| Major General Kenneth R. Israel, USAF, Director, Defence Airborne Reconnaissance Office |
The advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) for high-altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (HAE UAVs) has two candidate systems, the highly capable and moderately survivable Tier II+ UAV, called Global Hawk, and the highly survivable and moderately capable Tier III- UAV system, called DarkStar.
The contract for phase II (development and flight test) of Global Hawk was awarded in May 1995 to Teledyne-Ryan Aeronautical of San Diego, CA. Since then several integrated product-team reviews have been held as progress is made towards system roll out. Teledyne-Ryan completed fabrication of Global Hawk air vehicle#1 in August 1996 that is undergoing ground-vibration testing at full gross weight with active flight controls in preparation for its first flight in 1997. A/V#2 fuselage buildup is in progress.
| Predator, a medium altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle flying over California |
Global Hawk will have an operation radius of 3,000nm and can loiter for 24 hours at that distance. It will have a cruise speed of 345 knots and fly at an altitude of 65,000 feet. To fulfil its long-range, long-dwell mission, it will have an electro-optical (EO) imagery sensor, an infrared (IR) imagery sensor and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor with ground moving target indicator (MTI) capability. It will be capable of covering up to 40,000nm2 or 1,900 spot images per sortie.
Rollout of the DarkStar air vehicle (A/V#1) at Lockheed's Skunk Works was in June 1995. Its first flight in March 1995 was successful, but A/V#1 crashed on its second flight take-off in April 1996. A/V#2 continued with scheduled hard-stand testing, pending completion of a mishap investigation board and development of a plan of action to analyse the cause of the mishap and to implement any changes to other A/Vs. Depending on final resolution by Congress, an additional $39.5 million may be available in fiscal year (FY) 1997 to buy a new vehicle and incorporate required fixes.
Initial analysis shows the mishap traceable to limitations in modelling and simulation of the air vehicle. Engineering changes made between the two flights depended on modelling and simulation as the key tools to determine what adjustments to make and to verify their effectiveness. Because of inherent constraints in software simulations, takeoff instability was not adequately predicted. Some software may need correction before the next vehicle flies. A system design review considered all design, modelling and simulation and will verify procedural changes required for safety of flight. The next flight date is May-June 1997.
DarkStar can carry an EO or SAR sensor and provide critical imagery of highly defended target areas. Its operational radius will be in excess of 500nm, endurance greater than eight hours covering 14,000nm2 and flying at an altitude greater than 45,000ft.
| Lockheed U-2R operations can be complemented by a UAV in the same orbit |
Very successful. A demonstration in June 1996 with Predator and the USS Chicago, a Los Angeles-class submarine, exceeded all expectations. Predator took off from a land-based ground-control station on San Clemente island off the Californian coast. Control of the air vehicle and its sensors was with USS Chicago, the first time a submarine has controlled a UAV.
The demonstration involved finding and eliminating a simulated enemy missile before it could be used against the US. Predator had to find it and pass the information to special operations forces (SOF) who would destroy it. There were sceptics but the US Navy accepted the challenge and agreed to the demonstration. The missile was under cover three or four times and each time it was moved Predator watched and was able to identify exactly where it was concealed and pass co-ordinates to the SOF team. SOF landed at night using the co-ordinates, visually confirmed the missile's location and went into hiding at dawn. The missile was moved again but Predator told the SOF team its new location and it was destroyed. The team fulfilled its objective because Predator supplied real-time information. Circling the target, Predator assessed the damage using infrared sensors and passed its imagery back to the submarine. This was relayed to the SOF team who returned home.
There are three stages of marinisation as defined by the navy; first, obtain information from the sensors (receipt of imagery); second, add control of the air vehicle to sensor information, and third, be able to take off and land the vehicle as well as control it and its sensors. The navy successfully demonstrated the first two stages. The first was accomplished in a composite training-unit exercise (COMPTUEX) aboard carrier USS Carl Vinson in December 1995 when Predator imagery was received, but this was controlled from a land-based ground station. The second stage was demonstrated aboard the USS Chicago in June 1996. A study was completed to determine feasibility of launching and recovering Predator from large deck, air operations-capable ships and associated costs.
