Unmanned aerial vehicles | UAVs

[Khafee]

Total copy paste of the Predator but who cares as long as it functions properly.

Saudi Arabia Buying and Building Chinese Armed Drones
by Chen Chuanren and Chris Pocock
April 12, 2017

Saudi Arabia has now been confirmed as the customer that has ordered from China a large quantity of the Wing Loong II UCAV that made its first flight on February 27. Chinese state news agency Xinhua said that this is the country’s largest-ever arms export. Media in Saudi Arabia reported that the Kingdom will acquire 300 Chinese UAVs (eg. Wing Loong IIs) worth approximately $10 billion. The Wing Loong (Pterodactyl) series is produced by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG).

Moreover, on March 16 the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology signed a partnership with the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) to establish a manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia for the CH (Cai Hong or Rainbow) series of UCAVs.

The Saudis already operate the turboprop-powered CH-4 UCAV series, but it was not made clear whether this new agreement covers only that type, or also the jet-powered CH-5 that was unveiled at the Zhuhai airshow last November. The Saudi assembly line for the CH series may also supply other countries in the region, such as Qatar. The primary payload for the CH-4 is the AR-1/HJ-10, capable of hitting armored targets at 10 km with its 10 kg warhead.

The Saudis also already operate Wing Loong I UAVs, and are reported to have used both these and CH-4s over Yemen against the Houthi rebels there.

The original deal to supply Wing Loong Is was reached in 2014 when Saudi Crown Prince Salman met Chinese General Wang Guanzhong in China. The Saudis evidently became frustrated at restrictions on the export to the Kingdom of Western-origin UCAVs such as the GA-ASI Predator and Reaper. The U.S. and European countries adhere to the provisions of the Missile Control Technology Regime (MCTR). This voluntary code was established by the G7 countries in 1987 to inhibit the proliferation of missiles that could deliver nuclear weapons. China signed up to the MCTR, but not to its subsequent extension in 1992 to cover long-range UAVs.

These restrictions have led countries including Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates to turn to the Chinese drone manufacturers. Iraq has used the CH-4s for strikes against the occupying Islamic State regime. The Nigerian air force has used Chinese UCAVs against the Boko Haram insurgents in the northeast of that country. The UAE has deployed its CH-4s alongside their Saudi counterparts over Yemen.

Chinese analyst Zhong Jing told Chinese media that the unit cost and flexibility of operating gives Chinese UCAVs an edge over their Western counterparts. The unit cost for a Wing Loong I is reportedly to be less than $1 million, compared to $17 million for a MQ-9 Reaper. She added that the success of the CH-4 laid a good foundation for CASC’s new CH-5.

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-...abia-buying-and-building-chinese-armed-drones

 

[Khafee]

US Air Force to upgrade Reaper drone fleet as the Predator begins retirement
By James LaPorta | Jan. 04, 2018

A remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper operated by the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing flies a routine training mission over Central New York on October 23, 2016. Photo by Master Sgt. Eric Miller/U.S. Air National Guard

Jan. 4 (UPI) -- General Atomics has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force for Block 5 kits for the MQ-9 Reaper, just as the U.S. military begins to phase out the MQ-1 Predator drone.

The contract was announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, tapping General Atomics for Block 5 kits, in addition to other services worth more than $14.1 million under a cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price undefinitized contract action, which is a modification on a previously awarded contract.

The MQ-9 Reaper is a significantly upgraded version of the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, which is primarily used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The drones are also considered one of the primary weapons in U.S. counter terrorism strategy as both the Predator and the Reaper have strike capabilities, usually carrying a payload of AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles.

Block 5 kits for the MQ-9 Reaper increase electrical power and provide secure communications between the Joint Terminal Attack Controller, or forward observer, and the UAV crew made up of a drone pilot and sensor operator, as well as the mission intelligence coordinator.

Additionally, the Block 5 kits substantially upgrade the Reaper's onboard mechanisms, especially concerning power sources for communication and operation. The Block 5 kits have an upgraded electrical system with a backup generator that can support multiple flying conditions.

Still, the greatest advantage the Block 5 Reaper has over the older Reaper models, or even the MQ-1 Predator, is its ability to carry more fuel and a heavier payload, according to General Atomics.

The contract also includes, "extended-range kits, beyond-line-of-sight kits and Barrett Asymmetrical Digital Datalink Computer Routers," which is an advanced technology that provides a higher, continuously-available bandwidth for transmitting digital information.

