Les Drones Militaires

[tchpako]

EADS-BAE Talks May Spur European Drone Development
By Reuters

September 14, 2012

A merger between EADS and Britain’s BAE Systems could strengthen European efforts to develop unmanned ariel drones, after competition between the two firms allowed the United States and Israel to dominate a growing market.

The attacks on the United States of Sept. 11, 2001 ended official scepticism over the value of drones and Airbus maker EADS has spent years and around 500 million euros ($645 million) working on the Talarion drone in the hope of an order from the project’s instigators France, Germany and Spain.

But then France’s Dassault Aviation and Britain’s BAE Systems stepped up plans for their own drone under a Franco-British defence pact signed in 2010, provoking anger and frustration from EADS.

Earlier this year, EADS threw in the towel because it failed to win firm commitments, and the project has been further hampered by a major shake-up at defence unit Cassidian that has included replacing its chief executive.

However, the efforts by Dassault and BAE to build their own drone so far do not seem to have borne much fruit either, with French Defence Minister Jean-Yves le Drian saying this week he had “major reservations” about the plan.

A combination with BAE would give EADS an opportunity to avoid losing more ground in drones, which are becoming more common in areas such as border control, especially in the United States, disaster investigation and protecting oil pipelines.

U.S. forces have become reliant on them for reconnaissance, including in Iraq, and to kill Islamist militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite public outcries over civilian casualties.

Merger talks between BAE and EADS were unveiled late on Wednesday, but it will take months to get any new company structure in place should a deal go through.

Research funding remains an issue too. Years-long talk of developing a European drone has so far failed to produce a finished product, as national governments hesitate to commit to such a project.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 496048.xml

[dil@w]

selon Boeing le marché mondial de drones va diminuer de 20% après 2014

un analyste de Boeing (Christopher Chadwick) a estimé a 20% la réduction du marché de drones après 2014 correspondant au retrait américain du théâtre afghan. la question n'est pas que cela signifiera un mouvement retour vers les appareils classiques (avions hélicos) mais que les deux théâtres d’opération Irak et Afghanistan ont offert aux experts US une occasion de tester plusieurs drones et de d'identifier les besoins et de cerner donc les modèles de drones dont ils ont besoin, d'ailleurs en plus de l'US Air Force, l'US Army, la Navy et le corps des Marines constituent et développent leurs propres flotte de drones.
d'autres analystes parlent même de drones d'attaque électronique, notre analyste doute de ce concept pour le moment prenant pour exemple la Navy qui vient de passer difficilement, après une décennie persuasion, du Prowler (1 pilote + 3 officiers de guerre électronique) au Growler (1+ 1 officier de guerre électronique) les responsables de la Navy estimant que particulièrement un appareil de guerre électronique a encore besoin à bord de la présence d'un officier de guerre électronique.

traduction par mes soins
http://bit.ly/UflNRi

[tchpako]

Denel Dynamics UAVS a profitable business in a fast growing industry



Written by defenceWeb Tuesday, 18 September 2012 08:35
altThe unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) market is highly competitive, yet Denel Dynamics has been able to make this arm of the Denel Group a profitable one. The company expects its new products, the Hungwe small UAV and the Seeker 400 armed surveillance UAV, to further consolidate its position as Africa’s only supplier of short, medium to long range tactical UAVs.

Tsepo Monaheng, Deputy CEO of Denel Dynamics, told defenceWeb that the unmanned aerial systems market is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. “It’s a profitable business,” Monaheng said, adding that he was happy with the financial performance of the Denel arm. Although happy with the entity’s short-term performance, he would like to see more orders. These may arise duringthe Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition at Air Force Base Waterkloof this week, where Denel Dynamics will have its entire product range on display.

One of the company’s products that is expected to generate a lot of interest is its Seeker 400. This UAV has been developed by Denel and funded from the company’s balance sheet – approximately R140 million has been invested in the project.

The Seeker 400 has an endurance of 16 hours and can be armed with two Mokopa air-to-surface missiles. It is able to carry two payloads at the same time, including electro-optical/infrared and radar. Future upgrades will include satellite communications, and sense-and-avoid capability in order to obtain civil aviation certification.

Development is expected to conclude at the end of the current financial year (ending March 31) and first flight is expected for late November 2012. The model’s maiden flight was projected to occur earlier in the year, but was delayed due to finalisation of the certification requirements and contracting thereof. It will be designed to military standards as phase one, and will achieve civil certification during the second phase. Monaheng said that the Seeker 400 has received its certification contract and the project is running at full steam. Delivery of the first production system is expected at the end of 2013.