DARO is working toward a balanced mix of overhead and air-breathing manned and unmanned reconnaissance systems. I believe that when UAVs go into production we will see a surge of support for their unique capabilities, but in the short term I predict a status quo on funding. We have adequate funding to get a good start on high-altitude endurance and on tactical UAV systems. Programmes will have to justify increased funding on their own merit. Experience with Predator in Bosnia in support of NATO implementation forces (IFOR) indicates that if a system has military utility, adequate funding will follow.
| Tier 3 DarkStar unveiled at Dryden Research Center, 1995 |
ACTD programmes are designed to place improved military capabilities rapidly into the hands of warfighters. ACTDs that are not standard acquisition programmes are driven by the military user and his perceived critical war-fighting needs. During the course of the ACTD new technology is presented to the user who will use it to develop and refine doctrine, tactics and a concept of operations. At the conclusion of an ACTD, there are three possible outcomes: first, the programme may be terminated or restructured; second, the programme, based largely on the recommendation of the user, may enter the formal acquisition process at the appropriate stage; or three, there may be a direct transition of the capability to the user without further acquisition.
| ES-3A (Shadow) aircraft flying over a US carrier |
Structuring the Predator UAV as an ACTD allowed warfighters to obtain and evaluate rapidly an airborne reconnaissance capability almost off the shelf without entering a cumbersome formal acquisition programme. By applying lessons learned from the Predator ACTD, further efficiencies in the process will be obtained for the tactical UAV programme. By focusing up front, the ACTD manager can see areas that could be impediments to entering the formal acquisition process. These include provisions for training, testing, supportability and other logistics areas.
| An RC-135 (Rivet Joint) aircraft on take-off |
UAVs cannot be considered in isolation but within the context of all reconnaissance assets on the battlefield, including those of our partners. Also we have to look at manned reconnaissance and overhead systems. In future there will be many commercial satellites available that could provide one-metre resolution capability. It is important to have interfaces to access those if required, to be flexible and make sure that available architecture can bring together disparate pieces of information to form a database. We are attempting to broaden appreciation for the way in which UAVs fit into a reconnaissance role, of their complementary nature, rather than of any isolated or exclusive role. in the near term UAVs will fill a niche. In peace-monitoring rather than fighting roles UAVs will need additional capabilities to help reconcile problems peacefully.
Most reconnaissance missions are boring, a U-2 pilot in a space-suit in a very tight cockpit at 65,000ft for up to 10 hours could be complemented by a UAV that can stay in a similar orbit for 24 to 30 hours producing the same kind of bandwidth, the same kind of sensors, looking at three-foot search and one-foot spot, EO or SAR imagery. Manned reconnaissance could be reserved for missions where additional flexibility not programmable into an automatic flight plan might be needed.
Another example involves Joint STARS in action in a secluded spot. Predator could look it over from all angles to ascertain the situation, the kind of peaceful positive utilisation and synergy possible between a manned and an unmanned aircraft. Predator's video is fed into a ground station module at 30 frames a second to provide a dynamic, three-dimensional, real-time look at a battlefield. UAVs can help lift the fog of war by removing the uncertainty associated with detection and characterisation, providing the ability to correlate and identify targets or activities with positive control.
The army and air force have different concepts of operations for UAVs because they have different roles and missions. DARO's standpoint is to develop the family of UAVs, endurance and tactical, to accommodate the requirements of both services. Generally, endurance UAVs will fulfil airforce missions and tactical UAVs will provide support for an army ground commander. The Predator, classified as a medium altitude endurance UAV, could bridge the gap and provide support to both services. The tactical ACTD is structured to support the tactical ground commander closest to a battle.
