraft

19

Complete Guide 2008


armada©

Drone specifications

turbineor t-propengine

pistonengine

Wankelengine

n/a4.48n/a

2.102.90n/a

0.601.46n/a

0.400.33n/a

~10.015.0~0.80

2.564.00

~0.50

3.093.40~0.80

0.470.49n/a

3.511.370.40

8.477.530.58

4.003.30n/a

4.506.50~0.50

1.753.28n/a

1.802.59n/a

4.0016.3n/a

13.022.0n/a

5.464.630.76

2-s 2-strokehp horsepowertp turbopropRx Rotax engine

elec electric enginegas gasoline engines/b solid booster-cyl -cylinder

tf turbo fantj turbo jetpj pulse jet

Launch/Recovery abbreviationsPowerplant abbreviationsconv conventionalcat catapultpara parachutebelly belly landing

rato rocket-assisted take offhand hand launchedvtol vertical take-off and landingstovl short T/O vertical landing

Where no information is given,either the information was notmade available or it has not beendecided for that specific portionof the system. Dem signifies thedrone is a demonstrator.

Skylark II

Elbit Systems

35

15.0

5.00

Pointer

AV (AeroVironment) hand/belly3.60

0.6+

1.00

1xelectric

Predator A MQ-1

General Atomics conv/conv

1043

25.0

24.0+

1x Rotax914

115 hp

Predator B


4536

50.0

30.0+

1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

R90

Enics rato/expend

0.50

1x EnicsM44D

pulse jet

Ranger

Ruag cat/conv274

14.8

5.00

1xGoebler-

Hirth 38 hp

Raven RQ-11

AV (AeroVironment) hand/belly

1.82

14.0

1.50

1x Aveox 27

RemoEye 006

Ucon hand/belly

6.00

na

1.50+

ScanEagle

Boeing cat/cable

18.0

16.0

15.0

1x 1.5 hp2-stroke

Yarara

Nostromo Defense conv/conv

30

10.0

6.00

6 hp

RemoEye 015

Ucon conv/conv

15.0

na

4.00

Luna X-2000

EMT cat/para29.9

10.0

4.00

2-cyl 2-s6.70 hp

Mariner


4763

52.0

49.0+

1x AseTPE331-

10Ttp

Mirach 150

Selex Galileo rato/para

345

30.0

1.30

1xMicro-turbo

TRS 18-1 tj

Mirach 20

Selex Galileo rato/para170

12.0

4.00+

1x 26 hp

Mirach 26

Selex Galileo rato/para200

13.0

7.00

1x 28 hp

Muas

Irkut conv/conv

200

20.0

14.0

n/a

Nibbio

Selex Galileo cat/para

740

40

0.90

Micro-turbo

TRS18-1tf

Pchela 1

Yakovlev Design Bureau cat/conv130

8.20

2.00

1xSamana/Trud P-032 32 hp

Pioneer

IAI-AAI conv, rato/conv

210

15.0

6.50

1x 27 hpSachs

SF2-350

Neptune RQ-15

DRS Technologies cat/belly, para

36.3

8.00

4.00

1x 15 hp2-stroke

Hermes 180

Elbit195

15.0

10.0

1x UEL38 hp

Hermes 450

Elbit conv/conv

449

20.0

20.0

1x UELAR-80-101052 hp

Heron

IAI Malat conv/conv

1100

30.0

50.0

1x Rotax914

115 hp

Heron TP/Eitan

IAI Malat conv/conv

4650

45.0

36.0

1x 1200 hpP&WC

PT6-67A

Hunter MQ-5B

Northrop Grumman conv/conv885

18.0

20.5

2x 57 hpdual

I-Gnat

General Atomics conv/conv635

40.0

23.0

1x Rotax914

I-Gnat-ER Warrior Alpha


1043

25.0

30.0

1xRotax914F

115 hp

I-View 250

IAI Malat cat/para

250

20.0

8.00

(type undis-closed)

KZO

Rheinmetall rato/para

161

11.5

3.50

1x 30 hpSchrick

SF2-350S

Killer Bee KB4

Swift Engineering-Raytheon74

10.0

15.0

15 hp

Falco

Selex Galileo conv-cat/conv350

na

14.0

75 hpAR682

Bekas

Granit-NPO Mash. conv/conv+para~250

~15.0

5.00

not yetdefined

Fire Scout (RQ-8B)

Northrop Grumman vtol

1430

20.0

8.00

1x R-R250-

C20W

Global Hawk (RQ-4B Block 20)

Northrop Grumman conv/conv

65.0

36.0

1x R-RAE3007

H tf

Global Hawk (RQ-4A Block 10)

Northrop Grumman conv/conv14628

65.0

28.0

1x R-RAE3007

Gnat-750 (Tier I)


513

20.0

40.0

1x Rotax582

Global Observer GO-2

AV (AeroVironment)4127

65.0

168+

Hermes 1500

Elbit conv/conv

1496

25.0

24.0

2x Rotax914,

100 hp

Drone Name

Manufacturer launch/recovery

***

**

*

Electric motor

Sensor packages, inmany casesmaximum

sensor payloadweight

10.6710.97n/a

n/a4.2n/a

GoldenEye 80

Aurora Flight Sciences11.0

5.00

1.00

5.207.200.74

2.973.20n/a

7.018.22n/a

13.4135.351.46

14.5339.901.46

5.4910.670.76

25.478.94n/a

0.701.40n/a

9.3915.0~1.00

Lengthwingspan

payloadbay

all sizes in meters

6.1010.520.52

4.436.00

~0.50

8.6016.610.85

14.0026.00n/a

7.0110.44n/a

7.0110.440.76

8.0017.00n/a

4.107.10

~0.25

1.913.05n/a

2.263.410.37

10.9726.21n/a

2.264.24n/a

4.692.100.37

3.604.150.34

3.784.720.37

4.006.00n/a

2.131.83n/a

4.072.300.40

2.773.260.30

Orbiter

Aeronautics hand/belly650

2.00

1.50

brushless

1.002.20

~0.35

4.245.120.37

8.2314.841.22

1.802.70~0.10

10.3620.12n/a

1.422.56~0.25

4.605.70n/a

1.041.310.10

1.552.72~0.12

1.803.20~0.20

1.193.050.18

2.473.98n/a

endurance

max altitude

take-off weight

[hours]

[feet x 1000]

[kilograms]

Sky-X

Alenia conv/conv1100

30.0

na

1 turbine

Sky Warrior MQ-1C


1450

25.0

40.0

Thielertdiesel

135 hp

Sojka

VTULaSTV cat/pata

145

7.00

2.00

2-cyl 2-stroke29.5 hp

Sperwer B

Sagem cat/para

350

20.0

12.0

1x 70 hp2-stroke

Sperwer/Ugglan

Sagem250

17.0

8.00

1x 70 hp2-stroke

Tracker (Drac)

Eads hand/belly

7.50

6.50

2.00

1x electric

Tu-243 (VR-3 Reys-D)