The higher bandwidth is required to eliminate latency -- the delay that occurs in data being transmitted from the drone -- on transmissions such as full-motion video.

In order for pilots in the United States to see video, data must be sent to satellites orbiting Earth, which then makes its way back down to a transmitter in Germany, then travels through fiber-optic cable extending through western Europe and under the Atlantic Ocean to the United States where it arrives at a base such as Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, where both Predators and Reapers have been piloted from.

The U.S. military has long planned the retirement of the MQ-1 Predator in favor of an all-MQ-9 Reaper fleet. The Air Force explained their reasoning to retire the Predator in February 2017, noting that the more modern MQ-9 Reaper has been better equipped with superior features and operational capabilities.

Work on Block 5 kits for the contract will occur in Poway, Calif, and is expected to be completed by February 2021.

More than $1.1 million will be obligated to General Atomics at the time of award from fiscal 2017 procurement funds, the Pentagon said.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/20...edator-begins-retirement/1351515088687/?nll=1

 

[Lieutenant]

Iraq also operates the Wing Loong but no news of it being involved in the war against ISIS.

 

[Khafee]

Chinese Xiang Long UAV

This UAV features a box/diamond wing design to increase lift while reducing drag and weight. It reportedly weighs 7,500kg and has a range of 7,000km, and a cruising speed of 750km/hr and a cruising altitude of 18,000m / 60,000ft.

 

[Khafee]

Is the Air Force changing its mind on long-endurance drones?
By: Valerie Insinna  
14 hours ago
09 Jan 2018

Aurora Flight Sciences, now a subsidiary of Boeing, will create a certified version of its Orion long-endurance drone. (Aurora)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has been resistant to buy ultrahigh-endurance drones, but a recent $48 million investment in the technology could signify that the service is changing its mind about its requirements, the head of Aurora Flight Sciences said.

On Wednesday, Aurora Flight Sciences announced that the Air Force had awarded it a $48 million contract to create a certified version of its Orion medium altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial system.

The Orion holds the world record for the longest flight performed by a drone. In December 2014, the UAS stayed aloft for more than 80 hours without needing to land or be refueled, but Aurora claims the aircraft’s endurance can stretch even longer: up to 100 hours with payloads weighing more than 1,000 pounds.

Yet Aurora, now a subsidiary of Boeing, has struggled to get the Air Force to adopt the technology. Lt. Gen. Robert Otto, formerly deputy chief of staff of the Air Force for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), said in 2015 that the service didn’t have a requirement for an aircraft with more endurance.

But the status quo may be changing. On Thursday, Otto’s successor, Lt. Gen. VeraLinn “Dash” Jamieson said that the service intends to release an “ISR flight plan” this spring that articulates the Air Force’s technology, systems architecture and manpower requirements from now until 2035.

“What we’re very hopeful is that the flight plan will recognize the need for very long endurance and very affordable ISR,” said John Langford, Aurora’s CEO and founder. “That’s the niche we’re trying to serve.

“We’re not a penetrating aircraft, we’re not a denied access aircraft, but there are huge amounts of geography in many, many places where American citizens, American forces are deployed or engaged around the world. Places like the South China Sea, places like AFRICOM, that are chronically underserved by long dwell ISR. And for a limited amount of dollars and resources, it only makes sense.”

It will take about two years to certify Orion. Should the Air Force then decide to acquire the system, it would be ready for low rate initial production, he said.

Aurora’s past Orion aircraft were experimental prototypes not hardened for battlefield conditions. To obtain a military type certificate, the company will have to prove every part of the plane — including its structures, engine and datalinks — conforms to the service’s standards.

“You or I, from a hundred yards, probably won’t be able to tell a Block 1 Orion from the current one. They are going to look very similar. Probably the biggest change you’ll be able to see is that the tail will be smaller,” Langford said.

“Underneath the skin, all of the engineering is being redone,” he continued. “There will a lot more tests involved with this — structural tests, electronics tests, software development, a lot of work in the cyber security piece of this so that this can plug into the classified networks that it needs to.”

Since its founding in 1989, Aurora has charted major successes creating experimental planes, especially in the realm of unmanned and autonomous aircraft. It’s had a tougher time spinning off those technologies into a product line, Langford acknowledged.