The Predator deployment to Bosnia is an over-whelming success. The CINC has recognised it as an excellent source of real-time intelligence. It is especially useful in providing targeting information against small, mobile ground targets. Its military utility was best summed up by Lieutenant General Ryan, former Commander AIRSOUTH when he stated "If the peace process works, I want Predator back to monitor strategic targets. If the peace process fails I want Predator back for tactical targeting support." There are no plans to deploy Hunter to Bosnia.
| A P-3C over the coastline of Maine |
I expect significant civilian use of UAVs once airspace control issues are solved. DARO has been at the forefront of integrating UAVs into controlled airspace. During Roving Sands, because of DARO and defense evaluation support activity (DESA) efforts, Predator was the first UAV to fly in controlled airspace within the US without a chase plan. There will be air-traffic-control problems in certain areas but UAVs eventually will be used in controlled air-space. Oil and gas pipeline surveillance would be a natural application, as would air sampling or scientific investigation in remote or isolated areas, law enforcement and border patrol applications. Similarly, I can foresee the use of a Tier II+ type system for recurrent scientific investigation or for communications relay. I do not expect UAVs and manned aircraft will share the same airport environment or airspace in the near term, but remote operations or launch of high-altitude UAVs from restricted airports with specified climb-and-descent air corridors is within reason.
We do not need technological breakthroughs to build a satisfactory air vehicle but that is not to say we have a family of satisfactory air vehicles. The blend of autonomous operation, command and control, and the software packages that manage and oversee the entire flight regime need lots of work.
Most development work will be required in the sensor arena. Small, light sensor packages for synthetic aperture radar, multi- and hyper-spectral packages, cross-cueing, sensors, on-board processing, automatic target recognition algorithms, and connectivity and inter-operability issues lead my list. The DARO technology programme plan outlines in detail where to invest research dollars. Research and development on basic physics issues of high-altitude flight such as low-power and low-heat generating sensors, communications and processors is required as well as heat-rejection capabilities and efficient heavy fuel or other engines for long endurance.
The air force is taking a healthy wait-and-see attitude while taking necessary steps to acquire the systems when they work out. There is some concern that UAVs will take the place of piloted aircraft with attendant loss of jobs, but most realise that UAVs offer a potentially cost-effective and complementary solution to a difficult and dangerous mission set. As such, the air force endorses the programme while waiting for the systems prove themselves. The US Air Force Chief of Staff, General Ronald Fogleman established the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Nellis AFB, NA, in June 1995 to operate Endurance UAVs. The air force's aeronautical systems center established a system program office in September 1995 to manage both HAE UAV programmes. General Fogleman said: "The bottom line is that the US Air Force will embrace UAVs and work to exploit their potential fully on my watch. We are committed to making UAVs successful contributors to our nation's joint warfighting capability."
The medium altitude endurance (MAE) UAV, known as Predator, was deployed in March 1996 to support IFOR operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H). Predator supports US European command (USEUCOM) and information to date indicates it is doing an excellent job. The controversy surrounding the issue of weapons within 12 miles of Sarajevo ended immediately Predator began monitoring the area.
The deployed Predator system consists of three air vehicles, a ground-control station, a communications support system and ground support equipment. Predator has an EO/IR and a SAR sensor aboard the air vehicle that is optimised for 15,000ft mean sea level operations, but can operate from 3,000ft to 25,000ft. The SAR sensor is used to look through cloud cover to observe ground activity. The communications link from the air vehicle to the ground-control station is via Ku-band satellite link, permitting over-the-horizon operations of the Predator that is capable of operating through-out the area from the ground-control station. SAR is provided as still-frame imagery to users. Predator's initial operations detachment consisted of representatives from all four services. On September 3, 1996 they handed over to the air force as lead service for Predator operations and maintenance.
