Volume 18 Number 1 February/March 2013 Eastern promises The rise of new indigenous designs INSPECTOR BREAKING FRIGATE GADGETS? THROUGH BIRDS Infrastructure surveillance UUV science apps Fire Scout deploys at sea www.UVonline.com UV_FebMar13_Cover.indd 1 05/02/2013 10:50:38 UV_FebMar13_IFC.indd 2 05/02/2013 10:51:12 1 CONTENTS Editor 3 Editorial Comment Andrew White. Acting Editor Darren Lake analyses the wider [email protected] +44 1753 727023 implications of a newly announced UK nano North America Editor VTOL UAS capability. Scott R Gourley. [email protected] Staff Reporter News Beth Stevenson. [email protected] 4 Anka trials completed for Turkish Air Force Contributors A review of some of the latest developments Claire Apthorp, Gordon Arthur, Adam Baddeley, Pieter Bastiaans, from around the unmanned systems industry. 31 Angus Batey, Rahul Bedi, Denis Fedutinov, José Higuera, Richard Scott, Matthew Smith, Tom Withington 8 Asian ascent 26 Breaking through Production Department Manager As international focus continues to shift to Asia- The quality and quantity of underwater data David Hurst. [email protected] Pacific and US forces pivot towards the region, collection by unmanned maritime systems has Sub-editor Gordon Arthur examines how its allies and significantly improved over recent years, Adam Wakeling potential adversaries are developing unmanned positioning them as a valuable information- Head of Advertising Sales Mike Wild. systems capabilities. gathering tool that can be deployed to otherwise [email protected] +44 1753 727007 inaccessible locations. Beth Stevenson reports. Junior Sales Executive 12 Brains of the operation Ranjit Jeer. [email protected] As UAS capabilities evolve, systems are becoming 31 Hotting up +44 1753 727 018 increasingly autonomous, reducing operator Affluent countries in the Middle East have budgets Editor-in-Chief Tony Skinner training and time requirements. Autopilots are at to spare and requirements to meet, and unmanned Managing Director the heart of that change, and a number of systems manufacturers are eager to get their Darren Lake companies are pushing the boundaries of the business. Claire Apthorp takes a look at the Chairman Nick Prest technology, reports Claire Apthorp. developments. Subscriptions Annual rates start at £65 Tel: +44 1858 438879, 17 Staying up for longer 35 Frigate birds Fax: +44 1858 461739 [email protected] One way in which manufacturers are preparing for While the USN is still ascending a learning curve www.subscription.co.uk/shephard future requirements is by increasing the operational with the introduction of the VTOL MQ-8B Fire Unmanned Vehicles is published six times per year – in February/March, April/May, June/ endurance of their platforms. Beth Stevenson Scout, the deployment of HSL-42 Det 2 on the USS July, August/September, October/November examines some of the next-generation long- Klakring in 2012 broke much new ground, Richard and December/January – by The Shephard Press Ltd, endurance platforms currently in development. Scott reports. 268 Bath Road, Slough, Berks, SL1 4DX. Subscription records are maintained at CDS Global, Tower House, Lathkill Street, 21 Inspector gadgets? 40 Interview Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9EF, UK. Many companies are still reluctant to adopt UAS for The National Aeronautical Centre is pioneering UK Air Business Ltd is acting as mailing agent. inspection duties due to their perceived lack of UAV flying. Ray Mann, the organisation’s architect, Articles contained in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the added value, alongside questions of safety. tells Beth Stevenson how his brainchild is written permission of the publishers. © The Shephard Press Ltd, 2013. However, such platforms should not simply be expanding and teaming with other sites, both ISSN 1351-3478 viewed as a novelty, argues Angus Batey. domestically and internationally. DTP Vivid Associates, Sutton, Surrey, UK Print Williams Press, Maidenhead, Front cover: Indigenous UAV development programmes are gaining momentum in the Middle East and Asia. (Image: TAI) Berks, UK Subscriptions Shephard’s aerospace and defence publishing portfolio incorporates six titles: Defence Helicopter, Digital Battlespace, Land Warfare International, Military Logistics International, RotorHub and Unmanned Vehicles. The Shephard Press Ltd, Published bi-monthly, all have become respected and renowned for 268 Bath Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4DX covering global issues within their respective industry sector. Tel: +44 1753 727001 For more information, including editorial content in the current issues, visit Fax: +44 1753 727002 shephardmedia.com/magazines. www.UVonline.com Subscribe today via: www.subscription.co.uk/shephard or +44 (0)1858 438879 subs_portfolio.indd 1 23/8/10 17:15:02 www.UVonline.com Volume 18 Number 1 | February/March 2013 | UNMANNED