“In the past, Aurora has been — we think of ourselves as very innovative, very focused on our customers,” he said. “But we’re still a 500 or 600 person company … and there are naturally limits to how far any small team can actually push one of these [technology development] programs, turning it into a program of record, a real product, deployed for multiple customers.”

That’s where Boeing comes in.

Boeing finalized its acquisition of Aurora in November, and executives see the relationship as one that provides major benefits for both companies: While Boeing will get to funnel Aurora’s developmental technologies into its massive commercial and defense businesses, Aurora will be able to harness the power of Boeing’s marketing and production arms, Langford said.

For example, Boeing could position the Orion in the international market as a lower-cost alternative to its P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft or — for Poseidon customers like the U.S. Navy — a complimentary capability.

“We see it as being a perfect partner for the P-8,” he said. The P-8 is “full of very sophisticated sensors, including weapons, right? So you could go out and sow a sonobuoy field, for example, and the Orion could follow that field for the next five days instead of the couple hours that the current systems follow a sonobuoy field.”

https://www.defensenews.com/air/201....8.18&utm_term=Editorial - Daily News Roundup

 

[Khafee]

How $650 drones are creating problems in Iraq and Syria
By: Mark Pomerleau  
January 05 2018

Iraqi forces test fly a drone carrying two grenades in Mosul March 14. They aimed to use the drone against Islamic State fighters. ISIS used small drones to drop explosives on advancing Iraqi forces as they battled to retake the rest of the city in October. Now, Iraqi forces have adopted the tactic, equipping their own remote-controlled devices with 40mm grenades.( Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

Top U.S. defense officials have long stressed that the nation’s air superiority is at risk as other countries build rival, state-of-the-art planes. But now U.S. forces face another significant challenge in Iraq and Syria: inexpensive, commercially available drones.

For the first time in nearly 65 years, U.S. ground forces are under attack from enemy aircraft, primarily small quadcopters or drones that cost about $650.

“Our ground forces have not come under attack from enemy aircraft since the Korean War 65 years ago,” the Air Force said in a video presented during an event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Jan. 4.

Notably, groups associated with the Islamic State are using commercial drones outfitted with ordnance.

“They used them when we were closing in on Mosul,” Lt. Gen. Mark Nowland, deputy chief of staff for operations for the Air Force, told a small group of reporters following Thursday’s event. “There were some operations where they dropped essentially a grenade, so it was essentially a piece of artillery that was falling on some forces.”

ISIS flew over 300 drone missions in one month during the battle for Mosul, said Peter Singer, a senior fellow and strategist at the New America Foundation, during a November presentation at the CyCon conference. About one-third of those flights were armed strike missions.

“We take that personally,” Nowland said, regarding these aerial threats posed by ISIS. “We support the ground component.”

The most expensive UAS device available on Amazon costs $22,000, Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, director for defense intelligence within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, said in March. Both the MQ-1 Predator or MQ-9 Reaper cost significantly more than $22,000. Instead, ISIS is purchasing small quadcopters in the $650 range, he said.

Shanahan described this counter-UAS problem as “one of the most important problems facing the commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, more so in Iraq.”

[Counter-drone is the new counter-IED]

Some outside experts and observers have noted that these small commercial systems give groups like ISIS their own mini air force, enabling intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as close-air support. This provides the militant group with a tactical-level air force capability that many states did not even possess 10 years ago.

[In drones, ISIS has its own tactical air force]

In fact, Lt Col. Joe Salinas of Army Special Operations Command said at an October Defense Innovation Board public meeting that U.S. service members returning from Syria are saying they don’t own the airspace under 3,500 feet.

While not characterized necessarily by altitude, Nowland said these systems are characterized by sizes. The larger, higher flying drones lead to clearer air superiority issues, Nowland said, while some of the smaller quadcopter type devices — while still a threat — are approached from the perspective of protecting a base or installation. In other words, defending the immediate airspace above a predetermined perimeter.

Part of the problem defending against these devices, however, is simply finding them, Nowland said. Then, once they’ve been located, what’s the next step?

By teaming with industry and the Air Force Research Laboratory, Nowland said the Air Force is trying to get some capabilities into the field. While some have been deployed, he said more needs to be done.

One approach: fighting drones with drones. The Air Force Research Lab, in conjunction with Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization, is working on a solution in which small drones patrol the skies for enemy devices, deploying a net to capture potentially adversarial drones.

