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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0404.PDF
KJ V Israel Aircraft Industries' Heron medium altitude endurance UAV is a leading contender in several international competitions to be decided this year potential military and civil applications, with a wide variety of tactical air vehicle designs unveiled over the past two years, primarily led by the Xian Northwest Polytechnic University, and the Beijing and Nanjing Universities of Aero nautics and Astronautics. US assessments suggest that, while China sees great potential for UAVs as an element of future military operations, its experience to date remains limited by both air vehicle capability and an underdeveloped command and control (C2) infrastructure. The same assessments also sug gest that, while China would probably prefer to purchase proven systems on the international market, its leadership may have determined that national interests require indigenous develop ment, albeit with foreign assistance. Pushing military limits While operational deployment of military UAVs is expected to be commonplace by 2 010, technol ogy development will continue throughout the decade. This will include new approaches to the air vehicle itself and the critical issues of C2, vehi cle autonomy, artificial intelligence, sensor capa bilities and information extraction. A parallel trend is already evident in the increasingly blurred definition of what consti tutes a UAV, particularly in relation to guided weapons. This is likely to have a significant influ ence on warfighting concepts, particularly deep battlefield engagements. Convergence of UAV technologies with guid ed weapons is being driven both by interest in the development of common airframes for use either as a sensor platform or warhead delivery system, and by the integration of UAV-like capabilities into weapons to provide greater operational flex ibility. An example of the latter is the equipping of mortar shells with a sensor and datalink rather than warhead, with a parachute to slow the round so that adequate imagery can be obtained. Interest is also increasing in the use of new weapons technologies in UAV design from the outset. Examples include air vehicle control using fibre-optic links similar to that used on the EADS Polyphem medium-range battlefield missile. This could facilitate development of submarine- launched and -controlled UAVs. In the longer term, the evolution of cruise mis sile target-identification software algorithms, better air vehicle on-board processing capability and the introduction of artificial intelligence capabilities all have the potential to offer signifi cantly improved air vehicle autonomy in both tactical and endurance roles. u THINKING FOR THEMSELVES From an operational perspective, the convergence of guided weapon and unmanned air vehicle technology is reflected in new ideas for deep battlefield surveillance and strike, particularly emerging concepts for "co-operative weapons" and "hunting pack" operations. US think tank RAND is working on a concept based on "flocks" of small, low-cost air vehicles similarto the US Air Force's Lockheed Martin LOCAAS mini-missile, each carrying sufficient sensors to detect each other and monitor their environment. Air vehicles would communicate with each other through short-range datalink, while simple algorithms based on models of birds in flight or ants foraging would govern co operative behaviour as the flock seeks out targets. RAND suggests laser radar (LADAR) as the primary sensor, with the flockcombining to cover far larger search areas than possible with a sin gle air vehicle. Some vehicles would carry unitary penetrator warheads while others would be equipped with submunition dispensers. A scout variant would have a morecapable sensor and communications suite to enable reactive operations and provide co-ordination capabilities to tackle more complex targets. While the capability of each individual weapon would be limited, by working co-operatively, larger targets could be attacked with greater precision than possible using a single- strike system such as a large cruise missile. The UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) is working on a concept with close parallels to the RAND approach, but which seeks to apply behaviour patterns modelled on larger mammals such as lions. This includes the ability to evolve the engagement strategy as the oper ation progresses. Theconcept proposes common air vehicles supporting a range of dif ferent warhead types, butalso a variety of sensors ratherthan a common system as in the RAND concept. Co-ordination would again be provided by short-range links, but with the addition of sophisticated distributed processing capabilities. This would enable thecreation of detailed pictures of a targetarea, the selection of target sets, the development of engagement strategies and mission execution, all autonomously — or semi-autonomous if human input is required. This higher order approach could allow strikes by a single weapon ratherthan a multitude as required with RAND's idea. DERA researchers also suggest their approach could result in the planned stimulation of a target response. For example, if a group of weapons was attacking a mobile land vehicle beneath a forest canopy, one weapon might be used to induce the targetto manoeuvre so as to make it vulnerable to a second hidden from sight. Both models of co-operative behaviour may also have application in more traditional UAV roles. BAE Systems, for example, is developing a system for autonomous navigation over relatively unknown terrain by building up detailed maps as multiple UAVs fly co-operatively over the area. The system will be given its first demonstration laterthisyear using small UAVs developed by the University of Sydney, Australia. 2" A FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT 30 January - 5 February 2001
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