Tupolev ANTK rato/para

1397

17.0

na

1xIzotovTR-3-

117 tj

Vulture

ATE cat/para

125

16.0

3.00

1x TTL-Wae342

Wasp


0.32

10.0

1.00

Yabhon-M

ATS conv/conv

330

na

30.0

1x 60 hpME 684

Searcher II

IAI Malat conv/conv

426

19.0

16.0

1x 73 hp

Seeker II

Denel conv/conv + arrestor

280

18.0

10.0

1x 4-cyl2-stroke50 hp

Sentry

DRS Technologies conv/conv-para

150

10.0

6.00

1x 2-stroke28 hp

Shadow 200 RQ-7B

AAI conv-cat-rato/para

170

15.0

6.00+

1x UELAR 74138 hp

Shadow 400

AAI conv/conv

201

12.0

5.00

1x UELAR 74138 hp

Shadow 600

AAI conv-cat-rato/para

265

17.0

12.0+

1x UELAR 80150 hp

Mini-UAV

Patria hand/belly

3-4

low

1.00+

1x300W

type n/a

Silver Fox

ACR cat/para9.1

16.0

10.0

4-cycleJP5 orFP8

Skylark

Elbit Systems hand/belly

na

6.00

2.00

Skylite-B

Rafael tube/belly

6.40

low

1.50

1x electric

Shmel Yak-61 (Bumblebee)

Yakovlev Design Bureau cat/conv

129

10.0

2.00

(typeundis-closed)

5.858.56n/a

n/a7.00n/a

2.571.90n/a

3.754.270.34

5.003.82n/a

5.187.470.46

1.051.50n/a

2.773.26n/a

1.462.38n/a

2.205.50~0.15

1.252.400.12

8.5317.07n/a

~7.00~6.00n/a

3.814.08n/a

3.506.20n/a

3.514.21n/a

1.403.60~0.10

8.212.26n/a

3.115.210.70

0.280.40n/a

4.305.70~0.30

armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008 armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

Dem

hand/belly

Carapas

Eads-Galileo cat+rato/para

750

40.0

0.90

16 daNMicroturboTRS 18-1

tf

4.072.300.40

Neuron

Neuron conv/conv

~6000

35.0

n/a

1x Adour

9.3012.5n/a

300 kgSar,

EO/IR

8 kg hi-resolution

CCD ornight camera

Cots EO(manufacturer

not determined)

5 kg various stabilised EO/IRBLOS imagerymeteo sensors

200 kgstabilised

EO

Day or IR

0.45 kgSony FCB-IX11A E/O

DRS E3500 IRcameras

Desert Hawk

Lockheed Martin cat/belly3.20

1.00

2.50

0.821.31n/a

Colour dayor IR

E-O

Apid 55

CybAero105

9.00

6.00

2-stroke2-piston55 hp

3.203.3 dia

n/a

vtol

Stabilisedelectro-optical

200 kgDenel Argos or

Goshawk/Avitronics elint

or Sar

Project for target recce

(imaginginfrared) andRF jamming

Bird Eye 400

IAI Malat hand or cat/belly

5.60

n/a

1.00

n/a

0.802.20n/a

Day or IR

Buster

Mission Technologies hand or cat/belly

6.35

~10.0

4+1.041.24n/a

1.3 kg, IR

8 kgstabilised EOnot defined

Day/IR/elint/comint

60 kg

Eads passiveesm-elint,

stabilised e-oand infrared

Day

R/C (NAI)

Infrared linescanner

25 kg, types not yet

defined

-1A recon orweather sample

-1D geophys.survey

250 kg EO or EW

Dragon Eye RQ-14A


2.04

1.00

1.00

2xAveox1005/6Y

1.731.16n/a

Day TV

~500 kg EO,EW or Sar(based onHeron TP,

development on back-burner)

Flir Safire III +TelephonicsRDR-1700B

radar

Flir, colour TVlaser

rangefinder

EO/IR, laserdesignator,SAR, GMTI,

Radar

Satcom + Sar, EO, IR

12111

Sigint, MP Rtipplus extra

powerunit/Sar, EO,

IR, Satcom

Day TV, flir(Wescam)

450 kg

Day/IR 1 kgAthena

GuideStar111m

nav. & ref.system, IR, Flir

EO, IR, laserdesignator,

GMTI UK: Athena

GuideStar 411nav. & ref.

systemconv, cat/

para,ab,conv

Tesar Sar, DSPEO, compassflir and CCD

EM, TV, Sar(various

manufacturers)

TV and IR, custom

(IAI Tamam)

TV and IR, custom

(IAI Tamam,various)245 kg

TV and IR (IAI Tamam)

EO, IR or Sar(Wescam)

Flir, TV,Lynx Sar,

Ku Satcom

30 kgMosp EO

or EL/M-2055B

Sar

Laser designator,TV, IR,

payload 10 kg

Flir(Rheinmetall

DefenceElectronics)

CCD camera(various

manufacturers)Athena Guide-

Star 311nav. & ref.

system

Internal 363kg, external

1361 kgvarious

TV or flir/elint(Meteor)

TV, LLTV, flir,elint

(various manufacturers)

TV, IR, EW, Sar(various

manufacturers)

50 kg IR and TV

Reaper MQ-9


4763

50.0

24.0

TPE331-10T

900 hp

10.3620.12n/a

340kg internal,1360 kg ext.

AN/APY-8 Sar,EO/IR turret,

AN/AAS-52(V)MTS

IR or TV or 9 kg

droppable

Radar, IR+

guided bombsin 2 internal

bays

Flir, ESM, IR,TV, ECM 60 kg

car-top/conv

vtol cat/conv

Day or IR

Day or IR

EO/IR sensor(IAI Tamam)

IR/EO

Day/IR

EO, IR, Sar(NorthropGrumman,Wescam)

Eo, IR, Sar(GeneralAtomics,Wescam)

0.9 kgCCD camera

or IR

TV and flir (IAI Tamam,Versatron)

Max. 1.2 kg

hi-resolutionCCD fromControp

Night Intruder 300

KAI cat/para + conv290

15.0

6.00

50 hp

4.706.40n/a

IR, Sar,payload 45 kg

TV or LLTV orelint

Stabilised dayor IR

EO,payload 5 kg

TV and flir (IAI Tamam)

Colour camera,multi-sensor,electronic

survey

35 kgVarious

27.3 kgTamam EO/IR

AthenaGuideStar

211enav. & ref.

system

30 kgEO/IR (variousmanufacturers)

Micro-flir,CCTV (variousmanufacturers)

0.50 kgTV or

flir Photon,gas sensors

Day/nightimager (various

manufacturers)

2.7 kgcolour/CCDcameras, flir

Day or IR

CCD camera

200 kg notdefinedAthena

GuideStar 311nav. & ref.

system

363kg internal,227kg externalAN/APY-8 Sar,

EO/IR turret

CCD camera,IR

(various manufacturers)

50 kg Sagem410 TV,

Sagem Matis(3-5µ) or Iris(-12µ)

+ weapons(Spike)

50 kgSagem Olosp

cat/para

Day or IR, 1.8 kg

TV, IR, radiationdetection

Optronic daysight (M-Tek)

Video + IR

X-47B (Ucas-D)

Northrop Grumman conv/conv

40.0+

P&WF100

2040 kgEO/IR/Sar/

GMTI/ESM/IO

Day/IR

Dem

vtol vtol

stovl

cat

Zala 421-12

A Level Aerosystems

3.9

10.0

2.000.621.2n/a

1 kgGPS, EO

cat/para

11.5818.90n/a

40.0+

20.865

conv/conv

Euro Hawk

Eads-Northrop Grumman

60.0

30+

1x R-RAE3007H

14.5339.901.46

Sigint, Elint,Comint,

Satcom, SarMTI (Imint)

conv/conv

14,628

Fuel

cell8 motors

Dem


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e User criticism led to an improved ver-sion, now marketed by ARA as the 725-gram Nighthawk. The Nighthawk hasfolding propeller blades and a carbon-fibre wing (increased to 66-cm span) thatwraps around the fuselage for transport.The drone is stored in a tube of 15.25-cmdiameter, and the wing snaps back toflight position as it is pulled out of thetube. It has a ceiling of 11,000 ft, and anendurance of up to 90 minutes.

tated by a vtol version, studies of whichare being jointly funded by AV andDarpa. Concepts under considerationinclude tilt-rotors, buried fans and a tail-sitter configuration.