[‘No silver bullet’: Pentagon struggles to defeat drones in cat-and-mouse game]

https://www.defensenews.com/unmanne...ones-are-creating-problems-in-iraq-and-syria/

 

[Khafee]

Naval Group, Airbus collaborate on helicopter drone project
By: Pierre Tran  
12 Jan 2018

France wants a naval UAV ready to enter service around 2025. Shown here is the VSR700 drone system under development by Airbus Helicopters for military clients. (Airbus)

PARIS ― Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters are to launch a technology study for a helicopter drone for the French Navy’s heavily armed ships.

“The Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) signed Dec. 29, 2017, a contract with Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters for a study which prepares for the future capability of tactical drones with a vertical take-off from French Navy ships (the Navy Airborne Drone System),” the DGA procurement office said Jan. 11 in a statement.

A DGA spokesman declined to provide the contract’s value.

The target is to have a demonstrator with mature technology by mid-2021, DGA said. The demonstrator program includes flights from a frigate.

Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters will work with Hélicoptères Guimbal, a small to medium-sized company that builds the two-seat Cabri G2 light helicopter, the DGA said.

Thales as well as Safran Electronics & Defense will also work on the project, drawing on technology and capabilities on fixed-wing drones acquired through research requested by the procurement office since 2005, the DGA said. Other small and medium companies, mostly French, will be involved.

“The contract covers de-risking studies ahead of construction of a future tactical helicopter drone demonstrator aboard warships,” Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters said in a joint statement. The project aims to conduct trials of the airborne vehicle, launch and mission systems, working on a French Navy vessel. Onera, the aerospace research office, is one of the main subcontractors.

Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters will act as the program design authority, the two companies said.

The naval UAV is expected to enter service around 2025 on the FTI intermediate frigate and other French Navy warships.

Airbus Helicopters has developed its VSR700 naval drone based on the Cabri G2, while Naval Group has worked on integrating that unmanned helicopter onto warship systems.

https://www.defensenews.com/industr...12.18&utm_term=Editorial - Daily News Roundup

 

[Khafee]

Boeing Unveils New Unmanned Cargo Air Vehicle Prototype

January 12, 2018

On Jan. 10, 2018, Boeing unveiled a new unmanned electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing cargo air vehicle prototype that will be used to test and evolve Boeing’s autonomy technology for future aerospace vehicles.

It is designed to transport a payload up to 500 pounds for possible future cargo and logistics applications.

“This flying cargo air vehicle represents another major step in our Boeing eVTOL strategy,” said Boeing Chief Technology Officer Greg Hyslop. “We have an opportunity to really change air travel and transport, and we’ll look back on this day as a major step in that journey.”

In less than three months, a team of engineers and technicians across the company designed and built the CAV prototype. It successfully completed initial flight tests at Boeing Research & Technology’s Collaborative Autonomous Systems Laboratory in Missouri.

Boeing researchers will use the prototype as a flying test bed to mature the building blocks of autonomous technology for future applications. Boeing HorizonX, with its partners in Boeing Research & Technology, led the development of the CAV prototype, which complements the eVTOL passenger air vehicle prototype aircraft in development by Aurora Flight Sciences, a company acquired by Boeing late last year.

“Our new CAV prototype builds on Boeing’s existing unmanned systems capabilities and presents new possibilities for autonomous cargo delivery, logistics and other transportation applications,” said Steve Nordlund, Boeing HorizonX vice president. “The safe integration of unmanned aerial systems is vital to unlocking their full potential. Boeing has an unmatched track record, regulatory know-how and systematic approach to deliver solutions that will shape the future of autonomous flight.”

Powered by an environmentally-friendly electric propulsion system, the CAV prototype is outfitted with eight counter rotating blades allowing for vertical flight. It measures 15 feet long (4.57 meters), 18 feet wide (5.49 meters) and 4 feet tall (1.22 meters), and weighs 747 pounds (339 kilograms).

http://www.aerotechnews.com/blog/2018/01/12/boeing-unveils-new-unmanned-cargo-air-vehicle-prototype/

 

[Khafee]

Grumman awarded $173M to support BACN airborne communications system
By Allen Cone
Jan. 16, 2018

The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node is designed to work on RQ-4 Global Hawk drones, pictured, to enhance situational awareness capabilities. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Boitz/U.S. Air Force

Jan. 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded $172 million to Northrop Grumman to manage the payload technology for a battlefield communications system.