Denel Dynamics is executing a production contract for the launch customer and has also attracted strong interest from two potential clients. “There’s huge interest coming through” regarding the Seeker 400, Monaheng said.

He told defenceWeb that the Seeker 400 differentiates itself from other products on the market through designed in reliability inherited from the Seeker II success, military certification, lifetime support and Denel’s reputation and experience in producing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs). He noted that Seeker II customers have expressed satisfaction with their systems. “Our clients tell us our systems are designed such that they can be operated reliably by clients without company support for very long periods of time,” Monaheng said. This means that information the Seeker gathers remains confidential to the user.

“The capability of carrying precision-guided munitions makes the system ideal for asymmetric warfare, peace support, homeland security, combating piracy and strategic national assets protection. There is a constant drive in such operations to limit collateral damage through the use of precision weapons and advanced targeting payloads,” said Monaheng. “The world is rapidly moving to armed surveillance UAVs,” added Jan Wessels, CEO of Denel Dynamics. An armed UAV can be used to strike a target after patrolling for hours, instead of sending out a second aircraft with weapons once a target has been located.

Monaheng anticipates most demand for the Seeker 400 as coming from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America. “If the Seeker II is not the best tactical UAS in the world, it is one of the best,” Monaheng said, due to the aircraft’s ability to withstand hot, dusty conditions. Africa is not a big market due to affordability – a Seeker 400 system (a system typically comprises three aircraft, three payloads and a ground station) costs approximately R210 million, while a Seeker II system costs R150 million and Denel Dynamics’ latest small UAV, the Hungwe, costs around R5 million.

In order to focus on the low cost and civil UAV market segments, Denel Dynamics UAVS is developing the Hungwe small UAV, with funding from its own product development budget. This has a 6-hour endurance and a direct line of sight range of 100 km. The system’s service ceiling is up to 10 000 ft and it will have a 5 kg mission payload (fuel excluded), with a piloted and autonomous flight capability. First flight of the Hungwe occurred three weeks ago.

Mobility and portability is a prerequisite and the Hungwe’s ground control station will be quick to setup, easy to use, and compact enough to transport in the back of a commercial light utility vehicle. The aircraft is fitted with a day or night payload, and communications link on board the aircraft enables real-time communication up to 100 km from base. The system will consist of two air vehicles, one ground control station, two payloads, a launcher and field support equipment.

Denel Dynamics believes there is a large market for the Hungwe as it fills a low-cost market niche. Monaheng noted that in the military, the most important consideration regarding UASs is reliability while in the civil domain it is cost. There is huge demand from South East Asia for the Hungwe and Denel Dynamics is in discussion with an international client regarding joint development. Monaheng estimated demand for the Hungwe to be five times that of the Seeker II. At worst, production would be three systems per year. Denel Dynamics plans to deliver the first system in the first half of next year.

Locally the police force would benefit from the Hungwe, as until now, available unmanned systems have been unaffordable for non-defence applications. When it comes to the serious issue of anti-poaching, Denel said the UAV would be particularly relevant to South Africa’s current fight against rhino poachers. “We’d love to engage the police and the paramilitary environment,” Monaheng said, adding that he was looking forward to seeing if Denel can optimise solutions for those markets. “Unmanned aerial systems are valuable assets for the police,” he noted. Wessels said that the Hungwe could be used locally by Transnet, Telkom and other organisations for things like copper cable theft prevention.

Monaheng said the Hungwe is aiming to take a sizeable chunk of the civil UAV market, but Denel Dynamics will be able to properly test the market once the aircraft is in production. “Our indications are that it’s going to be a very good business for Denel going forward.”

Denel Dynamics has upgraded the venerable Seeker II with a more powerful aero-engine, more capable avionics, an automatic takeoff and landing system and a laser designator to create the Seeker II+. The mobile and self-contained system is capable of operating from semi-prepared gravel runways and has a range of more than 250 km with a 10 hour endurance. Denel Dynamics is investigating the possibility of carrying the Impi missile on the Seeker II, but the main focus is on arming the Seeker 400 with the Mokopa.

One of the important changes on the Seeker II+ is a vastly increased time between servicing – the improved model can fly 200 hours between servicing versus 75 hours for the Seeker II.

