UNMANNED SYSTEMS UPDATE
Apr 09. Russia has concluded a contract with an Israeli firm for the sale of drones, a defence official said on Friday, in Moscow’s first purchase of military hardware from the Jewish state. “We have concluded a contract with an Israeli firm on supplying Russia with several drones,” Russian Deputy Defence Minister Vladimir Popovkin said after returning from a trip to Israel, quoted by Russian news agencies. The minister did not name the Israeli company, but press reports have identified it as Israel Aerospace Industries and put the value of the deal at $50m (€37m). Negotiations with Israel are likely to have been coloured by tensions over Russian ties with some of the Jewish state’s Middle Eastern adversaries, such as Iran, say analysts. Popovkin on Friday echoed earlier dissatisfaction voiced by Russia’s military with the drones produced by his country’s own defence industry.The purpose of the latest purchase is “for our manufacturers to see what it is we’re talking about,” he said. (Source: Google)
01 Apr 09. The U.S. Army Product Manager for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) and AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) recently conducted a continuous 30-hour demonstration of persistent surveillance of a point target using AV’s RQ-11B Raven® small unmanned aircraft system. The demonstration at Camp Roberts, Calif. followed an inquiry from Pentagon officials regarding the potential for AV’s Raven small UAS to perform low-cost, tactically relevant persistent surveillance. The continuous 30-hour duration represents a prolonged tactical level surveillance mission similar to what would typically be performed at the battalion or lower level. Using one standard production Raven baseline system, which consists of three aircraft and two ground control stations, the demonstration provided continuous surveillance using only two-person crews operating in eight-hour shifts. Employing the autonomous guidance capability incorporated into the Raven small UAS, operators rotated the aircraft over a surveyed point target, a residential building on the base, maintaining unbroken surveillance throughout the demonstration, and reported activity at the target site. In addition to recording the imagery, the demonstration team streamed a live video feed from the operation via webcast throughout the event. Barten said that in a testament to the Raven system’s reliability, over the course of the 30-hour demonstration, 27 sorties were flown with no system failures or mission aborts. The system operated flawlessly, despite the presence of high winds, air turbulence and rain, all while operating out of an unimproved area. In order to maintain continuous surveillance, the Raven system operators rotated the aircraft over the target: one aircraft operating on an alternate control channel would relieve the orbiting aircraft prior to the latter’s rotation back to the launch/ recovery site. The Raven system’s daytime color electro-optical camera and nighttime infrared camera payloads were employed to ensure continuous situational awareness. The Raven system’s operations were conducted in varying weather conditions, including rain and temperatures ranging from low 70’s to mid 40’s (Fahrenheit). The Raven systems used by the Army include three air vehicles, day and night sensors, two ground control stations, a laptop computer with mission planning and recording software and accompanying spares and a battery charger. The 4.2-pound Raven aircraft is powered by lithium-ion batteries. In addition to its Raven system, AV’s small UAS product family includes Puma AE™ and Wasp™, which are also hand-launched and controlled by AV’s hand-held ground control station. Each aircraft in AV’s family of small UAS is interoperable and tailored to address a variety of operational user needs. AV’s UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AV has delivered thousands of small unmanned