War on Terrorism Boosts Deployment of Mini-UAVs
Michael A. Dornheim / Los Angeles and Michael A. Taverna / Paris
Originally published in AW&ST July 8, 2004
Small man-portable reconnaissance drones are finally seeing action as the war on terrorism brings home ground troops’ need to see over the next hill.
Close-up on-ground battles in Afghanistan have pushed the services to order for the first time significant quantities of mini-unmanned aerial vehicles (mini-UAVs) for operational use. The U.S. Special Operations Command (Socom) has ordered over 80 mini-UAVs based on the AeroVironment Pointer, more than all prior Pointer orders combined since the hand-launched 8.4-ft.-span aircraft became available in 1989. The order came from emergency funds to fight terrorism, and the aircraft may already be operating in Afghanistan.The Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., has started the FPASS program, ordering an initial batch of 4-ft.-span mini-drones from the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. It is a quick reaction program for rapid fielding, in part to detect people with shoulder-fired missiles lurking to attack aircraft, and will lead to a competition for more drones. Both AeroVironment and Lockheed Martin have several other mini-drone programs underway that are short of production.
“There’s a lot more interest post-9/11,” said Eric Knutson, Lockheed Martin program manager for the Sentry Owl family of mini-UAVs, from which FPASS is derived. “Before 9/11, we focused on technologies, wringing out the impossible. Now the services tell us they need hardware, forget the reports.”
“With these aircraft, forces can quickly see not too far away,” said Robert F. Curtin, AeroVironment vice president. “It fills an information hole for them.” Interest in small UAVs is also growing rapidly in other areas of the world, particularly in Europe, which will acquire an estimated 500 vehicles within the next three years, primarily for testing and evaluation. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) continues to push the technological edge with micro-drones that are not quite ready for prime time. Its prior fixed-wing micro-drone program has concluded, but their small 6-in. size, arbitrarily chosen by Darpa, is at or beyond the edge of practical broad use. However, the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is continuing to work on a Microstar micro-drone. Darpa has moved on to the Organic Air Vehicle (OAV), a hovering ducted fan designed to fly to and perch on a vantage point to conduct extended reconnaissance. “Organic” means it is organic to, or controlled by, a small infantry squad. The OAV is supposed to be scalable within a 9-29-in. range of duct diameters. Darpa has also started a new micro air vehicle program, which is the OAV shrunk further to 6-in. dia. so it will fit in a backpack. While acknowledging the value of perching, some industry experts believe that the ducted fan configuration is not suited for this task, in particular because of its poor ability to hover over a fixed point with much wind. They consider the 6-in. size even more impractical. “It’s a very tough requirement, and we don’t think it’s possible in the next several years to build a vehicle that anyone would be happy with,” one expert said.
AeroVironment’s Pointer can carry an 8-12-micron long-wave infrared uncooled camera or a color visual camera, and stay aloft 90 min. using high-performance lithium-sulfur dioxide primary batteries. The airframe with batteries only weighs 8.3 lb., and the entire system fits in two rifle boxes, but is heavy enough that it is usually carried on a jeep. The U.S. Army’s Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) program bought four systems in 1999 for evaluation and liked them, but found the ground station too big, Curtin said. The company shrank the ground station to less than half-size, and also shrank the airframe to a 4.4-ft. wingspan from 8.4 ft. This new version is called Raven and has the same payload as Pointer, but now is man-portable. The aircraft fits in two packs that weigh a total of 8.5 lb. Endurance is about 80 min. Like Pointer, a joystick can mark map waypoints or directly control the aircraft. As a follow-on to the MOUT contract, four aircraft and two ground stations will be delivered to the Army by October.
Filling roughly the same niche as Raven is the Naval Research Laboratory’s Dragon Eye mini-drone. NRL fixed the outer shape as a twin-engine 4 ft. X 1-ft. rectangular flying wing, and it is being produced by AeroVironment and BAI in Maryland. With the clunky design, endurance is only about 45 min. on 1.5 lb. of primary batteries. Control is via a laptop, and imagery is viewed with TV goggles, instead of a hooded TV screen. Operational range is 5-10 km. (3-6 mi.). AeroVironment is working on an enlarged Pointer, called Puma. It is also electrically powered and is to have more capability, including 2.5-3-hr. endurance. In Europe, the area of greatest activity may be in France, which is working across a broad area embracing micro-UAVs and mini-UAVs.