Vehicles UV_FebMar13_p01_Contents.indd 1 05/02/2013 13:56:26 BlackbirdTechV2.pdf 1 7/17/12 3:57 PM UV_FebMar13_p02.indd 2 05/02/2013 10:55:43 3 EDITORIAL COMMENT Size matters The UK MoD announced in early February undertaking strike missions. But if soldiers are that it had equipped troops in Afghanistan able to carry their own organic assets, then with a nano VTOL UAS called Black Hornet. there may be less demand at the lower end of The aircraft, which measures just 10cm in the tactical UAS market and for some of the length, may look like a toy but it provides ‘larger’ small UAS. both full motion video and still images Nano systems such as Black Hornet will beamed to a handheld terminal. not be a panacea, but they may disrupt the However, any thought that the UAS is no current UAS market. A number of US different to the toy helicopters available in companies have been working on systems of stores should be dismissed by the hefty price a smaller size but seem to have not yet come tag. The 160 units bought by the MoD cost a up with a workable, deployable solution. cool £20 million ($31 million) from prime Prox Dynamics has been working on its contractor Marlborough Communications. technology for a number of years, and with The UAS was actually developed by the deployment of Black Hornet appear to Norwegian company Prox Dynamics, and have come up with a solution that is rugged much of the cost comes in from the enough to be used by the typical soldier. sophistication of the flight control system Of course, the average 18-year-old needed to control such a small aircraft. infantryman of today is comfortable with The use of this type of system in regular such technology in a way that his operations marks a further trend in the predecessors weren’t, and this also helps with development of UAS involving a similar level the acceptance of the equipment. of miniaturisation to what happened in the The current price tag probably keeps such electronics industry. systems out of the hands of the majority of Black Hornet appears to be able to give the civil users for the time being, but that can be same sort of ‘over the hill’ reconnaissance expected to change. In the same way that capability as was attempted in the past by soldiers can use it to ‘look over the hill’, police much larger systems. There is no doubt that forces could use it as a tool to check out such a small aircraft will have limitations in potentially volatile solutions. Such a small terms of its endurance, range and stability in system would also be useful in inspecting unsettled atmospheric conditions, but tight spaces such as sewers or service for looking over the wall of an Afghan conduits in buildings. compound or into the next room, it appears However, the size and sophistication of such to be ideally suited. systems may lead to further worries about civil The small size of the system and its lack of a liberties and the surveillance state – their use logistics chain make it ideal for these kinds of by paparazzi for example could become a infantry applications and may mark a shift problem. At some point this will need to be in the paradigm for the use of UAS by the addressed by governments if they want to British Army. ensure the acceptance of such systems on the There is no doubt that armies will continue battlefield, with the social and commercial to need high-level systems capable of wider benefits that they potentially bring. RESPONSE area surveillance and, in some cases, Darren Lake, Acting Editor Unmanned Vehicles’ editorial team is always happy to receive comments on its articles and to hear readers’ views IN THE n US Army update n Radar payloads on the issues raised in the magazine. NEXT n n Contact details can be found on p1. ISSUE Latin America Small UGVs www.UVonline.com Volume 18 Number 1 | February/March 2013 | UNMANNED Vehicles UV_FebMar13_p03_Comment.indd 3 05/02/2013 11:35:21 4 NEWS Camcopter integrated with hydrographic sensor Schiebel has announced that its Camcopter S-100 UAS has been successfully integrated with the Riegl VQ-820-GU hydrographic airborne sensor. The UAV carried the payload during a flight test in Grossmittel, Turkey’s indigenous MALE UAV has completed its acceptance trials. (Photo: TAI) Austria, in December. During the tests, the S-100 UAS carried a special Schiebel-made composite pod containing the sensor, IMU-GNSS unit, Anka trials completed data recording and transfer unit and digital camera. The successful integration marked for Turkish Air Force the first time that the new airborne sensor has flown on board a UAV. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has for the Turkish Air Force,’ Remzi Barlas, The VQ-820-GU is specifically designed announced that its Anka MALE UAV has senior engineering manager for UAVs at TAI, to survey sea, lake and river beds, and is successfully completed the final flight of its explained to Unmanned Vehicles.