Apart from surveillance UAVs, Denel Dynamics also produces the Skua high-speed target drone, which has been used to test the company’s missiles, notably the A-Darter. The South African Air Force used Skua in the run up to the 2010 Soccer World Cup for security preparation of the Gripen fighter aircraft. The system was used by the SA navy as the target in a vertical launch of a Denel Dynamics Umkhonto surface-to-air missile from a navy vessel. The Skua has also been used by other international clients, including Brazil, which is co-developing the A-Darter.

Monaheng said that Denel Dynamics is investigating the possibility of an upgraded and improved Skua. A decision on possible investment will be made next year, based on market size.

Denel said that the South African UAV industry aims to capture in excess of 20% of the market for UAVs in emerging markets. “We are ideally positioned to collaborate with certain developing countries, offering first world expertise in UAV and missile capabilities,” said Monaheng.

He added that Denel Dynamics has been engaging BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries regarding UAVs but rather than buying off the shelf systems, these countries are more interested in jointly developing unmanned aerial systems with South Africa.

As the market is growing, it is attracting a lot of new entrants. In order to cope with competition, Denel Dynamics is aiming to leverage its long reputation in the business as well as provide reliable, upgradeable and complete solutions. One of its most important assets is its ability to integrate systems – Denel Dynamics and Carl Zeiss Optronics provide a range of sensors and weaponry for UAVs and are all located in the same area. “That gives us a competitive edge,” Monaheng said. “UAVS, as a part of the Denel business, has the potential to become an important revenue generator in the group. The challenge is to take products to the market.” Denel Dynamics has the full support of the government and other stakeholders and is talking to the South African National Defence Force, which would like to acquire UAVs.

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?o ... Itemid=107

[tchpako]

[tchpako]

[tchpako]

Modifying Cancelled Northrop Drone For Export Too Costly: USAF
By Reuters


September 18, 2012

The U.S. Air Force said on Monday it was too costly to modify for export a fleet of 18 unmanned Northrop Grumman Corp Global Hawk surveillance planes that the Pentagon wants to retire under a plan that U.S. lawmakers have criticised.

The Air Force will continue using the Block 30 version of the high-altitude spy planes until Congress agrees to take them out of service, Air Force Lieutenant General Larry James, deputy chief of staff of the Air Force for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, told reporters on Monday.

The Block 30 drones had not been built for export and modifying them to allow their sale to U.S. allies would be too expensive to be viable, said James, speaking at an industry conference.

South Korea, Australia, Japan and Singapore have expressed interest in the Global Hawk planes, though they may opt for a version that Northrop is building for the U.S. Navy. Northrop is also building a more advanced Block 40 version for the U.S. Air Force and NATO.

The decision to carry on flying the Block 30 drones is a partial victory for Northrop, which has been fighting their proposed retirement since it was announced in February, a plan which three of the four committees that oversee the Pentagon’s budget oppose, James said. It was not immediately clear what the additional operations would cost.

The Air Force said at the time that retiring the Northrop planes and keeping its much older, manned U-2 spy planes flying would save $2.5 billion over the next five years since the manned craft are cheaper to operate.

The Obama administration has listed 66 countries as eligible to buy various U.S.-built drones under new Pentagon guidelines, but Congress and the State Department -- which have the final say -- have not yet approved the exports, a Pentagon official said this month.

Northrop Grumman Chief Executive Wes Bush earlier this month praised what he called significant moves to boost arms exports, but voiced frustration about slow progress in implementing reforms, especially in exports of unmanned planes.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 496871.xml

[dil@w]

General Atomics réussit à faire faire au Predator B 106 atterrissages/décollages totalement automatiques

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), tactical reconnaissance radars, and electro-optic surveillance systems, announced that its Predator® B/MQ-9 Reaper RPA has successfully completed 106 full-stop Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) landings, a first for the multi-mission aircraft.
During the landings, the aircraft tracked the centerline, decelerated smoothly, and applied reverse thrust and full brakes at the appropriate ground speeds to a complete stop.

http://bit.ly/PMAFCp

[dil@w]

Une virée dans les hangars de la NASA

les chercheurs disposent de 2 Global Hawk pour étudier les ouragans

http://bit.ly/RHXWuV

[tchpako]

GA-ASI Aircraft Family Achieves Two Million Flight Hours


Predator/Gray Eagle-Series Continues to Provide Unmatched Support to Warfighters, Border Agents, First Responders, and Scientists

15:12 GMT, September 25, 2012 SAN DIEGO | General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA?ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), tactical reconnaissance radars, and electro-optic surveillance systems, announced Sept. 24 that its Predator/Gray Eagle-series aircraft family has reached a historic industry milestone: two million flight hours. The noteworthy achievement occurred on Sept. 9, with more than 150,000 total missions completed and nearly 90-percent of all missions flown in combat.