In 2004 the US Army’s Rapid Equip-ping Force acquired six AppliedResearch Associates (ARA) Tacmav sys-tems for evaluation, and subsequentlypurchased 78 under a $ three billion pro-gramme for use in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The service plans to acquire 21 systemsand about 80 drones. Since late 2005 tri-als of the Wasp’s suitability for jungleoperations have been run jointly byDarpa and Singapore’s Defence Science& Technology Agency.

The US Navy and US Marine Corpsare using the USS Philippine Sea (CG 58)to evaluate the water-landing version ofthe Wasp, which is 50 grams heavier. Mar-itime operations would clearly be facili-

Non-American

In the non-American league of drone manufacturers, Israel’s (who incidentallyoffered a stepping stone to America by supplying the first Hunters through TRW)take the lion’s share, although a number of other nations have put their foot inthe door, especially during the former-Yugoslavia conflict.

Only current rival to the MQ-9Reaper is the IAI Heron TP

This recent photograph of an IAI Heron I shows it camouflaged light blue on theundersurfaces and painted white on top, presumably to reduce the heating producedby solar radiation. (IAI)

The 970-kg Elbit Systems Hermes 900 is a larger, retractable-gear, mid-wing derivativeof the 550-kg Hermes 450. Unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2007 it was to fly inearly 2008. (Elbit)

Amongst the first European manu-facturers to have entered theobservation drone market were

Sagem with the Crecerelle (itself basedon a Meggitt target drone) and EMT withthe Luna. Since, other manufacturershave joined the dance, like Thales, Ruag(with Israeli-based airframes), BAE Sys-tems (lately with the Herti), Selex,Galileo, Saab and Schiebel to name but afew. Given the large range of drones thatthis nation alone can supply, we shallbegin the second section of this surveywith Israel.

IsraelThe development and operation of tacti-cal drones was pioneered by Israel,although America was soon to achievedominance in larger and more expensive

industry can still thrive, selling advancedsystems free of political strings. Heron TP: The top of the Israel Aero-space Industries/Malat range is now the4650-kg Heron TP or Eitan (Strength),which is powered by an unspecified 895-kW turboprop. In the same weight cate-gory as the General Atomics Reaper, ithas more power and wingspan.

It carries a 1000-kg payload at up to45,000 ft and has an endurance of 36hours. Hermes 1500: Before the Heron TP, theheaviest Israeli drone was the 1650-kgElbit Systems Hermes 1500 powered bytwo 75-kW Rotax engines. It has anendurance of 26 hours and a ceiling of33,000 ft. The 1200-kg IAI Heron I has an85-kW Rotax, an endurance of 45 hoursand a ceiling of 30,000 ft. The Heron I isoperated by the Israeli Air Force underthe names Machatz (Strike) and Shoval(Trail), presumably in different roles. TwoShovals have recently been equipped withmaritime surveillance sensors to replacecrewed IAI Seascans (modified Westwindbizjets). The Heron is flown by all threeIndian services, the Turkish Army and theFrench Army (as the Eads Sidm).Hermes 900: The 970-kg Rotax-enginedHermes 900 is the latest member of Elbit

systems. However, some nations areunwilling to buy military equipment fromthe United States, hence Israel’s drone

Systems’ Male family, featuring an ‘inde-pendent’ atol system that allows it to usealternate non-instrumented runways.Unveiled at the 2007 Paris Air Show, theHermes 900 was to fly in the first quarterof 2008. Near-term potential marketsinclude Canada.Hermes 450: The 550-kg Elbit Hermes 450is the first drone certified to fly in Israelicivil airspace. It has been operated underthe name Zik by the Israel Defense Forcesince 2000 and is reported to have been

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e ed by South Korea. It is rail-launched andrecovered by parachute and airbag.Skylite B: The eight-kg, rail-launchedRafael Skylite-B is believed to have beenused over Lebanon in 2006, operated bycontractor personnel. In the hand-launched category, the six-kg Aeronau-tics Defense Systems Orbiter has beenordered by Ireland, Poland and an undis-closed CIS nation. The 5.5-kg Elbit Sky-lark I was used on a small scale by Israeliground forces in Lebanon in 2006, but theservice is reportedly also considering theSkylite-B and the 5.6-kg IAI Bird Eye400 in selecting a future mini-drone. TheSkylark is also operated by the armies ofAustralia, Canada and Sweden. Otherdrones of around five kg include the ITLOptronics Lightener and Top-I-ViewCasper 250.

The Israel Defense Force is develop-ing a requirement for an unmanned com-bat resupply and medevac system. Rele-vant projects include a new IAIhelicopter, the 450-kg Emit Butterflypowered parachute with a Rotax 582engine and the Urban Aeronautics

Aerostar is used by the Israel DefenseForce and has been sold in small numbersto the US Navy, Angola and Nigeria. Thecanard-configuration 180-kg Emit BlueHorizon 2 has been used by the SriLankan Air Force, two being lost in aTamil Tiger attack in late 2007.Mini-Falcon: In the 50 to 100-kg categoryIsrael offers the 80-kg Innocon Mini-Fal-

used as a missile platform over theLebanon in 2006 to give a quick reactionto rocket launches. Other customersinclude Botswana and Singapore.