The weather in Bosnia is extremely poor even on a good day so Predator systems have been equipped with ice mitigation systems such as pitot heat, modified engine inlets and icing sensors. Research on wing antiicing systems continues. The first air vehicle with weeping wings began operations in November 1996. The vehicle releases glycol through hundreds of tiny holes in the wings whenever it senses an icy buildup.
In addition to Predator the Pioneer tactical UAV has been deployed to the area in support of task force Eagle. Typically, Pioneer is operated from navy ships offshore. This makes it difficult for it to support task force Eagle because of range limitations so a marine corps Pioneer UAV unit also was deployed to a tactical airfield near Tuzla but had to be pulled out because it could not operate in adverse weather.
| An EP-3E (Aries II) at work over the US |
In general operators require a UAV that gives high picture quality, especially when monitoring zones of separation; the ability to remain on station for extended periods of time and survey a broad area; and the ability to operate in adverse weather.
The lessons learned during the Predator ACTD are being applied to ensure that the generation of UAVs supplied to the services will come as close as possible to meeting their needs for a flexible, adverse-weather, airborne reconnaissance capability.
The defense advanced research projects agency (DARPA) has said the objective of the micro UAV effort is to enable controlled flight of extremely small air vehicles and to develop micro UAVs capable of performing military missions at an affordable cost by maturing the most promising candidates. Micro UAVs may support military missions in urban combat and provide enhanced capabilities for small unit operations and even for individual soldiers. Their future will depend on how quickly the technology matures.
The micro air vehicle is an intriguing idea, but little has been done other than to assess its feasibility. The technology necessary to enable such flight is only now emerging. Designs that can capture the range of desired attributes, including speed, endurance, covertness, agility and hover, are yet to be developed. The operational potential for very small air vehicles is significant, especially for reconnaissance applications in confined regions such as urban canyons or inside buildings and for missions in support of small-unit operations. The operational implications have yet to be explored.
When these systems have been developed they will be a perfect candidate for the ACTD idea. There are three outcomes to the ACTD. First, if you approve the basic concept, you can buy a few of the systems to assess military utility; the second allows the purchase of many systems if you are sure of the operational pay off; and the third, if you don't like the answer because of limited utility or technological immaturity, you put the programme on the shelf. There is no pre-supposition that just because you've begun an ACTD that you have also made a major procurement commitment. That is the flexibility inherent in the ACTD concept. In addition to the military utility question, a micro air vehicle will have to meet affordability tests. Cost must be regarded as a significant variable from the start. There is no reason to begin a programme at the ACTD level unless the resulting system can be obtained at an affordable cost for the missions it would satisfy.
| The unmistakable shape of the Lockheed U-2R silhouetted against a magnificent sunset |
The fleet of 35 U-2s is in excellent shape. The first 19 re-engined U-2s have been delivered, and the remaining aircraft will be re-engined by the end of FY '98. The new engines will ensure reliability, maintainability, and support-ability and improve performance and combat capability. Also Congress has provided additional funds to accelerate the development of a new U-2 defensive suite. The US Air Force is evaluating selections to meet this critical need. Sensor upgrades will allow the U-2 to continue to keep up with emerging threats and increase their direct support of warfighters. In June, 1996 the ASARS 2 improvement program (AIP) went on contract and on completion in FY 00, 12 ASARS 2 sensors will be available for operations with improved broad-area search capability, enhanced-image quality for target identification and damage assessment, an MTI capability, and geolocation accuracy sufficient to support targeting PGMs. In October 1996, the U-2 assumed the MTI mission in Korea by replacing the retiring OV-1 Mohawk and complementing the army's airborne reconnaissance low (ARL) system. By the end of FY 99 the senior year electro-optical reconnaissance system (SYERS) sensor will be upgraded with a multi-spectral imagery (MSI) that will enhance its ability to collect against exigent targets. The U-2 can fly reconnaissance sorties overseas and relay its data back to the CONUS via secure commercial or government communications for exploitation and then disseminate the information back to deployed forces in seconds. For example, U-2s based in Istres, France, relay imagery and electronic intelligence information from the Balkans through a mobile stretch (MOBSTR) system in Italy to a contingency air-borne reconnaissance system (CARS) at Beale AFB, CA. This data is quickly exploited and disseminated back to users in the theatre electronically, illustrating improved flexible response capabilities of U-2s in support of changing warfighter requirements.