“GA-ASI’s business is the development of transformational systems that deliver paradigm changing results,” said Neal Blue, chairman and CEO, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. “This accomplishment has resulted in the highest availability of any manned or unmanned aircraft system in the world and also demonstrates the value of the integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent, wide-area situational awareness.”

The identification of the specific aircraft and customer that achieved the milestone is unknown as every second of every day approximately 50 GA-ASI aircraft are airborne worldwide. On Sept. 9, 24 Predators, 15 Predator Bs, six Gray Eagles, and five Sky Warrior Alphas were in operation. Flight hours have seen tremendous growth in recent years, with 500,000 flight hours achieved from 1993 to 2008, one million just two years later in 2010, and one-and-a-half million the following year in 2011. The aircraft family is currently logging more than 45,000 flight hours a month.

“The real achievement is what two million represents–two million hours of operating a proven technology that saves lives, reduces threats, safeguards borders, and advances science,” said Frank Pace, president, Aircraft Systems Group, GA-ASI. “The ultimate effectiveness of our RPA relies upon the dedication and innovation of our employees, a commitment from our suppliers to deliver superior quality products in a timely manner, and support from our partners to meet our customers’ ever-changing requirements.”

Predator/Gray Eagle-series aircraft are in constant daily operations supporting the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Italian Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and other customers in the execution of a wide variety of missions:

• Help protect warfighters by tracking their movement and searching for potential threats, along with engaging hostile enemies when necessary.
• Assist border agents in curbing the tide of illegal immigrants, sealing the nation’s borders from terrorists, stemming the flow of illicit contraband, and performing drug interdiction. • Also thwart human trafficking and piracy schemes on the maritime front.
• Aid first responders in prioritizing government resources most effectively, saving lives, and preventing millions of dollars in property damage following natural disasters.
• Support scientists in performing Earth science missions, as well as advanced aircraft systems research and technology development.

Over 550 aircraft have been produced since the company’s first aircraft, the GNAT 750, took flight in 1993. Today, GA-ASI is building six aircraft and five Ground Control Stations (GCS) per month, with the capacity to double production if needed.

High-resolution photos of Predator/Gray Eagle-series aircraft are available upon request to qualified media outlets from the GA-ASI media contact listed above

http://www.defpro.com/news/details/39660/

[tchpako]

Unmanned Aircraft Market Heading for New Heights

The United States remains the driving force behind this market.

Projected UAS market value over next 10 years estimated at $70.9bn

08:44 GMT, September 26, 2012 NEWTOWN, Conn. | According to Forecast International’s senior unmanned vehicles analyst, Larry Dickerson, the world’s appetite for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) appears insatiable. “Just when you think the UAS market cannot go any higher, it does,” he said. “No matter how many systems are built, operators want more.”

The UAS market has seen unprecedented growth since 2001, with current projected value over the next 10 years estimated at $70.9 billion, according to Forecast International.

“Million-dollar UAS contracts used to be big news,” Dickerson said. “Awards are now in the billions and climbing.” He notes that sales are growing in Asia even as purchases by the United States have slowed. Still, the U.S. will spend some $13.7 billion on UAS procurement and $11.6 billion for research programs through 2021.

Of the estimated $70.9 billion market for UAS reconnaissance systems over the next 10 years, $39.2 billion will come from production, another $28.7 billion will be earmarked for research and development, and perhaps $2 billion to $3 billion will be the result of UAS services contracts. The United States remains the driving force behind this market, but spending in other areas of the world is increasing.

U.S. research and development spending will amount to $11.6 billion over this period – about 40 percent of the worldwide total. Europe and Asia will spend $8 billion and $7.1 billion on research, respectively.

U.S.-based companies will account for 41 percent of this market’s production value, or $16.5 billion, and could gain more in the future.