This one-year contract, announced Friday by the Department of Defense, provides the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node with payload operation and support.

The BACN system allows ground troops to reach needed support over mountainous terrain with imagery, video, voice and data. The system can also act as a high-altitude relay, including airdrop and airstrike operations.

The system is designed to work with the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system and the BD700 manned aircraft platform, flown by the Air Force as the E-11A. Last September, Grumman received $265 million for support of four BACN E-11A aircraft.

Work on the contract will be conducted in San Diego, Calif., and other overseas locations, with completion expected by Jan. 23, 2019.

A total of $56 million will be obligated from fiscal 2018 overseas contingency operation and maintenance funds at the time of the award.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/20.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=2

 

[Khafee]

Coast Guard to launch small drone competition
20 Jan 2018
By: Valerie Insinna

In this Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017 photo, the ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from the flight deck of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton somewhere in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Boeing-made ScanEagle, was deployed aboard the Stratton for the first time during this three-month mission. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

WASHINGTON — Last year, the Coast Guard netted its third largest drug bust of all time with the help of a small drone. Now, the service wants that kind of ISR capability for all of its national security cutters, and plans to jump start a competition in the coming weeks.

The Coast Guard intends to release a request for proposals within the next three to six weeks for small UAS services, with the award worth no more than $300 million, said Lt. Emma Lutton, a spokeswoman of the service. A contract award is expected sometime during the third quarter of fiscal year 2018.

Although requirements are not yet finalized, the service wants economically-priced air vehicles that can remain airborne for at least twelve hours a day, Lutton told Defense News.

The drone should also have the size, weight and power to operate an electro-optical/infrared sensor, aeronautical transponder, VHF/UHF communications relay and a non-visible infrared marker. The service also wants a UAS system capable of swapping out those payloads with others, including government-provided systems, in under a couple hours, she said.



The Coast Guard has already reaped the benefits of small drones through a couple of recent demonstrations, which have helped it refine its requirements and concept of operations.

Last year the service, operating a Boeing-Insitu ScanEagle aboard the Legend-class cutter Stratton, netted 25 tons of cocaine with a street value of $2.1 billion, said Ron Tremain, the company’s business development executive for civil and maritime industries and a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer.

“We had an actual team that was actively deployed onboard the Coast Guard cutter, and they essentially become part of the ship’s crew,” he said during a Jan. 11 interview at the Surface Navy Association symposium.

The U.S. Navy has operated the ScanEagle aboard its vessels, but Tremain said severe weather conditions and the movement of the Coast Guard cutters proved to be a challenge for the contractors operating the drone. Insitu deployed twice with the Stratton last year, and better weatherized the ScanEagle before the second patrol.

“We were flying in weather conditions that were tropical, torrential squalls, much higher than the contract called for and much higher than the Coast Guard was even expecting, and we’re very proud to say that the plane performed very well,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, Insitu plans to offer ScanEagle for the upcoming competition. However, it will likely face stiff competition from Textron Systems, which will likely put forward a shipboard version of its Aerosonde UAS, a small catapult-launched drone that has been in use by U.S. Special Operations Command and other users.

“We are very interested in reviewing its upcoming Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) RFP and evaluating next steps,” said David Phillips, the company’s vice president of small/medium-endurance unmanned aircraft systems for Textron. “Our Aerosonde SUAS has been executing to an extremely high operational tempo for multiple customers every month in austere environments around the world.”

https://www.defensenews.com/digital...oast-guard-to-launch-small-drone-competition/

 

[Khafee]

Drone Delivery Canada Commences Testing on Raven X1400
22 Jan, 18,

Drone Delivery Canada ‘DDC or the Company’ (TSX.V:FLT OTC:TAKOF), is pleased to announce that it will start testing its Raven X1400 cargo delivery drone in Q1 of 2018.

The Raven X1400 delivery drone is engineered to provide pay load capacities of up to 25lbs and designed to fly approximately 60km. The Raven X1400 boasts a larger payload compared to DDC’s Sparrow X1000 Drone which had its Declaration of Compliance accepted by Transport Canada in December 2017. The addition of the Raven X1400 Delivery Drone is designed to meet the challenging weather conditions of Northern Canada and provide larger payloads should the demand for such be present.