The continued high demand for RC-135 rivet joint (RJ) support for regional contingencies and peacekeeping operations has prompted the purchase of RJ 15 and 16 in FY 1997 and FY 1998 to allow more flexible and responsive electronic intelligence support. The air force continues to standardise the fleet's electronic capability at the Baseline 6 Complete configuration. In 1995 Congress provided funds to begin re-engining rivet joint aircraft and the air force is working non-recurring engineering development efforts to bring this about.
The navy's EP-3E airborne reconnaissance integrated electronic system II (Aries II) is receiving communications upgrades as part of the sensor system improvement programme (SSIP). The first EP-3E received this modification in September at Raytheon-owned Chrysler Texas Airborne Systems in Waco, TX. Development and operational testing (DT/OT) of the SSIP- configured EP-3E began in October at NAS Patuxent River, MD, with completion estimated in March 1997. A large component of SSIP is communications upgrades including satellite, link 11, tactical intelligence broadcast system (TIBS), and a receive-only capability in the army tactical reconnaissance intelligence exchange system. The EP-3E also will receive new workstations and have 24 of its receivers replaced. This will enable Aries II to exploit future threats by improving joint connectivity and communications inter-operability. Three EP-3E aircraft will receive SSIP modification as testing progresses and the remaining eight will be modified pending completion of DT/OT.
During September, the tenth of 12 EP-3E Aries II conversion-in-lieu-of-procurement (CILOP) aircraft was completed at NADEP Jacksonville, FL and delivered to Chrysler Texas Airborne Systems for SSIP upgrading. Aries II aircraft have newer airframes and improved SIGINT systems than does the Aries I aircraft. Aircraft #11 will be completed in January 1997 and aircraft #12 by April 1997. The EP-3E supports all warfare areas and naval expeditionary, littoral, and joint tactical intelligence requirements.
Wind-tunnel testing on the high-band proto-type (HBP) pod was conducted at Texas A&M University in July 1996. Preliminary results show acceptable aerodynamic performance, placing the effort on track for flight authorisation. This is scheduled to be accomplished on a P-3C aircraft in the first quarter of FY '97 and installed on the EP-3E with the antenna array in the third quarter of FY '97. A pod allows optimum location of the array, a key element in obtaining precision angle of arrival information for automatic geolocation. The EP-3E was selected as the lead platform for proof of concept of the joint airborne SIGINT architecture, integrating the high-band prototype as an initial capability of joint SIGINT avionics family (JSAF).
A $3.3m contract to upgrade the Windjammer fusion engine was awarded to GTE on August 9, 1996. This engine is one of three non-developmental item (NDI) subsystems of the EP-3E's story book tactical signals exploitation system. It provides the critical fusion function without which the story-book operator could be overwhelmed in a dense signal environment. Windjammer is able to fuse together rapidly and efficiently the diverse data streams received simultaneously from multiple-signal sources into a cohesive tactical picture.
This upgrade incorporates additional signal types for exploitation and provides a software re-programming capability. When combined with the Raytheon/E Systems Greenville EPR-208 upgrade effort, signal additions will be accomplished through software upgrades and will be common with air force processors. This will provide rapid reaction to changes in the signal environment.
The battle group passive horizon extension system (BGPHES) and common high bandwidth data link (CHBDL) reached milestone III on July 1 and August 12 respectively. Procurement began in November 1996 and the systems will increase greatly the reconnaissance capability of carrier-based ES-3A Shadow aircraft.