The Hermes 450-B forms the basis forthe British Army’s Thales Watchkeepersystem, with UAV Tactical Systems (ajoint venture by Elbit and Thales UK) asprime. Watchkeeper is scheduled for IOCwith the Royal Artillery in 2010, fittedwith the Thales Magic atol system, the I-Master radar and Elop Compass IVEO/IR turret. Modifications from theHermes 450 include a shoulder wing-mounting, a retractable nose gear andwing de-icing. A number of standard ‘H-450’ drones owned by Thales UK havebeen leased under a $ 110 million con-tract as an interim measure for use by 32Regiment Royal Artillery in southernAfghanistan and Iraq. In early 2008 Elbitunveiled its uprated 52-kW R902(W)engine for the Hermes 450.Searcher II: The 425-kg IAI Searcher II,equipped with Elta EL/M-2055 radar, isbeing phased out of Israeli Air Forceservice in favour of the Heron I, but it hasbeen exported to India, Indonesia, Singa-pore and Spain. The Spanish Army wasdue to deploy its Searcher IIs toAfghanistan in April 2008. I-View: The 250-kg IAI I-View 250A hasbeen selected by the Australian Army,with deliveries to begin in 2009. The 210-kg Aeronautics Defense Systems

This impression ofthe British Army’sThales Watch -keeper shows somedifferences from theElbit Hermes 450:the shoulder-mounted wing,retractable nosegear and twinsensor turrets.(Thales UK)

Selected by theIsrael DefenseForce in 2004, theElbit SystemsSkylark has sincebeen adopted bythe armies ofAustralia, Canadaand Sweden. TheCanadian Skylarkis used inAfghanistan.(Canadian Forces)

The parasol-wing, fixed-gear Hermes 450 entered service with the Israel Defense Forcein 2000. It has also been purchased by Botswana and Singapore, and has beenleased by the British Army. (Elbit)

con, the 65-kg IAI I-View 50, the 45-kgEmit Sparrow and the 43-kg Elbit Sky-lark II. The Blade armed version of theSparrow has been purchased by theBritish Army, reportedly linked to devel-opment of a loitering attack weapon con-cept. The Skylark II, a relatively heavyelectric-powered drone, has been adopt-

‘Mule’ powered by two Turbomeca Arrielengines driving ducted fans.

Upper EndSoar Dragon: At the upper end of the spec-trum – and outside Israel – the only poten-tial near-term competitor for the GlobalHawk appears to be China’s Cheng-du/Guizhou Soar Dragon, which may berunning ahead of the Mitsubishi and Ale-nia Aeronautica Molynx Hale projects.Oddly enough, the development of theseappears to be more advanced than Russianprojects announced much earlier, notablythe Sukhoi Zond 1, 2 and 3.Molynx: The 3000-kg Alenia AeronauticaMolynx has two 186-kW car engines andis designed for an endurance of 30 hoursat up to 45,000 ft. It may produce usefulexperience for the Alenia Black Lynx, atailless armed Male project.Barracuda: The Eads Barracuda technol-ogy demonstrator crashed in 2006, but itis hoped to develop from this (in a jointFranco-German-Spanish programme) amodular twin-turbofan type. With long-span wings this will serve in the Male role.With short wings it will be a high-speedpenetrator, like the smaller 360-kg Selex

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e experience in real operations, in additionto the flying hours notched up in militaryexercises. However, the company hasnow developed a new version of its air-craft, which is available for purchase,according to official Sagem literature.The new aircraft will «incorporate sever-al improvements based on feedback fromthe field and the latest technologies».

Known as the Sperwer Mk II, the newdrone picks up from where the originalleft off, and features a host of modifica-tions. For example, Sagem has obtained asignificant reduction in logistics require-ments and hence easier deployment inforeign theatres of operation. At present,it takes around two C-130 flights to trans-port an entire Sperwer system, whichincludes three aircraft, a ground controlstation, a catapult and a ground data ter-minal.

The Mk II model will have a greatlyenhanced operating envelope in terms ofaltitude and temperature, although as yetno figures are available on what theseimprovements may constitute. Moreover,Sagem will enhance the electro-opticalpayload by installing new state-of-the-artsystems. The company is also looking athow the drone’s datalinks can be madecompatible with Nato command and con-trol structures via the French Army’sRapid Reaction Corps. This unit has beenraised as a quick response partner for theAlliance’s Rapid Reaction Force.

Night Intruder: Following its 290-kgNight Intruder 300 drone for the SouthKorean Army and Navy, Korea Aero-space Industries (KAI) is developing the6500-kg turboprop-engined Kus-9, whichis heavier than the MQ-9. Yabhon: In a much smaller category, theAbu Dhabi-based Adcom MilitaryIndustries flew its new Yabhon RX-6 tac-

Galileo Nibbio based on the Meteor100/5 target, which presumably alsoforms the basis for the Eads Carapasdemonstrator.Modular Advanced UAV: Unveiled at the2007 Paris Air Show, the Eads AdvancedModular UAV design has recently moveda step forward in its development, havingbeen awarded a € 60 million contract bythe German Government to cover itsshare in a 15-month study conducted withFrance (Thales) and Spain (Indra). Asreported in Armada 2/2008 and clearlyseen on our current cover, the system ismodular at various levels. Not the leastaspect is the ability to tailor cut the air-craft’s wings to enable it to carry outhigh-speed penetration missions withshorter wings, or above-male missionswith long-span wings, the wings beingtotally interchangeable. Likewise, theunderbelly and ’cockpit‘ payloads will beinterchangeable, the whole idea being toachieve a plug-and-play concept enablingan aircraft to be configured within any-thing between 30 minutes to a couple ofhours. The aircraft will be powered bytwo external rear-mounted engines. Herti: As remarked in his Dubai Showreport (Issue 2/2008), Armada’s Editorhighlighted the fact that, «the Herti ispretty much a unique system, whichbrings the word ‘unmanned’, somewhatabusively used in the drone community,slightly closer to a certain truth», since itnot only has the ability to fly totallyautonomously without transmitting orreceiving to remain as ’quiet‘ as possible,but also to judge, select the required sen-sors depending on the requirement of themoment and identify points of interestwithout any commands from the groundand then send bursts of data only whennecessary. As manufacturer BAE Sys-tems puts it, it is «task driven» andremains fully autonomous except for thefirst click on the mouse to get it started,as explained by a company official.Developed under a cloak of secrecy inAustralia under the codename «Morrig-an», first signs of its existence appearedin 2006 through press releases, but tangi-ble proof was given at Dubai 2007 withone of two prototypes exhibited. It isbased on a motor-glider design from J &

The Eads ModularAdvanced UAV will consistof a single 10.3-metrebackbone fuselage cumengine and tail unit towhich 25.25-metre spanwings can be fitted for46,000-ft altitude missions.Endurance would bearound 17 hours. The’canopy bay‘ wouldreceive a Ku-band satelliteaerial. The shorter set ofwings (about nine meters)will provide high-speedlow altitude (1000 ft) dashmissions. (Eads)

A successful programme,the Sagem Sperwer hasseen extensive deploymentin former Yugoslavia andnow in Afghanistan. TheFrench manufacturer isnow looking into thedevelopment of a Mk IIwith extender range and asharper electro-opticalsensor. (Armada/EHB)

AS Aero Design in Poland and poweredby a Rotax 914 engine. Still few detailsare divulged regarding the payloads, butthe aircraft is able to detect people walk-ing across a border between two coun-tries, fly a surveillance pattern at 80 knotsat 9000 ft using its fixed electro-opticalsensor, then switch to a higher-resolutionturreted sensor upon which these areconfirmed by a ground operator. Sperwer Mk II: Following on from recentdeployments in Afghanistan and theBalkans, Sagem is turning its sightstowards the future for the Sperwer drone.Purchased by the Canadian, French,Dutch, Swedish, Danish (later aban-doned) and Canadian armed forces, this‘Sparrow hawk’ (the drone’s name trans-lated from French) has become the stan-dard unmanned aerial vehicle for severalNato members.

Sagem notes that the combat hoursracked up to date by the drone havealready given the company tangible

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e funding development of the turbofan-powered Jandu, a joint project by ADIand Western Australia’s Global UAVOrganisation.