To date, DDC has identified approximately 1000 Northern remote communities in Canada where both the Raven X1400 and Sparrow X1000 delivery payloads would both meet and exceed community requirements in terms of deliver payloads and travel distances.

“We continue to develop our platform to expand our capabilities to meet and exceed client requirements,” commented Tony Di Benedetto, CEO. “While doing so, we now simply just look to integrate our FLYTE Management System into a newer airframe design to expand the fleet.”

The Raven X1400 is fully integrated with the proprietary DDC FLYTE management system. The Raven X1400, unlike the Sparrow X1000, will provide a unique and highly sought after dual payload configuration for both static and tethered deployment. Tethered deployment is a new technology which DDC has been developing over the past twenty-four months which the Company considers revolutionary and quite possibly the future for delivery in urban settings as it is not Drone Spot specific but rather never lands and deploys its payload by tether while hovering above at a height of approximately 100 feet.

DDC will commence testing of the Raven at its in-house testing laborator

http://helihub.com/2018/01/22/drone...+»+Daily+News+Update)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

 

[Khafee]

GENERAL ATOMICS DEMONSTRATES SATCOM-ENABLED UAV LAUNCH AND RECOVERY
Bilal Khan
Jan 23, 2018

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper. Photo source: General Atomics

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) announced that it has successfully demonstrated its satellite communications (SATCOM)-enabled Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) through its MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

In an official press release, General Atomics states that the ATLC will enable MQ-9B users to taxi the MQ-9B through SATCOM directly. This SATCOM-enabled Launch and Recovery Element (LRE) will negate the need for ground-control stations (GCS) to manage UAV LRE (i.e. take-off and landing).

When relying solely on GCS, drone operators will face a range limit set by the earth’s curvature (though it can also include obstructions, such as mountains). SATCOM enables drone users to operate their aircraft at beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) range.

Currently, the GCS would manage the take-off and flight until it must ‘hand-off’ control to SATCOM (and SATCOM would hand-off to the GCS for landing). General Atomics’ system will remove this process.

General Atomics states that the Royal Air Force’s MQ-9Bs – scheduled for delivery in the early 2020s – will be the first drones to incorporate SATCOM LRE. By removing the need for GCS, MQ-9B operations require fewer personnel and a reduced infrastructure presence for forward deployed operations.

“MQ-9B is continuing its momentous development, which now includes SATCOM taxi, takeoff, and landing capability,” said David R. Alexander, General Atomics’ President of Aircraft Systems. “When we partnered with the RAF … we identified SATCOM ATLC and SATCOM taxi as important safety and efficiency features, and we’re proud to have demonstrated it successfully using one of our capital aircraft.”

The MQ-9B is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV capable of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations and deploying guided air-to-surface munitions, such as anti-tank guided missiles. It has a payload of 1,700 kg available through seven external hardpoints.

In addition (or as an alternative) to munitions, the MQ-9B can also be equipped with various sensors, including multi-mode radars, maritime surveillance radars and signals intelligence systems.

The MQ-9B has an endurance of 27 hours (or 35 hours with a range extension kit) and flight ceiling of 45,000 ft, enabling end-users to undertake long-endurance ISR operations over land and at-sea. Countries could use the MQ-9B as a relatively low-cost and low-risk (from a personnel safety standpoint) means for building situational awareness and, in counterinsurgency environments, seeking and neutralizing threats.

https://quwa.org/2018/01/23/general...il&utm_term=0_290f015d1a-d9afeec203-206475549

 

[Lieutenant]

Drone Delivery Canada Commences Testing on Raven X1400
22 Jan, 18,

View attachment 5386
Drone Delivery Canada ‘DDC or the Company’ (TSX.V:FLT OTC:TAKOF), is pleased to announce that it will start testing its Raven X1400 cargo delivery drone in Q1 of 2018.

The Raven X1400 delivery drone is engineered to provide pay load capacities of up to 25lbs and designed to fly approximately 60km. The Raven X1400 boasts a larger payload compared to DDC’s Sparrow X1000 Drone which had its Declaration of Compliance accepted by Transport Canada in December 2017. The addition of the Raven X1400 Delivery Drone is designed to meet the challenging weather conditions of Northern Canada and provide larger payloads should the demand for such be present.

To date, DDC has identified approximately 1000 Northern remote communities in Canada where both the Raven X1400 and Sparrow X1000 delivery payloads would both meet and exceed community requirements in terms of deliver payloads and travel distances.

