Sponsored by The British Robotics Seed Fund
http: www.britbots.com/fund
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01 Feb 24. Biden administration moves forward on India drone sale. The U.S. State Department on Thursday approved a nearly $4bn drone sale to India, a deal that emerged during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last year.
Congress has received the notification for India’s pending purchase of 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian aircraft made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. The notification triggers a 30-day congressional review period on Capitol Hill.
“The U.S.-India defense partnership has seen significant growth over the past decade,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said a press briefing on Wednesday, noting the sale “offers significant potential to further advance strategic technology cooperation with India and military cooperation in the region.”
The Biden administration has sought to court India as part of its efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region while prying it away from Russia, New Delhi’s leading arms supplier. India also seeks to develop its own indigenous defense-industrial base. A December Congressional Research Service report noted that India is the world’s largest arms importer by value.
In addition to the drone sale, Modi’s visit to Washington in June resulted in a spate of other agreements, such as a deal between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to jointly produce fighter jet engines.
Micron Technology, an American semiconductor firm, also pledged to spend upward of $2.75bn on construction of an assembly and test facility in India. In addition, the U.S. and India kick-started negotiations for a reciprocal defense procurement arrangement to coordinate the exchange and development of military technology.
In May 2022, the two countries launched the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology to enhance cooperation in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors. (Source: Defense News)
01 Feb 24. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) successfully demonstrated an inflight release of its Advanced Air-Launched Effects (A2LE) platform, releasing an A2LE from the internal weapons bay of a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger® Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The demonstration took place on Nov. 28, 2023, over Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, capping a manufacturing, structural test, and flight demonstration.
GA-ASI’s design and engineering team partnered with Divergent Technologies, Inc. for the A2LE vehicle design and build, matching GA-ASI’s aircraft design expertise with the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS™) to support rapid, low-cost manufacturing of the demonstration vehicle.
“This demonstration was a crucial first step in demonstrating GA-ASI’s ability to rapidly develop, manufacture, and test a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) in a controlled, low-risk approach,” said Mike Atwood, vice president of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI. “A2LE demonstrates the coupling of GA-ASI’s pedigreed aircraft design capabilities with Divergent’s DAPS, paving the way for continued maturation of affordable, modular SUAS platforms that can be tailored to meet warfighter needs at a fraction of the cost and lead time of currently fielded systems.”
The demonstration vehicle airframe was 100 percent additively manufactured and was designed to meet the captive carriage and ejection loads of the jet-powered aircraft with internal weapons bays. The topology-optimized AM structure was validated via proof and pit ejection testing prior to the flight demonstration. The demonstration highlighted the design efficiencies that can be realized when AM is incorporated early in the design process and throughout the vehicle. It was also a key step in validating the AM process and material properties for incorporation in future systems to be employed by both manned and unmanned platforms.
GA-ASI’s A2LE platform builds on its extensive experience in developing SUAS. It provides a low-risk, low-cost, tailorable solution that bring affordable mass to the warfighter, with modular payload provisions to meet the requirements of current and future mission objectives. A network of A2LEs could create a persistent, expansive grid for surveillance, attack, enemy air defense suppression, or communication pathways, supporting and elevating capabilities of current and future manned or unmanned platforms.
01 Feb 24. CH-7 stealth UAV ready by year’s end, says Chinese state media. The People’s Republic of China’s CH-7 stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is scheduled to finish development by the end of this year, according to state media.
The sleek CH-7 UAV has already completed final testing with maturation of its prototype and strength in its airframe structural design, according to newspaper Global Times (GT), a subsidiary of the People’s Daily (Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party).
Testing has verified outstanding performance in the flying wing configuration aircraft combined with a high level of stealth and long-range capability, according to statements provided to GT from drone developer Aerospace CH UAV.
CH series drone chief engineer Shi Wen, speaking to GT at Airshow China 2022, said the aircraft has been further developed from previous models.
The new CH-7 has a 26-meter wingspan, four metres longer than the original version, and a service ceiling of 15 kilometres (compared to the original version’s 10–13 kilometres), he said.