Notwithstanding its undoubted techno-logical capability and its many advanceddrone concepts (including the SukhoiBAS-62 and Zond series), Russia has so farmade little impact on this market.

In the last century the Soviets werebest known for jet-powered reconnais-sance drones, notably the 35.6-tonne,Mach 2.5 Tupolev Tu-123/139 Jastreb(Hawk), which was superseded by themanned MiG-25, and the 5370-kg high-subsonic Tu-141 Stritzh (Swift), of which152 were built.

The 1230-kg Tu-143 Reys (Trip) wasused by the Soviet forces in Afghanistan,and by Syria over Israel. It was also soldto the Czech Republic and Romania. Thestretched 1600-kg Tu-243 Reys-Dentered service in 1999 and is availablethrough Rosoboronexport. The latestknown version is the Tu-300 Korshun.

More recently the emphasis has beenon providing target data for artilleryrockets, notably the 40-km-range Grad,with further development aimed at the80-km Smerch, likewise made by Splav. Itmay be noted that at Idex 2005 Splavexhibited the R-90 tandem-wing sensor-equipped drone that can be launchedfrom a Smerch tube.

The Kulon Stroy-P system based onthe Yakovlev Pchela-1T (TV-only) wasused operationally over Chechnya in1995 before it attained formal IOC withthe Russian Army in 1997. One systemwith twelve drones had previously beensupplied to North Korea. The Pchela-1Kwith day/night capability followed withthe Stroy-PD, now in production. Theshorter range Kulon Stroy-BP is based onthe 25-kg Osa air vehicle.

In 2005 the Vega group, including theKulon Scientific Production Institute inMoscow and KB Luch in Rybinsk, wasgiven the lead in further Russian dronedevelopments. Luch is developing thevery conventional 60-kg BLA-05 Tipchakartillery reconnaissance drone, which has

Aeronautical Academy has a ProjectVantapa, based on its X-02 air vehicle.Brazil’s air force is purchasing the locallydeveloped three-kg Flight Solutions FS-01 Watchdog.

Other hand-launched drones in thethree-kg category include France’s Tech-nisolar Seni, Germany’s EMT Aladin andSouth Africa’s ATE Kiwit (Plover).

Malaysia’s Sapura has exhibited itsten-hour endurance Cyber Eye and theCyber Shark helicopter drone. At therecent air show at Langkawi a joint ven-ture by Composite Technology ResearchMalaysia, Ikramatic and System Consul-tancy Services showed its MX-05 Aludradrone, which had just made its first flightin Malacca.

Singapore Technologies Aerospacehas produced the hand-launched, piston-engined Skyblade II for the SingaporeanArmy, developed the electrically pow-ered Skyblade III and is working on themuch heavier (50 kg) Skyblade IV. Thelatter has been partly funded by the Sin-gapore Ministry of Defence,and is due tofly around the end of 2008.

Australia’s DSTO (Defence Scienceand Technology Organisation) is now

tical drone in September 2006, to serve asthe basis for the 1250-kg Yabhon RX-18Male, now in development. Tiha: Turkish Aerospace Industries isdeveloping the 1500-kg Tiha-A, which isto fly in 2009 and provide a basis for themuch larger (3500 kg) Tiha-B, to meet aTurkish Air Force requirement. OtherTAI drone projects include the 85-kgGozcu and the Tuma target.

Mid-weightFalco: In the mid-weight category, the new420-kg Selex Galileo Falco (reportedlysold to Pakistan) aims to follow the successof the 310-kg Sagem Sperwer, the 280-kgDenel Seeker and the 275-kg OerlikonContraves/Ruag Aerospace Ranger.Harop: Rheinmetall is now working withIAI on a system that would combine theKZO with a loitering munition – presum-ably the new Harop, which has an EO sen-sor – a 23-kg warhead and an endurance ofsix hours. The IAI Harop, which is cur-rently being evaluated in India andTurkey, is a larger derivative of the 135-kgIAI Harpy, which has been sold to China,India, South Korea and Turkey. Ababil and Mohajer: Iran has at least twodrone manufacturers. Iran Aircraft Man-ufacturing Industries (Hesa) makes alu-minium airframes in Shahinshehr, andQods makes composite airframes inTehran. Hesa’s 200-kg Ababil (Swallow)has been in production since 1986 and isused by the Iranian RevolutionaryGuards and by Hezbollah in Lebanon, asis Qods’ 85-kg Mohajer-2 (reportedlyunder the name Mirsad-1). Qods alsoproduces the 60-kg Saegheh-2. TheToufan is an anti-radiation attack drone,like the IAI Harpy.

Latin American developments are evi-denced by Mexico’s 54-kg Hydra Tech-nologies S4 Ehécatl (Wind), which firstflew in 2006 and made its debut in Parisin 2007. Argentina’s Nostromo Defensa isreported to be in small-scale productionwith the 30-kg Yarará, and is scheduled tounveil the electrically powered 3.5-kgCarbure 2 at Fidae-2008. Chile’s air force

Russia’s principal hand-launch drones appear to belong to the A-Level AerosystemsZala 421 family. The 2.1-kg Zala 421-08 is used by the Interior Ministry, and this421-04 weighs up to 7.9 kg. (A-Level Aerosystems)

The Selex Galileo Falco was cleared following 18 flight tests made by the end user(believed to be Pakistan) during which it carried out a surveillance mission atmaximum payload which lasted 9 hours and 15 minutes, demonstrating, by using anauxiliary fuel tank, maximum endurance could exceed the 14 hour mark earlieranticipated. (Selex Galileo)


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e the military designation 9M62 andappears to aimed at supporting the 300-km Iskander rocket. The first state testseries was concluded in late 2006.

Also funded by the Russian Ministryof Defence, the Luch BLA-07 is a 35-kgcanard-configuration with a shroudedpusher propeller. The 500-kg KulonBLA-06 Aist is an unusual design with aretractable undercarriage, a V-tail, andtwo piston engines on over-wing pylons.Although ordered by the Russian Min-istry of Defence in 2005 it is also intend-ed for commercial use.

At ParcAberporth, Wales in 2007 Rus-sia’s A-Level Aerosystems demonstratedthe 2.1-kg Zala 421-08, as used by Rus-sia’s Ministry of Interior Affairs. Thecompany also makes the somewhat larger Zala 421-04, which weighs 6.95 kgin electric form and 7.9 kg with a pistonengine.

The Verticals

The ideal of usefully sized drones that can be operated without runways or cat-apults, and can be recovered safely without nets or parachutes, is encouragingwidespread interest in advanced helicopters and other vtol concepts.

The Schiebel CamcopterS-100 during recent trials

The writing is on the door: the letters stencilled on this G-Wagen gives a clue as towhich theatre of operations this EMT Luna is being deployed from. (EMT)

Unlike tail-sitter ducted fan projects, the Selex Galileo Damselfly is a flat-riser usingfour rotating nozzles (as in the Rolls-Royce Pegasus), with the aft nozzles raised toavoid interaction of the jets. (Selex)

O ne of the most advanced is the2540-kg Boeing A160T Humming-bird, powered by a 425-kW Pratt

& Whitney Canada PW207D turbo-shaft.With the A160T it is hoped to achieve a30,000 ft ceiling and an endurance of over18 hours, this by virtue of a patented Opti-mum Speed Rotor (OSR), a clean air-frame and a high fuel fraction. The OSR reduces the rotational speed of theblades in forward flight, to delay com-pressibility effects on the advancing tipand inboard stalling on the retreatingblade. A piston-engined A160 flew in2002, having been developed by FrontierSystems, which was taken over by Boeingin 2004. June 2007 marked the first flightby the turbine-engined A160T, the first of ten being built for Darpa and the US Special Operations Command.