The test ship, USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), will deploy with BGPHES and CHBDL in April 1997. The first production installation will begin with USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) in third quarter 1998. BGPHES also will work with air force U-2s, providing lines of bearing and intelligence on emitters of interest. This information will be provided to TACINTEL via JMCIS. BGPHES is similar to the USAF CARS programme and will be installed on 27 ships, all CV, CVN, LHD, LHA, AGF and LCC. CHBDL is a member of the common data link family of products. It has three data rates, 10.72, 137 and 274 MBIT/sec, and will be able to work with any CDL compliant system such as UAV, U-2, Guardrail and ES-3A. The CHBDL has worked with the U-2 during operations with USS John F. Kennedy during February 1996.
| F-16 EO image taken over Bosnia from external pod using prototype theater airborne reconnaissance system |
The US Navy has begun a study to address the operational need to initiate a follow-on aircraft to replace S-3/ES-3 and E-2/C-2 type series. The aircraft is known as the common support aircraft (CSA). High-resource investments are achieving diminishing returns and dictate that a phased-in 2010 IOC be targeted so that deployed battle-group operations may be sustained through 2015 as the S-3/ES-3 type reaches the end of its service life. The S-3B Viking, built to hunt submarines, is the primary tanking asset for carrier-based aircraft. The ES-3A Shadow, a variant of the S-3 airframe, is the navy's only carried-based SIGINT platform. Both aircraft will end their service lives by 2015. The E-2C Hawkeye is still in production and provides long-range early warning to the battle group. The C-2 Greyhound provides logistics support. All of these four aircraft are the most heavily tasked assets in the carrier air wing.
| Predator electro-optical image taken over Bosnia with spot-mode inserts |
The US Air Force operational SR-71 programme has been consolidated at Edwards AFB, CA as a detachment of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing that is located at Beale AFB, CA. The detachment consists of two SR-71A operational aircraft and an SR-71B trainer that is shared with NASA. The SR-71 programme has been funded by Congress for $39 million in FY '97. The air force estimated an SR-71 operational capability available for deployment in mid December 1996. A data-link capability has been added to the SR-71 that gives the aircraft the capability to downlink line-of-sight (LOS) ASARS 1 data to a ground station for processing, exploitation and dissemination. This was not available when the aircraft was retired in 1990.
The air force tactical reconnaissance pod programme consists of four reconnaissance pods, F-16C Block 30 aircraft modified to carry the pods, and a single ground/surface system operated by the 192d Fighter Group of the Virginia Air National Guard located in Richmond, VA. The present pod is configured with a single sensor, the Recon Optical CA-260 electro-optical framing camera (a KS-87 framing camera with an EO backplane). 192d has deployed to Aviano, Italy, to support Bosnian operations.
| Predator infrared image taken over Bosnia with spot-mode inserts |
On September 27, 1996 the air force awarded Lockheed Martin Tactical Systems a contract valued at $20.2m to procure the theater air-borne reconnaissance system (TARS), a podded electro-optical (EO) sensor system for under-the-weather, medium-to-high threat daytime imagery collection on air national guard block 30 F-16C aircraft. The contractor will design, build, integrate and test one TARS sensor pod and one squadron ground station (SGS), and produce concurrently 15 additional sensor pods and three SGSs. The pod will consist of a commercial Hasselblad framing camera modified with a 16 megapixel focal plane array, environmental control system and pod by Per Udsen, electronic warfare management system interfaces by Terma, wideband tape recorder by Ampex, and reconnaissance management system and SGS by Computing Devices-Hastings. The pod also will include provisions for future integration of the navy/marine production EO sensor in the pod's mid-bay and a wideband data link. Starting 12 months after contract award TARS will be fielded at Selfridge ANG Base, MI; Terra Haute ANG, IN; Andrews AFB, MD; Sioux City, IA; and Richmond ANG, VA. Each ANG base will receive four sensor pods and one SGS. The contract also includes options to retrofit or replace the four interim pods and SGS located at the Richmond ANG.
| Predator synthetic aperture radar image taken over Bosnia |
