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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2599.PDF
rael: UAVs Israel's new G550 fleet will perform SIGINT and AEW missions SURVEILLANCE Gulfstream deal spurs reconnaissance drive Israel Aircraft Industries' (lAI's) deci sion to sell the Galaxy and Astra business jet lines to US company General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace subsidiary has enabled it to place the products more widely. Equally as important for the Israel Defence Force (IDF), the move has enabled the Israeli air force to order a new generation of surveillance/com mand and control aircraft using US foreign military funding credits. Scheduled to achieve initial operat ing capability in late 2005, the new fleet will utilise the Gulfstream G550 airframe and provide services includ ing airborne early warning (AEW) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) more efficiently than the air force's ageing Boeing 707 special mission aircraft. Three G550s will be configured for integrated SIGINT duties with systems provided by lAI's Elta Systems subsidiary, which will also integrate self-protection equipment across the new fleet, believed to include three AEW platforms. The G550 has a maximum operating ceil ing of 51,000ft (15,550m) and a mission endurance of 10-11h before modification, and Elta believes the new platform will be "probably the most advanced signals intelligence aircraft out there". The SIGINT aircraft will have satellite and line-of-sight communica tions equipment, enabling it to send data to the ground for exploitation. However, operators can also be carried to perform this work in the air, enabling the platform to work as an airborne command and control post. Elta president Israel Livnat says: "Mission operators will fade out over time - the payload will be more of a UAV approach." The G550 has already been touted for potential conversion for future unmanned operations. The launch success in Israel is unlikely to be the only sale for the G550- based surveillance capability, with the AEW version now vying for multi-billion- dollar business in South Korea against a Boeing/Northrop Grumman-backed 737- 700 variant. With numerous countries - reportedly including Colombia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - looking for new fleets of surveillance aircraft, IAI and its Elta subsidiary appear well placed to secure new business. IAI still manufactures the aircraft - rebranded as the G100 and G200 - at its facilities bordering Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, with them then flown to Texas for interior fitting and painting. IAI is also working on other surveil lance systems derived from the radar technologies developed for its Phalcon AEW radar and the Green Pine fire-control radar which forms part of the company's Arrow anti-tacti cal ballistic missile system. One example is the developmental Airstar AEW system - a 1,700kg (3,750lb) phased-array radar that will be con tained within a tethered 74m (240ft) aerostat and left for weeks at a time to perform look-down surveillance from an altitude of about 4,000ft. As well as the clear export potential of such a system for IAI and Elta, the impor tance of such surveillance assets to the IDF was underlined last month when Hezbollah penetrated Israeli air space using an Iranian-developed UAV (Flight International, 16-22 November). Rafael's UAV portfolio is restricted to the Skylite, which will support army units CONTINUED FROM P42 ground control station (GCS) on offer to form the basis of the operating system. The Israeli supplier says the lightweight GCS can also be installed in a ground vehicle or sup port helicopter to increase operational mobility. Watchkeeper's success will expand Elbit's European footprint and could lead to follow-on deals with other nations. $10m demonstration To be built in the UK as the Watchkeeper 450, the Hermes 450 also this year took part in a $10 million demonstration for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during operations with the Arizona Border Service. Elbit's US subsidiary EFW provided air vehicles, GCS equipment and operators during sorties totalling almost 480h flown from June 2004. The system was used to block 780 unlawful entries into the USA from Mexico, and thwarted 11 attempts to bring drugs across the bor der. The programme could be extended next year to include patrols along the USA's northern border with Canada. Elbit's chief operating officer Itzhak Dvir says UAV users are demanding larger air vehicles with more payload capacity, increased safety, heavy fuel engines and an automatic take-off and landing capability. Additionally, there is also a need to provide narrowband communications between air vehicles to allow for future operations of unmanned "swarms" of self-organising air craft. Another growth area eyed by Elbit could see current manned aircraft con verted into HALE UAVs, says Dvir. The Israeli air force has embraced UAV capabilities for over 30 years, but the pace of innovation is rapidly changing the way the service operates, says Brig Gen Zeev Snir, head of the air force's materiel directorate. "We are integrating UAVs more and more into operations in a way that you couldn't see five years ago. Demanding combat 44 7-13 DECEMBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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