The age-old struggle to convert a heli-copter into an aeroplane in flight is illus-trated (inter alia) by Spain’s Hada (Heli-copter Adaptive Aircraft) project, part ofthe Platino national drone research pro-gramme. Partly funded by Spain, the 380-kg Hada will take off like a conventionaltwo-blade helicopter, then for forwardflight the rotor will be fixed fore-and-aft,while a six-metre wing is unfolded fromunder the fuselage. Thrust is provided bya tail-mounted pusher propeller.

One of many ducted-fan vtol concepts,the Selex Damselfly follows the well-proven Harrier/Pegasus four-nozzlethrust-vectoring arrangement. An electri-cally powered small-scale model flew inApril 2007, paving the way for a 100-kgfull-scale Damselfly in 2009.

The Damselfly may compete for ananticipated Royal Navy order against theMQ-8B and Austria’s 200-kg SchiebelCamcopter S-100, which is being marketedin co-operation with Thales. More than 100S-100s have been ordered by three coun-tries. Following trial on frigates in March,Schiebel announced in mid-April 2008that the S-100 had been tested in conjunc-tion with a much smaller vessel, namely theGuardia Civil’s 51-metre Rio Miño off the

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A four-hour mission was carried out,the S-100 taking off from the helipad indaylight and landing at night. The testswere concluded by another night flightwith a total flight time about six hours ata maximum altitude of 6000 ft.

Depending on the timescale, otherdrone helicopter contenders for theRoyal Navy order may be the Saab Skel-dar V-150 M and the Eads Sharc or Orka.The Skeldar is a derivative of Sweden’sCybaero Apid 55, a 160-kg drone pow-ered by a 41-kW Wankel engine. Seven

coasts of Grand Canaria. A former tunatrawler, the Rio Miño was converted to acoastal patrol ship with, inter alia, a 10.5 �8.5-meter helipad sans landing grid (whichwould have facilitated operations since theS-100 can be fitted with a harpoon deckingsystem. According to the Austrian manu-facturer the S-100 took off on a one-hourmission, spotted a Spanish Armada frigatefrom a range of about ten nautical miles,returned to the hosting ‘mother ship’ anddisplayed its capability to hover above thehelipad and follow the ship’s heaving andsinking motion to perform a smoothtouchdown. In the tests mentioned above,the S-100 was operated from a PakistanNavy Type 21 frigate in the Arabian Sea.The weather allowed takeoffs and landingsat a maximum ship speed of 13 kt with 15-kt crosswinds.

The Boeing A160T Hummingbird is a turbine-engined development of the piston-engined A160 designed by Frontier Systems. It is hoped to produce a breakthrough inrotorcraft speed, ceiling and endurance. (Boeing)

Sweden’s 160-kg Cybaero Apid 55 is in service in the United Arab Emirates. Itprovides the basis for the new Saab Skeldar-150, which has a modified airframe anda variety of sensors. (Cybaero)

In 2005 an agreement was signed byEurocopter and Guimbal, paving theway for the latter’s two-seat Cabrihelicopter to be developed as the Orkadrone, aimed initially at an anticipatedFrench requirement. (Eads).

Apid 55 systems were sold to the UnitedArab Emirates in 2004. The Skeldar firstflew in April 2006, but for naval applica-tions a Skeldar M is being developed.Cybaero is now working with the USNaval Research Laboratory on the lat-ter’s new 172-kg Vantage drone, whichflew in early 2008, powered by a 31-kWUEL 801 rotary heavy fuel engine.

The 190-kg Sharc (Scouting and Hunt-ing Autonomous RotorCraft) has a coax-ial rotor, and represents a further devel-opment by Eads Military Air Systems

(part of Defence & Security Systems) ofthe earlier Seamos. The Sharc first flew inJuly 2007. The Orka, for its part, is a jointdrone development by Eads’ Eurocopterdivision and Hélicoptères Guimbal,based on the latter’s two-seat Cabri. TheOrka is being offered to both the FrenchArmy and Navy.

Targets and Decoys

The well-established targets produced by companies such as Meggitt Defence Sys-tems, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Selex Galileo require no introduction.

Eads DO-DT25 carrying arocket-powered DO-DT55

simulate an anti-radiation missile. SelexGalileo is likewise developing the 20-kgLocusta target, to be released from a 330-kg Meteor 100/5.

Another in the Do-DT25 classappears to be the 150-kg Iris Jet, devel-oped by the Greece-based Eads 3 Sigma,which produces a wide range of targets.Spain’s Inta has its own Diana project,with a similar payload capacity. The Cali-fornia-based Xcelaero is developing the80-kg NXT-400, with two model jetengines. Air Affairs Australia is promot-ing the Phoenix Jet, equipped with anAMT engine.

The Beijing-based Black Buzzard Avi-ation Technology has exhibited the 45-kgsingle-engined HFT-40A and the 90-kgHFT-60A twin, both powered by theindigenous VWP-60.

One of the main thrusts of futuredevelopments appears to be on low-costtargets to simulate anti-ship missiles:high-subsonic weapons such as the

J et engines developed for aero mod-ellers are making possible small high-speed targets such as Eads-Dornier’s

single-engined 144-kg Do-DT25 and the

50-kg Do-DT35 and 70-kg Do-DT45twins. All are in production for the Ger-man Army and Navy. The 22-kg Do-DT55 is launched from the Do-DT25 to

33armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

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The US Navy also has a requirementfor a high-subsonic target, which is beingcompeted by the Northrop GrummanBQM-74F and the Orbital Sciences BQM-167X, a development of the BQM-167ASkeeter used by the US Air Force.

In the full-scale target category the USAir Force’s QF-4 is expected to be replacedby the QF-16, with the contract to beawarded competitively in April 2009.

Little has been published on Russiantargets, beyond the fact that Sokol beganproduction of the turbofan-powered, 280-kg Dan in 1993. The Dan-Baruk search-and-attack variant with KBP Vikhr anti-armour missiles has been proposed.

MBDA Exocet, and Russia’s supersonicSS-N-22 and -27.

The US Navy has an emerging needfor a Multi-Stage Supersonic Target(Msst) to simulate ‘Threat D’, thought tobe the Novator 3M54E (SS-N-27). Thiscruises subsonically, but in the terminalphase detaches a sea-skimming super-sonic penetrator. Although the Mach 2.3Orbital Sciences GQM-163 Coyote(which received the first US Navy pro-duction order in late 2007) can representThreats A, B and C, it evidently cannotcruise subsonically for 170 km and reachMach 2.2 at a height of 16 ft. The MsstSDD award is due in late FY08.

