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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 2833.PDF
UNMANNED SYSTEMS ROTORCRAFT PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC USA maps UCAR development Tough technological and cost hurdles to be overcome, with final demonstrator selection set for February 2004 The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Army have mapped out the transition of the Unmanned Com bat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) from concept demonstration to develop ment of an operational system. But the programme must clear a series of technological and cost hurdles over the next eight years. "We're a little luckier than the air force UCAV [unmanned air combat vehicle] in that they ended up with a nicely executed pro gramme, but without the commit ment and money up front. We've the commitment and resources up front to take the programme to a point where we can transition into acquisition, and we've started it with the expectation of developing a system that will go into acquisi tion," says Don Woodbury, DARPA UCAR programme manager. While the USAF/DARPA X-45 UCAV will mature to an operational system by 2008, the lack of a transi tion plan for the US Navy/DARPA UCAV-N programme has effectively stalled that demonstration. The army is committed to spend ing $500 million on UCAR - five times the current UCAV-N flight demonstration budget - maturing the rotorcraft to the start of system development and demonstration. Woodbury says the UCAR must first overcome four techno logical challenges - survivability; being capable of operating autono mously at low level below 500ft (150m); ability to collaborate with other manned and unmanned air borne assets; and being able to identify targets at range. The verti cal take-off and landing vehicle must also be affordable, with a planned $4-8 million unit cost, or 20-40% that of the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. DARPA and the army plan to reduce the four competitors in the initial concept design and trade-off phase to two by the end of May, Spain's air force is beginning to consider its unmanned air vehicle (UAV) needs but will not be able to proceed with a procurement for four to six years. Meanwhile the navy requires new aerial targets. Gen Eduardo Zamarripa, deputy director of INTA, Spain's aerospace technology institute, says the air force is considering procuring a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV for reconnaissance, laser des ignation, combat search and res cue, and radio and datalink relay. But he adds: "We cannot have this system before 2006, unless a special need suddenly emerges or later if it transpires that other equipment has a priority." Zamarripa says that "in later phases" the missions would be extended. Tentative plans call for the UAV to operate above 20,000ft (6,100m), fly autonomously for at least 24h, carry a minimum 200kg (4401b) payload, be interoperable and not require the recruitment of more pilots/operators. Lt Cdr Jesus Manso of the Spanish navy says the service is more interested in replacing unmanned target vehicles (UTVs) 2003. There will follow nine months of preliminary design before final selection of a single demonstrator in February 2004. The first of two planned UCAR-A vehicles will fly in early 2006, when the army will decide whether to proceed to the final phase of matur ing a missionised B demonstrator. Boeing, Lockheed Martin with Bell, Northrop Grumman, and Sikorsky teamed with Raytheon are competing. "We're not measuring what they have done against the notion of what they should have done. We're instead taking a con cept and assessing its operational value," says Woodbury. used to simulate missiles or aircraft. The navy uses Northrop Grumman's Chukar 111 which flies at 280-540kt (520-l,000km/h) for 20-80min at l,000-40,000ft. It can carry internal or external payloads, a miss-distance indicator, a passive radar augmenter and flares. Manso says the navy has lost a number of these "expensive" tar gets in the past year and is consid ering acquiring a cheaper UTV. The targets are required to test the navy's next generation F101 frigate "so we will not have a requirement until 2004 or so". Manso says the navy is support ing UTV development by Madrid- based Sistemas de Control Remoto. Its Scrab 1 costs about €10,000 ($9,800) in its cheapest version, and is launched using a bungee and recovered by parachute. • NATO members are poised to rat ify a standardisation agreement covering the interoperability of UAVs. STANAG 4586 includes the specification for a common ground station which, when implemented, will allow the easier collation and dissemination of information gath ered by nationally operated UAVs. COAST GUARD Deepwater system deal nears Lockheed Martin expects to sign a contract within a year for the vertical take-off and landing unmanned air vehicle (VUAV) element of the US Coast Guard's (USCG) $11 billion Deepwater re-equipment programme. The company is also signalling a potential expansion of the UAV requirement to support emerging homeland defence missions. The Deepwater requirement encompasses 69 VUAVs, with Bell's Eagle Eye tiltrotor UAV included in the Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) package selected earlier this year (Flight International, 2-9 July). ICGS is a 50:50 Lockheed Martin/Northrop Grumman'venture. However, the Northrop Grumman RQ-8A Fire Scout is being re examined after an overhaul of US homeland security arrangements. The VUAV will be a key sensor for the coast guard's new cutters, which are due to enter service from 2006. Atul Patel, Lockheed Martin Deepwater technical director, says this means selection of a UAV and contract negotiation must happen within the next 12 months. Patel says the first round of Deepwater validation studies, which include examination of UAV and manned aircraft requirements, is due to be finished within two months, and presented to the USCG in December. He says homeland security needs have called for the examination of the proposed range of VUAV roles, as the "mission is always changing". The Fire Scout is being re-examined for homeland security needs take-off PROCUREMENT CHRISTINA MACKENZIE / SEVILLE Spanish air force mulls reconnaissance needs www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 24-30 SEPTEMBER 2002 21
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