Spending on unmanned aircraft is increasing in Europe and Asia. Europe is slated to spend $5.7 billion on unmanned aircraft systems. European governments are working on their own unmanned aircraft programs, but a shortage of funding is hindering certain research and procurement efforts. Despite the arrival of new European-designed systems, European nations will still make large purchases of non-European systems.

Asia will spend $14.3 billion on unmanned aircraft. China could account for some 60 percent of this spending. Beijing will acquire few foreign systems, depending instead on local firms to meet the majority of its needs.

“The civilian UAS segment of this market is also growing. It may not be as extravagant as some observers believe, but it could be worth $600 million to $1 billion over the next 10 years,” Dickerson said.

(Photo: AeroVironment)

http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/1050/

[Flanker]

Phantom Ray arrives in Dryden ahead of flight tests
Print
By: STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC 06:20 16 Dec 2010 Source:

The Boeing Phantom Ray has arrived at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California to prepare for a series of 10 planned flight tests.

The flying-wing unmanned aircraft system, based heavily on the cancelled X-45C, allows Boeing to attempt to keep pace with key rivals, including the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel deployed by the US Air Force and the Northrop Grumman X-47 carrier operations demonstrator for the US Navy.

Boeing is staging flight tests of the 15.2m (50ft)-wingspan Phantom Ray with no orders and no immediate requirement for its capabilities.

The Phantom Ray will also allow Boeing to experiment further with a tail-less unmanned aircraft, which is a configuration the company pioneered with the now-declassified Bird of Prey programme in the 1990s.

Boeing officials also have talked about plans to test advanced UAS ground control technologies during the Phantom Ray tests. Although only one vehicle will be airborne, the programme offers opportunities to control concepts that allow a single person to control multiple vehicles.

Boeing has ruled out Phantom Ray flight tests that include weapons and sensors



The Phantom Ray was ferried to Dryden riding on top of the fuselage of the NASA-owned shuttle carrier aircraft, a Boeing 747 modified to externally carry the 16,500kg (36,500lb) UAS from St Louis, Missouri. The transfer was performed following an initial check flight performed at the site on 13 December.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ts-351008/

[dil@w]

Les drones peuvent bien se ravitailler en vol seuls comme des grands


[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjyv16ha-Uc[/video]
l'info a déjà été postée (par moi même :mr green: le 11/08 dernier) mais cette fois on a une vidéo en plus. L'agence gouvernementale DARPA en association avec la NASA, est derrière cette expérience qui a pour but de démontrer la possibilité du ravitaillement en vol totalement automatique entre deux drones. Les deux RQ-4 ont volé pendant 2h30 à 100 pieds de distance (~30m) le tout a près de 45 000 pieds.
http://bit.ly/QTGfDD

[tchpako]

[sadral]

Inside the Pterodactyl UAS: sneak preview of China’s Predator clone mobile ground control station

Among the highlights of the recent Zhuhai Airshow, taking place from Nov. 13 to 18, there was China’s clone of the U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone called the Wing Loong (Pterodactyl).
Similar in shape to the MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B), the Wing Loong/Pterodactyl drone is 9.05 m long, 2.77 m high and has a 14 meter (46 feet) wingspan. Its Maximum Takeoff weight is 1,100 kg and it has a ceiling of 16,400 feet and an endurance exceeding 20 hours.
And, above all, it can carry a couple of air-to-ground missiles.



Although the general arrangement it’s similar to the one of the Predator, the Chinese Wing Loong’s container seems to accomodate only three workstations, each one equipped with at least two joysticks and a couple of LCD screens displaying all the relevant imagery and information.
The Pterodactyl is believed to carry a suite of sensors, including an infrared camera, a TV camera, and laser designator. It’s not clear whether it feeds the ground control station and/or tactical hand-held receivers with encrypted live high-resolution video.So, although largely copied from the U.S. version, the Chinese Predator has some peculiar features, as the Shenyang J-31, an F-22/F-35 hybrid.Whether they are better than the original, it’s hard to say.

However, these similar manned and unmanned aircraft raise a question: is China becoming increasingly effective at copying U.S. weapon systems and improve them a little bit to make them more effective and deadlier? Time will tell



A CCTV report from Zhuhai Airshow provides some (low quality) images of the Chinese Predator’s mobile ground control station.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... XY2jpVdY0E[/video]

http://theaviationist.com/

[boutaleb]

d'autres projets iraniens sont ansi (just a fake) http://keyhani.blog.lemonde.fr/2012/11/ ... r=RSS-3208