25 Mar 15. Pakistan’s ‘indigenous’ UAV, missiles may not be as homegrown as claimed. The Pakistan Army announced on 13 March that it had successfully fired the indigenous Barq laser-guided missile from a NESCOM Burraq unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Initial analysis of a video of the missile firings released by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) agency suggests a striking resemblance of the reportedly indigenous Burraq UAV to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) CH-3 UAV. IHS Jane’s reported in 2010 that China was preparing to deliver 20 CH-3s, along with the CASC FT-5 65 kg-class ‘small diameter bomb’, to Pakistan in 2011. Further analysis of the video has shown that not only is the provenance of the UAV questionable, but also that of missile and the validity of the firings. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
26 Mar 15. US operating UAVs in Lebanon. Two Aerosonde Mk 4.7 UAVs are being flown out of the LAF’s Hamat Air Base on the coast, 45 km north of Beirut, the sources said. The area of operational activity is in the northeast corner of the country, a region of arid mountainous terrain that spans the Lebanon-Syria border where militant groups such as the Islamic State and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra are based. “The LAF has been very aggressive in tasking Aerosonde [UAVs] to fly missions,” a diplomatic source told IHS Jane’s on condition of anonymity. Manufactured by the Textron Systems Unmanned Systems, the Aerosonde Mk 4.7 is a small catapult-launched aircraft with a heavy-fuel engine that gives it a longer endurance and reduces its logistical footprint. In 2012, it was selected by SOCOM for its mid-endurance reconnaissance requirement under a three-year contract. The LAF has significantly enhanced its defensive posture in the northeast since August 2014, when a combined force of some 700 militants overran the Sunni-populated town of Arsal near the Syrian border. The militants withdrew to the mountains after five days of fighting, taking with them a large quantity of looted weapons and ammunition, and more than 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen as hostages. Four of the hostages have since been executed, some were freed, and 25 are still being held. On 26 February, the LAF successfully mounted an operation to take over three mountain tops near the village of Ras Baalbek that had been used by suspected Islamic State militants to ambush LAF patrols. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/IHS Jane’s)
27 Mar 15. nEUron Flight Tests Move to Italy. Testing of the pan-European nEUron unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator is due to move to Italy following the completion of French testing of the aircraft. Following 100 test flights by Dassault Aviation in France, during which the sensor, data-link and stealth characteristics of the demonstrator were tested, responsibility for the six-nation nEUron aircraft will be transferred to Alenia Aermacchi ahead of a follow-up test phase by Saab in Sweden. All French tests were authorised by DGA, Paris’s defence procurement agency, and demonstrated “exemplary” availability and reliability throughout, Dassault says. The first phase of tests involved the opening of nEUron’s flight envelope – including opening the weapon bay door – as well as electro-optical sensor and data-link performance validation. During a second phase, “most flights were dedicated to infrared and electromagnetic signature/detection confrontations against operational systems”, Dassault says, adding that all “produced all the expected results”. “This success demonstrates Dassault Aviation’s know-how in strategic technologies and prime contractorship, as well as its ability to lead programmes involving European co-operation,” the company adds. Dassault is also involved in the Anglo-French Future Combat Air System (FCAS) effort that will see it and UK-based BAE Systems collaborate to design a UCAV air vehicle under a contract from the French and British governments. A two-year feasibility study