“We continue to develop our platform to expand our capabilities to meet and exceed client requirements,” commented Tony Di Benedetto, CEO. “While doing so, we now simply just look to integrate our FLYTE Management System into a newer airframe design to expand the fleet.”

The Raven X1400 is fully integrated with the proprietary DDC FLYTE management system. The Raven X1400, unlike the Sparrow X1000, will provide a unique and highly sought after dual payload configuration for both static and tethered deployment. Tethered deployment is a new technology which DDC has been developing over the past twenty-four months which the Company considers revolutionary and quite possibly the future for delivery in urban settings as it is not Drone Spot specific but rather never lands and deploys its payload by tether while hovering above at a height of approximately 100 feet.

DDC will commence testing of the Raven at its in-house testing laborator

http://helihub.com/2018/01/22/drone-delivery-canada-commences-testing-on-raven-x1400/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+HelihubNews+(HeliHub.com+»+Daily+News+Update)&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

I can get it on BestBuy

 

[Khafee]

AVIC TO LAUNCH NEW WING LOONG UAV VARIANT IN 2018
Jan 25, 2018
Bilal Khan

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) will launch a new variant of the Wing Loong-series of medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) – the Wing Loong ID (or I-D).

Reported by China’s state-owned news agency Xinhua on January 25, AVIC subsidiary the Chengdu Aircraft Design & Research Institute (CADI) will conduct the maiden flight of the Wing Loong ID in 2018. The Wing Loong ID will also enter the market by the end of this year.

The Wing Loong ID will be a direct improvement of the Wing Loong I, which first flew in 2007 and has been exported to foreign customers (especially in the Middle East) since at least 2012.

Li Yidong, CADI’s vice chief designer and the chief designer of the Wing Loong series, reportedly said that the Wing Loong ID will be more capable and more affordable than the Wing Loong I. Changes include an increase in flight ceiling, endurance, internal and external payload along with a higher-output engine.

“The Wing Loong ID is the first generation of improved reconnaissance-strike UAS [unmanned aerial system] in China. With other members of the family, it will help enhance the influence of Wing Loong brand in the global military trade market,” said Li Yidong.

Analyst Henri Kenhmann of the East Pendulum website reports, quoting CADI director JI Xiao Guang, that CADI expects the Wing Loong-series to secure €1.9 billion in sales to domestic and overseas clients over the next five years. It also seems that the Wing Loong ID’s airframe will be built from only composites.

Notes & Comments:

Originally designated Pterodactyl, the Wing Loong MALE UAV-series competes with fellow-AVIC subsidiary China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)’s CH-4-series in the market of strike-capable ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) drones. Between the two, AVIC has been able to secure a leading position in the Middle East and Central Asian markets. Saudi Arabia is believed to be among the Wing Loong’s users, though it is unclear if Riyadh is behind the marquee purchase of Wing Long II, the first major iterative variant of the Wing Loong and CADI’s largest overseas drone sales to-date.

AVIC may be intending to have the Wing Loong ID directly supplant the Wing Loong I and to complement the Wing Loong II. In effect, the Wing Loong ID would be the lower-cost alternative to the Wing Loong II. With the Wing Loong ID, AVIC would have a means through which it can aggressively expand its market-share in the market, especially in cost-sensitive markets such as Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa.

It will be interesting to see how other drone makers will respond. The bulk of the U.S. industry’s efforts are focused on supplying aircraft to the U.S. and NATO markets, but Textron is looking to compete in those as well as other markets with the Nightwarden UAV. Likewise, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been marketing its Anka UAV to Middle East and Southeast Asian markets, the latter – especially where Beijing does not notably strong defence relations or customers – could be viable for TAI. Latin America could be a key market which could see genuine competition (which had been lacking in the Middle East and Central Asia due to the U.S.’ refusal to supply armed drones, freeing the space for China). The likes of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina, while relatively cost-sensitive, are still capable of executing large purchases of big-ticket items. This market could be key for AVIC and TAI, especially following the exit of Harpia Sistemas – a joint-venture between Israel’s Elbit and Brazil’s Embraer and Avibras– as an active factor to design, develop and manufacture UAVs in Brazil for this region.

https://quwa.org/2018/01/25/avic-to...il&utm_term=0_290f015d1a-68b5073abc-206475549

 

[Lieutenant]

With the current grown of drone industry the point raised is quite valid.