04 Feb 10. A small, experimental jet intended to demonstrate a UAV’s ability to operate off aircraft carriers just might see operational action, according to two top U.S. Navy officials. The aircraft is the X-47B, being developed by Northrop Grumman under the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS) program. Roughly $2bn has been added by the Pentagon over the next five years to give the program a major boost. Most of that money, said Rear Adm. Bill Burke, was at the behest of the new Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). “What we think it ought to do is deliver some sort of capability,” Burke, the Navy’s QDR director, told reporters Feb. 4 at the Pentagon. “It would be a real program; it wouldn’t be a demo. We’d like it to be able to deliver kinetic effects or do [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] missions for us.” Burke cautioned that many decisions still lie ahead. The first of two X-47Bs is scheduled to be delivered by Northrop early this year, with the second to follow late in 2010. Carrier-based tests are to begin next year. Unlike other unmanned aerial vehicles, the X-47B – which looks like a miniature B-2 Stealth bomber – is intended as a strike aircraft that can operate from aircraft carrier flight decks. X-aircraft are generally intended as technology demonstrators and not prototypes of operational aircraft, although both contenders for the Joint Strike Fighter
(JSF) program came from the X line. The N-UCAS program has been envisioned as leading to an operational Navy aircraft in about a decade, but the QDR may have spurred an effort to accelerate that timeline. (Source: Defense News)
04 Feb 10. China is promoting exports of a new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the 2010 Singapore Airshow. China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) provided brochures for the first time on the U8E VTOL UAV. CATIC did not exhibit a model or the actual aircraft, but was more than willing to provide new data on a platform that has remained a mystery to many analysts. The U8E is a light multi-role UAV with some impressive specifications:
* Maximum takeoff weight of 220 kg
* Maximum speed of 150km/hour
* Cruise speed of 120 km/h
* Ceiling of 3,500 m
* Range of 150 km
* Maximum Endurance of four hours
* Maximum Payload of 40 kg
“With EO [electro-optical] and multi-function payload, U8E can play a very important role both in civil and military operations. Using U8E is the best solution for surveillance operations and anti-terrorism action,” said a CATIC press release. The aircraft has a helicopter configuration with a wingspan of 3.86 meters, fuselage width of 1 meter, length at 3.738 meters and a height of 1.47 meters. CATIC also showed off a model of ASN-209 tactical UAV system. The 209 is a medium altitude and medium endurance (MAME) multi-role fixed wing aircraft with systems that include a direct line-of-sight (LOS) data link, UAV airborne data relay used for beyond LOS missions and a ground-based data relay for beyond LOS missions. It can be fitted with a synthetic aperture radar, EO payload and multi-function payload. The 209 mission capabilities include a 200 km range, 180 km/h maximum speed, 50 kg payload and a 5,000 meter operational ceiling. Configurations include ground moving target indication (GMTI), electronic intelligence, electronic warfare, ground target designation (GTD) and communications relay. (Source: Defense News)
03 Feb 10. Looking to maximize capacity, the U.S. Army is investigating options to operate its largest unmanned aircraft remotely while still directly supporting ground commanders in combat, according to Army officials. The Air Force already flies its unmanned aerial vehicles remotely, with operators located in the United States controlling unmanned systems flying in Iraq and Afghanistan. Up until now, the Army has insisted that UAV operators need to be in theater to be fully responsive to what is happening on the ground