The use of a drone to launch mini-targets is represented by this 330-kgMeteor Mirach 100/5, carrying two20-kg Selex Galileo Locustas, as usedto test German Air Force Patriotmissiles. (Selex Galileo)

The swing-wing RaytheonAGM-160B Mald(Miniature Air-LaunchedDecoy) has a range of925 km and been clearedfor use on the LockheedMartin F-16 (shown here)and the Boeing B-52.(Raytheon)

Turning to decoys, the 135-kg swing-wing Raytheon AGM-160B MiniatureAir-Launched Decoy (Mald) successfullycompleted flight testing in January 2008,and is set to enter Lrip. It has a range of925 km, and will be launched from the B-52 and F-16.

Combat Drones

The ideal of usefully sized drones that can be operated without runways or cat-apults, and can be recovered safely without nets or parachutes, is encouragingwidespread interest in advanced helicopters and other vtol concepts.

Dramatic montage of the Northrop Grumman X-47 onits future home: a flight deck

T urning drones into light bomberswas an obvious step in the recent his-tory of drone development. Howev-

er, the creation of ’proper‘ strike aircraft,by removing not only the crew but also allthe items that go with them is a far moreambitious undertaking.

One often overlooks what are theimplications of having one or several crewmembers onboard an aircraft in terms ofweight, cost and volume taken away; just afew items: avionics, ejection seat, obogs,canopy, controls. The comes the crewitself, which without even looking at the

human value aspect, but through thelengthy training process end up costingmore than the machine they fly.

America’s Joint Unmanned CombatAir Systems (J-Ucas) programme was ter-minated in FY07 after the expenditure of $ 800 million. Out of the ashes came the US Navy’s Ucas-D demonstrator, pavingthe way for a stealthy ‘F/A-XX’ Ucas toreplace the Boeing F/A-18 in 2025.

In August 2007 Northrop Grummanwas awarded the $ 650 million Ucas-D


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e In contrast, China’s Shenyang Anjian(Invisible Sword), which was shown inmodel form at Zhuhai in 2007, is a super-sonic configuration allegedly intendedfor the air-to-air role.

Europe’s principal Ucas effort is theDassault-led, six-tonne Neuron, forwhich France’s DGA signed a € 405 million contract in 2006, and which is tohave its maiden flight in 2011. Othersinvolved include Alenia Aeronautica,Hellenic Aerospace Industries, RuagAerospace, Saab Aerosystems andThales. National efforts include Britain’sBAE Systems eight-tonne Taranis (to fly in 2010), Italy’s 1300-kg Alenia Aero-nautica Sky-X, Russia’s Yakovlev Proryv(Breakthrough) and the lightweightVoron as well as Sweden’s Saab Aerosys-tems Filur.

Sperwer

Sagem is working on acontract to construct two X-47Bs. Thefirst is scheduled to fly in November2009, and the first carrier operations inlate 2011. Derived from the X-47A tested in J-Ucas, the X-47B has wingextensions and a non-afterburning Pratt& Whitney F100-PW-220U turbofan. It has a designed launch weight of 20,200kg and a maximum landing weight of10,567 kg.

Russian Ucas thinking appears to befollowing similar (though land-based)lines, aiming for a subsonic stealthy Seaddrone. At Maks 2007 RAC-MiG unveiledits tailless Skat (Skate) in mock-up form.The Skat is a ten-tonne vehicle with aKlimov RD-5000B engine.

A wind tunnel test model of the Neuron is here seen being put through its paces atOnera’s facilties in France. As for its American counterpart, low radar signature is amission prerequisite. (Dassault)

Paving the way for the US Navy’s next strike aircraft, Northrop Grumman’s unmanned,subsonic X-47B demonstrator will rely heavily on its low radar signature, shown hereunder test. (Northrop Grumman)

Brains and Eyes

Manning a drone from the ground is easy, but on paper only. What the peoplebehind the controls really lack is not only the pants-and-seat feeling, but alsothe environmental assessment. We tend to forget the incredible benefits we getfrom stereoscopic vision and the incredibly fast and automatic ability of the eyeand brain to adjust or focus on a point of interest.

Sagem is working on ahi-res Euroflir sensor

Eric H. Biass

E xcept for unbelievably irresponsibledesigns (and yet some made it toactive service level) and mechanical

failure, drones more often crash for twomain reasons: bad handling and loss ofenvironmental reference.

Bad handling is a common occurrence,this because the ground crews are rarelyaviators themselves and often lack the

aviation spirit generally acquired at lightaviation club level by pushing an aircraftout of a hanger to start with. Somefootage of army soldiers unloadingdrones from a lorry clearly show that theywouldn’t handle wings in such a manner,for example, if they had to board the air-craft themselves. This has only recently

The Tacmet II, from Climatronics, isseen here used in conjunction with aPDA. The solid-state Tacmet II can alsobe used on a tripod to provide anearby mobile control station for wind,temperature, relative humidity andbarometric pressure data.(Climatronics)

35armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

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ebilised systems have emerged and includeCloud Cap and Optical Alchemy.

Flir Systems is probably the largestproducer of stabilised mounts due to thefact that it also manufactures stabilisedturrets for fixed and vehicle-mounted landsurveillance applications. During the lastDSA exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, thecompany told the author that there were65 Flir systems operated in Malaysia aloneand approximately 200 in the region. Infact, Flir is now aiming at opening a main-tenance centre in Malaysia and is current-ly looking for partners.

One of Flir’s latest systems is the StarSafhire HD, where the HD suffix standsfor high definition. The sensor is notinterleaved and thus offers a true 720-linepicture while most other so-called high-definition devices do not offer 1080 linesbut in fact 420.

Another recent Flir development isthe Mep (Mission Equipment Package)of which a first batch of three has beendelivered to the US Army’s Night Visionand Electronic Sensors Directorate. Thesystem has been integrated into theDirectorate’s UH-1 test helicopter, but isin a first stage aimed at the US Army’sTier II drone programme. The Mep incor-porates no less than five sensors: twoinfrared cameras, a colour television cam-era, a laser rangefinder and a laser desig-nator. A key feature of the system is itssecondary steering system that provides a

gyros, magnetometer, air pressure datasensors and meets shock, vibration, tem-perature and humidity requirements – allin a case that is about the size of aportable telephone for a weight of 114grams, which also happens to be theweight of the authors cell phone. Whenone is in the flight instrumentation andavionics business and in need of wideningone's range of activities, a short cutmethod is to acquire a drone avionicsmanufacturer. This is exactly what Rock-well Collins did earlier this year (2008).Other drone autopilots manufacturersinclude Cloud Cap with its Piccolo series,UAV Navigation and Micropilot.

Drone capabilities are almost propor-tional with their size (for systems of asame generation of course). The fartherthey need to go, the more fuel they have tocarry, the bigger the engine, the larger theairframe volume and the more accuratethe navigation systems need to be. Thus, atthe opposite end of Athena’s spectrum ofproducts is the 4.5-kilo Guidestar 611 witha 0.003°/hour inertial measuring unit.Microstrain is another producer with the3DM-GX2 and the Inertia-Link.

