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25 Jan 24. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) conducted the first flight of the Gray Eagle 25M (GE-25M) Unmanned Aircraft System at its El Mirage, Calif. flight facility on Dec. 5, 2023. The first flight marks a significant milestone in the Gray Eagle modernization program as the U.S. Army continues to develop the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)-capable GE-25Ms for U.S. Army active duty and National Guard units. The flight follows the award of an undefinitized contract on Dec. 1, 2023, not to exceed $389 m for the Gray Eagle 25M Production Representative Test Aircraft. The GE-25M is expected to be in service for the Army into the 2050’s.
The first flight of Gray Eagle 25M focused on flight critical operations, including the testing of the improved flight computer boasting 5X more processing capacity and 80X more data storage (with 10X more RAM) for increased computing power that enables processing at the edge, as well as meeting the demand for increased automation and autonomy. The flight tested the aircraft’s new HFE 2.0 engine and power generation systems. Designed in cooperation with Project Manager Endurance Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (PM EUAS), the new engine, gearbox, and generator design decreases major maintenance actions and virtually eliminates the need for overhaul.
“In an MDO environment, Soldiers need the aircraft to operate with increased reliability along with reduced manning and equipment, which is why GE-25M significantly reduces the maintenance required on the aircraft,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander.
GE-25M’s more powerful generators combined with advanced avionics enable the aircraft to function as a Multi-Domain Operations ‘truck’ with the ability to utilize a variety of advanced multi-intelligence sensors, launched effects, and electronic warfare pods.
GA-ASI is teamed with PM EUAS to deliver a government-owned, government-controlled open architecture that will enable plug and play capabilities, ensuring the platform can adapt to changing threats in the future. GE-25M incorporates open architecture aircraft and ground systems, advanced datalinks, and an upgraded propulsion system, significantly enhancing the ability to add new capabilities, provide resilience to electronic threats, and deliver expeditionary employment to austere locations.
25 Jan 24. RoK Starts Production of ‘Korean Reaper’ Surveillance Drone. South Korea has begun production of medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (MUAVs) to enhance the military’s surveillance over North Korea, the state-run procurement agency said Thursday.
In December, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a 471.7bn-won (US$353.6m) deal with Korean Air, South Korea’s biggest airline, along with two defense firms, LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Systems, to manufacture advanced spy drones by 2028.
The state-run Agency for Defense Development initiated the MUAV project in 2008 and completed its development in 2022.
The surveillance aircraft is capable of flying at an altitude of 10-12 kilometers and capturing high-resolution images from distances exceeding 100 kilometers. It measures 13 m in length and 3 m in height, and has a wingspan of 25 m. The unmanned aerial vehicle can be used for surveillance, reconnaissance and offensive operations.
The MUAV will be equipped with weapons such as the Cheongeom, domestically produced anti-tank missiles. The vehicle is also expected to exceed the capacity of the American MQ-9 Reaper in some ways.
Its 1,200-horsepower turboprop engine exceeds that of the Reaper’s 900-horsepower engine, and the MUAV’s operation time is 24 hours, longer than the Reaper’s 14 hours. This means the MUAV can carry heavier armaments than the Reaper and operate in the air longer.
South Korea’s path to producing the MUAV has been rocky. Initial discussions occurred in 2006 during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and development began in 2008. However, the project was dropped temporarily after the government signed a deal in 2011 to adopt the Global Hawk, a high-altitude unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, from the United States.
The Korean government then announced the MUAVs would be completed by October 2017, only to postpone it to December 2018, citing problems in the data link transmissions.
Other issues concerning different parts of the vehicle continued to disrupt the development plan until March 2022, when the MUAV was announced to have met all the relevant defense equipment standards. (Source: UAS VISION/Yonhap News Agency)
25 Jan 24. Edge Group unveils new autonomous platforms. Edge Group unveiled three new autonomous platforms on the opening day of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX) 2024 show held in Abu Dhabi from 23 to 25 January.