Shi said the finalised CH-7 is expected to fly higher and stay longer in the mission zone for continuous reconnaissance, surveillance and detecting of hostile targets. Its stealthy design will effectively shorten enemy radar detection ranges
In addition, it will have a maximum take-off weight of 10 tonnes for large missiles and other guided weapons to strike high-value targets, he said.
The aircraft has previously been shown at Airshow China 2018 in Southern China, as well as a redesigned version at Airshow China 2022. The CH-7 is expected to make an appearance later this year at Airshow China 2024 from 12 to 17 November in Zhuhai later this year.
The OE Data Integration Network (ODIN), a resource collection used by the US Army, lists the CH-7 (Chang Hong 7 or Rainbow 7) as a stealthy flying wing UCAV similar to the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
“The CH-7 can intercept radar electronic signals, and simultaneously detect, verify and monitor high-value targets, such as hostile command stations, missile launch sites and naval vessels,” the online report said.
“It can carry antiradiation missiles and stand-off weapons.
“Chinese media stated that the CH-7 is designed to ‘detect and destroy hostile strategic targets’ with other reports suggesting that the two rear landing gear bays also serve as internal payload bays for electronic warfare systems, guided bombs, and various air-to-surface missiles.”
Earlier this week, concerns were raised about Australia’s own development of unmanned aerial vehicles and loitering munition drones.
Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite, speaking to ABC Radio on 30 January, refuted claims that drone development for the Australian Defence Force is years off service deployment and will leave the ADF significantly outgunned in the event of a conflict.
“The Australian Defence Force is investing in new drone technology and I’ve seen that firsthand. The Ghost Bat program is a partnership between Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force,” he said.
“We’re manufacturing that capacity in Melbourne; it’s creating jobs for Australians and it has a fantastic export capacity. That’s an uncrewed aerial vehicle that has the capacity to carry artillery payloads.
“The government is investing in Ghost Shark, which is an underwater uncrewed vehicle capacity. As well as companies like Sypaq, again based in Melbourne, that are supplying cardboard drones to the Ukrainian military as we speak. So, this drone capacity, in the Australian context, is being developed.
“I’ve seen firsthand the technology that’s being developed by the Australian Defence Force in partnership with Australian industry, creating high tech, high skilled jobs for Australians with an export potential.
“And I’ve got to say, I’m pretty impressed with the technology that’s being developed here in Australia and the government’s comfortable with the investments that the Defence Force is making in what would be important technology into the future.” (Source: Defence Connect)
01 Feb 24. Korean Air begins producing reconnaissance drone for South’s military. Three South Korean companies have started mass producing a medium-altitude reconnaissance drone for the country’s Air Force.
The government’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the work Jan. 25 amid efforts to bolster surveillance of North Korea.
The government inked the procurement deal Dec. 21 with prime contractor Korean Air Aerospace Division, plus subsystem partners LIG Nex1 and Hanwha Systems. According to DAPA, the 471.7 bn won (U.S. $353.6 m) contract will see Korean Air “sequentially deliver” an undisclosed quantity of unmanned aircraft to the South Korean Air Force. Delivery is expected to continue into 2028.
Korean Air refers to this aircraft as the KUS-FS, whereas DAPA calls it a medium-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle.
According to specifications released by the original equipment manufacturer, the platform has a 25-meter (82-foot) wingspan and length of 13 meters (43 feet). A Korean Air engineer told Defense News at the Seoul ADEX trade show in October that the aircraft’s endurance exceeds 30 hours. A Hanwha Aerospace-made 1,200-horsepower turboprop engine offers a cruise speed of approximately 190 knots (219 mph).
Equipped with satellite communications technology as well as Ku-band and ultra-high frequency-band line-of-sight data links, operators can control the drone from either a fixed-site ground control station or a trailer-mounted, 40-foot container for greater mobility.
The aircraft includes a LIG Nex1 X-band synthetic aperture radar, and can perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; signals intelligence missions; and communications relay in midair.
Four underwing hardpoints are visible on the prototype, indicating the unarmed drone may evolve into a combat-capable UAV.
DAPA said in a news release that the platform is South Korea’s first domestically developed strategic UAV. “It is expected that the Korean military’s independent surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities will advance dramatically in the future,” the agency stated, given the drone can perform real-time monitoring of neighboring North Korea.