Quite apart from a new tend to usedrones as radio relays (an interestingdevelopment using hand-held radios isexplained in “The Hand-held Uprising”article in the main issue of Armada withwhich this supplement has beendespatched) drones also need to commu-nicate. This too has opened up a new fieldof specialisation to cope with range, sizeand weight requirements of datalinks.Typical suppliers here are firms likeMicrohard Systems, Free-wave andAdvanced Microwave Products.

Eyes and EarsThe primary electronic system of a drone isits optical sensor. Depending on the type;from mini drones all the way up to the maletypes, the range covers simple miniatureblack-and-white pen-sized cameras (avail-able in video shops) to the large, multiple-channel, fully-stabilised turret.

The largest players in stabilised systemsare Flir, Elbit, Denel, DRS (which wasabout to be bought up by Finmeccanica atthe time of writing) and Sagem, but new-comers providing smaller and lighter sta-

been corrected with adequate training toseed the ’this is an aeroplane‘ notion.

Even the smallest aero clubs eitherhave their own weather station or at leasta direct link to one. Meteorology is partand parcel of flight safety. Several com-panies offer ’met‘ kits, like Climatronics,that provide wind, temperature and pres-sure data (see picture herewith).

Turning to drone attitude control, andparticularly those that are flown beyondthe pilot’s range of view, one must notforget that their ’flyability‘ depends on anumber of sensors that not only con-stantly correct the aircraft’s attitude(straight and level) but also altitude. Thisis very important as thermals and down-drafts may not change their attitude orheading but dramatically alter theirheight above the ground without the pilotimmediately noticing the change. Head-ing is now usually provided by satellitenavigation receivers. This is the reasonwhy ground control stations are usuallymanned by a pilot and sensor operator.

One of the major players in the field ofnavigation and control systems is Athena.The company offers a wide range of prod-ucts. One that probably best provides ayardstick to the state of the art is the Gus.This unit packs accelerometers, rate

The Star Safire HD uses a 3-5µm 640 �512 InSb focal plane array to provide atrue resolution of 1280 � 720. It alsopacks a similar resolution colourcamera, laser rangefinder, illuminatorand pointer. (Flir Systems)

An autopilot is a boring to look at asits capabilities are fascinating. ThisAP04 unit is from UAV Navigation(who also supplies to the Red Bull AirRace), and is capable of fullyautomatic takeoff, flight plan followingand landing. (UAV Navigation)

Innosuisse hasdeveloped a pilothelmet calledPeyelot to help theoperator to virtuallyslide into the skin ofa drone. Linked tothe ground controlsystem, the helmetis equipped with adisplay and theonboard camera isslaved to thehelmet’smovements.(Innossuisse)

co-operative wide field-of-view (WFOV)and narrow field-of-view (NFOV). TheWFOV IR is mounted on an internal gim-bal. This scheme significantly enhancesthe operator’s situational awareness byallowing the WFOV IR to be pointed sep-arately from the other four sensors. TheWFOV IR is used to detect potential tar-gets of interest and the NFOV IR with itsimproved range performance is used toidentify, track and designate the targets.The Mep thus supports simultaneousacquisition and tracking in both the wideand narrow fields of view.

Elbit’s Compass IV is now becomingthe company’s optical payload flagship,being installed on the Hermes 450. Thiscarries a third-generation 3-5µm 320 �256 infrared camera, a colour or black-and-white television camera, an eye-safe1.54µm laser rangefinder with minimum

developed to offer maximum capabilityfor drones with limited payload capacity.An Optical Alchemy official explained,«Unfortunately, most gimballed systemsaddress providing the warfighter imageryof the target of interest, but do a poor jobof getting co-ordinates (i.e. locations ofthe target). OAI [Optical Alchemy] pay-loads have been designed from theground up to be provide both imagery ofthe targets (ISR) as well as high accuracytargeting information (Fires support)/(location of targets). This is accomplishedby having the sensor fully geo-referencedwith the ability to slew to co-ordinatesinstantly. This is the big differencebetween existing payloads and OAI pay-loads as well as the fact that we do this in1/10 weight of existing systems». The 2.3-kilo KJ600 carries an 8-12µm infraredsensor, daylight camera and a laser mark-er. The larger 5.9-kilo KJ800 is still at lab-

evision camera and can optionally carry anight camera a laser target illuminator oran eye-safe laser rangefinder.

Sagem has recently released news thatis so fresh that little is known of theEuroflir that the company is developing.Basically the new infrared sensor, destined

and maximum operational ranges of 100and 2000 metres respectively, a diode-pumped 1.064µm, 80 mJ/pulse laser targetdesignator and a night vision-compatibleten-kilometre range laser target illumina-tor which, with all the gimbals and turretput together, tips the scales at 38 kilos.

The Emos from the same companyweighs less than 6.5 kilos but carries an 8-12µm infrared sensor and day colour tel-

The Compass IV isElbit’s top-of-the-range gimballedsensor for droneapplications. Itweighs 38 kilosand is here seenunder a Hermes450 from the samecompany. (Elbit)

Seen here underthe RaytheonexperimentalCobra, the KJ600has also beentested in the SwiftKiller Bee, theArcturus T-16 andthe Snow Goose.(Optical Alchemy)

oratory development stage and adds alaser rangefinder.

Turning to radars, particulary thoseable to provide synthetic aperture, invert-ed synthetic aperture and moving targetindicator modes, recent articles in Arma-da International have extensivelydescribed state-of-the-art systems, partic-ularly from Elbit and General Atomics.Joining the band is now Thales UK withthe 30 km Coastmaster, officiallyannounced in September 2007. The coast-master is targeting a potential require-ment for counter-piracy capabilities as itis, according to Thales UK, suited for thedetection of small and fast-moving tar-gets on land or offshore. a

for the longer-range Mk II version of theSperwer, is to offer a higher resolution.

In total contrast in terms of size andweight, Optical Alchemy’s KJ600 is being

In a sphere of only 12.7 cm CloudCap’s latest offering is the Tase Duo,which houses a Flir Systems Photonsensor and a Sony day camera. It onlyweighs 1060 grams. (Cloud Cap)

Index to AdvertisersAAI 3Armada International 27, 31AV (Aerovironment) 11Climatronics 13Cyber Aerospace 23Elbit Systems C3Honeywell 9IAI 5IndoDefence 2008 25

Matrix Composites 13Meggitt Defence Systems 7MMIST 13Northrop Grumman 29, C2Optical Alchemy 23Raytheon 15–17, C4Tactical Electronics 25Wavecom Elektronik 25

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armada INTERNATIONAL 3/200836

Volume 32, Issue No. 3, June/July 2008

INTERNATIONALis published bi-monthly in Zurich, Switzerland.

Copyright 2008 by Internationale Armada AG,Aeulestrasse 5, LI-9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Head Office: Armada International,Hagenholzstrasse 65, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland.Phone: (+41) 44 308 50 50, Fax:(+41) 44 308 50 55,e-mail: [email protected]; www.armadainternational.com www.armada.chPublisher: Caroline SchweglerPublishing Director: Peter StierlinEditor-in-Chief: Eric H. BiassEditor/Artwork: Johnny KegglerAdministration: Thomas Schneider, Marie-Louise Huber

Regular Contributors: Roy Braybrook, Mark Huntiller,Ian Kemp, Doug Richardson, Thomas Withington

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