In a statement issued on 23 January Edge Group said that the latest platforms are purpose-built to operate in demanding environments, covering tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), as well as logistics support. The three new platforms include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and two unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
For the air systems, the GY300 logistics autogyro, capable of transporting a 300 kg payload up to a range of 400 km, was unveiled. It is characterised as a cost-effective solution for transporting cargo. The GY300 is designed for short take-off and landing (STOL) on unprepared and rough terrain. (Source: Janes)
24 Jan 24. RoK Introduces Small Stealth Drones into Service.
On Wednesday, January 17th, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea announced that after completion of development phase and flight tests, new small unmanned aerial vehicles with low observable technology (stealth) were introduced into service in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and deployed in Gangwon Province.
On December 26th, 2022, five North Korean drones violated South Korean airspace, and the response of the ROK Armed Forces was insufficient. Therefore, one of the main priorities of the South Korean Ministry of Defense in 2023 was the creating of the Drone Operations Command and the development of unmanned aerial vehicles to respond to threats from North Korea.
In particular, because South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the development of unmanned aerial vehicles with low observable technology in early 2023, and the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) indicated them as a key task for research and development work and was able to accelerate their development.
ADD has been independently researching low observable technology since 1999, and therefore relatively quickly began developing in 2023 small UAVs with a wingspan of less than 3 m, and the Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) research institute was selected as the contractor. The Institute is currently developing an unmanned combat loyal wingman, Kaori-X, for cooperation with the new generation KAI KF-21 Boramae multi-role aircraft, the program of which was revealed on December 23rd, 2021.
The small stealth unmanned aerial vehicle was publicly unveiled for the first time during the South Korean Armed Forces Day military parade on September 26th, 2023, and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that development had been completed following a successful test flight in November.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces will use small stealth unmanned aerial vehicles and continue to strengthen its operational capabilities in this class of systems by promoting the development and mass production of new aircraft, both as loitering munitions and for operations in the so-called swarms. (Source: UAS VISION/MilMag)
22 Jan 24. South Korean official touts fledgling drone command as global model. Nations eager to bolster their military drone chops should look to South Korea, where officials recently centralized the discipline’s various functions under a single command, the chief of South Korea’s Drone Operations Command said.
“Before our Drone Operations Command was established, each branch of our armed forces had their own individual drone units,” Maj. Gen. Lee Bo-hyung said during a panel on the occasion of the UMEX conference here on Jan 22.
“However, since every branch has their own area of responsibility, when it came to operational and strategic deployments, there were some limits as to how we conducted our missions,” he added.
The Drone Operations Command was officially established in September in the wake of North Korea’s drone intrusion on Dec. 26, 2022, which included the entry of one enemy system into a no-fly zone near the presidential office in Seoul.
The South Korean military at the time earned much criticism for having failed to intercept and shoot down the drones. Following the incident, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to rapidly boost the country’s drone-related capabilities and readiness.
Bo-hyung said that one of the quickest and most effective moves to that end was creating a joint unit that could dedicate itself entirely to specific drone operations, both defensive and offensive.
“Since North Korea is significantly increasing their military capabilities, including nuclear threats, it is important for our Joint Chiefs of Staff to have a reliable, joint unit that can conduct these types of missions,” he said.
“We aim to have an operational and strategic balance at the command, we conduct reconnaissance as well as strike, electronic warfare and psychological warfare operations,” the official added.
The unit is based in Pocheon, near the inter-Korean border, and falls under the control of the Ministry of National Defense and JCS chairman. It is the first joint combat unit to be composed of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, per a Korea Times report that quoted a previous military statement.
In line with the new command’s doctrine, all missions must now include mobile counter-drone capabilities for detecting and classifying enemy unmanned aircraft. The unit also has been tasked with standardizing the education curriculum of the country’s different military branches, and setting safety standards about the deployment of forces, Bo-hyung said.
“A great number of countries around the world are interested in deploying their drone forces as early as possible, so we suggest that they can look at our case as an example and could create something similar,” Bo-hyung said.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s drone-focused reorganization comes against the backdrop of an increasingly stance by the regime in Pyongyang.
According to the state news agency KCNA, leader Kim Jong Un said the regime would boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 and abandon the objective of reunification with South Korea, instead designating Seoul as an enemy.
(Source: C4ISR & Networks)
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