Work on this project began 16 years ago under the aegis of the Agency for Defense Development. The UAV’s maiden flight occurred in 2012, with a Korean Air official telling Defense News that it has since undergone “hundreds of test flights.” Testing was supposed to wrap up in 2019, but the schedule was delayed several years to ensure the drone’s reliablility before it entered service, the representative explained.
Development concluded in March 2022, at which time it was determined to be suitable for operations. Governmental approval to proceed with production was subsequently granted last August.
“We expect that the mass production project for the MUAV will improve our military’s surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, and contribute to the increase in defense industry exports in the future,” Kim Tae-gon, director of DAPA’s advanced technology division, said in the agency’s release.
Indeed, the drone’s export potential is important to the government, although DAPA suggested other national agencies will eventually operate modified variants, specifically the Korea Forest Service for monitoring fires and the Korea Coast Guard. However, an industry source told Defense News that such agencies do not have enough money to buy and operate such sophisticated systems. (Source: Defense News)
26 Jan 24. Innovation Composites Aerospace Group showcases Sea Ghost maritime attack USV. The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) Innovation Composites Aerospace Group showcased the Sea Ghost maritime attack unmanned surface vessel (USV) at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX) 2024 show held in Abu Dhabi from 23 to 25 January.
Speaking to Janes on 24 January, Christoph Jung, project manager at Innovation Composites Aerospace Group, said the Sea Ghost is an advanced USV with configurable attack capabilities. It can be customised in multiple weapon configurations to suit the requirement of the user, Jung added.
“The drone is constructed with high-quality stealth materials such as graphene, which is lightweight and helps the drone to withstand the corrosive effects of saltwater, making it durable for extended deployments at sea while maintaining its radio absorbing capability,” Jung said. (Source: Janes)
29 Jan 24. Textron’s Aerosonde UAS soars from Littoral Combat Ship. The unmanned aircraft takes flight on the USS Savannah, expanding capabilities for naval operations. Textron Systems Corporation achieves a milestone as the Aerosonde uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) embarks on its inaugural mission from the LCS-28 USS Savannah, ushering in maritime support and versatility.
Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, announces the successful operational deployment of its Aerosonde UAS from the first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the USS Savannah.
Nurettin Sevi, aerospace and defence analyst at GlobalData, emphasises the importance of UAVs in extending naval capabilities. Using unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) is becoming standard for global navies, offering operational versatility in land and naval domains. UAVs are rapidly proliferating in the maritime domain, becoming a cost-effective intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission tool.
The Aerosonde UAS, initially contracted for Freedom and Independence Class LCS variants by the US Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command Center, is a UAS aimed at redefining naval operations. Beyond routine support, the UAS is set to play a role in forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence, providing overwatch and extended intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services with advanced payloads.
Wayne Prender, senior vice president of air systems, highlights the significance of combining uncrewed aircraft systems with crewed ships. “Teaming an uncrewed aircraft system with a crewed ship is a force multiplier for the ship’s existing mission sets, which we’ve seen with our Aerosonde UAS operating from DDG and ESB–class ships. The expansion of the Aerosonde system’s services onto the LCS extends the capability of the various mission packages employed by the ship.”
Other Aerosonde UAS developments include Textron Systems, which initiated the first operational flights of its Aerosonde UAS for the Nigerian Army, marking the introduction of the “first UAS capability of its kind” in Nigeria. Textron Systems Corporation announced the debut maritime flight of its Aerosonde UAS aboard the USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), following a contract awarded by the US Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command in October 2022.
The Aerosonde UAS, a drone with multi-mission capability, is equipped with diverse payload configurations with vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing options. This integration into the LCS reinforces Textron’s commitment to adaptability in naval operations.
Textron is a leading military UAV manufacturer and has registered more than one m hours of flight in a wide range of hostile environments worldwide, according to GlobalData’s intelligence on drones for maritime operations.
As the Aerosonde UAS takes flight aboard the USS Savannah, it signals a shift in maritime technology, offering the US Navy enhanced flexibility and a platform for future missions.
(Source: naval-technology.com)
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