French aerospace research and development agency Onera is studying a future generation of micro-UAVs for urban warfare applications that would be capable of entering buildings. The 5-million-euro ($4.9-million), four-year project, called Remanta, is investigating both ornithopter and vibrating wing concepts. The study brings together a multidisciplinary team that is focusing as much on key technologies such as artificial muscles, micro electro-mechanical systems, micro-control and lightweight structures as aerodynamics and architecture. The objective is to prepare the way for a workable design that could be fielded between 2010-15. Initially, engineers are targeting sizes of 15-40 cm. (6-16 in.), although final designs will be smaller. “Because of the difficulties encountered, we have adopted a strategy different from that in the U.S., starting large and then working down,” said Rene Mathurin, who is responsible for UAV development at the French defense procurement agency DGA. “Experience in the U.S., which aimed at under 15 cm. initially and now appears to be looking at bigger sizes, seems to bear out the soundness of our approach.” The DGA, which is funding the Onera work, is also sponsoring a pair of medium-term initiatives aimed at developing somewhat larger hovering miniature UAVs for use in exterior urban warfare environments.
Last week, the DGA unveiled a 1.6-million-euro three-year university contest intended to generate breakthroughs in miniature UAV design. The contest, patterned after one already in existence in the U.S., will downselect 20 proposals for a flyoff under operational conditions, with the winner getting a 15,000-euro cash prize. Each team will be eligible for up to 40,000 euros in public financing to build their UAVs, which can be up to 70 cm. in length. To start in September, the competition will be open to graduate students of any nationality, but only French citizens will be eligible for public financing. Interested parties should consult http://www.onera.fr or http://www.defense.gouv.fr/dga.
In parallel, the DGA plans to shortly issue a request for proposal (RFP) to industry for a 40-cm. miniature UAV demonstrator (AW&ST June 17, p. 63). A dozen or so firms have already shown an interest in tendering, according to Mathurin.
The best ideas will be integrated into an operational procurement to be launched in 2006. Several hundred units are to be acquired under this program, which seeks to have operational UAVs in infantry hands by 2007-08, Mathurin said. In the nearer term, the DGA plans in 2003-04 to issue RFPs for larger (50 cm.-1.5-meter) mini-UAVs that could be fielded by dedicated servicemen at the battalion level. Around 100-150 units would be procured, for deployment toward mid-decade. The target price for these mini-UAVs is under 4,500 euros. A sign of the growing international market was the large number of small UAV systems on show at the recent Eurosatory defense exhibit here in June.
Sagem presented a hand-launched electric-powered 2.1-meter (7-ft.)-long mini-UAV, the TMD3, that can be carried broken down by a single infantryman and assembled in the field in just 5 min. Resembling AeroVironment’s Pointer, distributed in Europe by EADS/CAC Systems, the 3-kg. (6.6-lb.) TMD3 has a long 3.4-meter wing to save power. Capable of flying for more than 1 hr. at speeds of 30-120 kmph., the TMD3 can carry a stabilized payload, including a digital data link capable of transmitting over a 10-km. radius, company officials said.
ANOTHER FRENCH FIRM, Technisolar-Seni, exhibited a pair of electric-powered mini-UAVs equipped with wing-mounted solar arrays. One is equipped with landing gear that allows it to return with stored data, obviating the need for a data link. The other is a knocked-down unit.
Singapore Aerospace Industries displayed a hovering mini-UAV capable of transitioning from vertical to horizontal flight. Equipped with extendable landing gear, the 66-cm.-long 2.3-kg. composite unit, developed with Micro Autonomous Systems, will be capable of hovering for up to an hour with a top horizontal speed of better than 50 kt. Payload is presently limited to 0.5 kg.
Also developing a hovering mini-UAV is Bertin of France. This 30-cm.-dia. 1.4-kg. hovering UAV has an endurance of about 30 min. and can carry a 0.2-0.4-kg. payload, including a tiny inertial navigation unit developed in-house to control stability.
The 4-ft.-span Dragon Eye fills a niche similar to Raven. Control is largely autonomous via a laptop computer. Imagery is presented on video goggles in foreground.
Singapore Technologies Dynamics is developing this mini-UAV for horizontal flight and vertical takeoff and landing.
an israeli micro UAV project
Mosquito Micro UAV
Israel Aircraft Industries
The Mosquito 1 is a micro UAV designed by Israel Aircraft Industries, in response to the Israel MOD Defense Research & Development Directorate (DRDD) micro systems technology development. First flight was performed on January 1, 2003. The miniature saucer shaped plane weighs 250 gram and as a wing span of about 30 cm. The vehicle carries a miniature video camera and already performed several flights with up to 40 minutes endurance each. The Mosquito is launched by hand and lands on its skids at the end of its mission.
The company is planning to test the advanced Mosquito 1.5 version soon. This improved design will weigh twice the Mosquito 1 weight, will be capable of flying a 60 minute mission with enhanced video camera (two gimbals provide roll control with electronic image stabilization), and carry improved avionics, enabling fully autonomous missions.
Above: Mosquito 1
Right: Mosquito 1.5 micro UAV
source: http://www.defense-update.com/products/m/mosquito.htm
other nice reading http://www.defense-update.com/features/du-2-04/mav-darpa.htm
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