This is a continuation of the original UAV thread that is now closed.



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Watchkeeper UAV Undertakes Maiden Flight

(Source: Thales; dated May 6, web-posted May 13, 2008)

Thales UK today announces the successful first flight of the Watchkeeper unmanned air vehicle (UAV) platform.

The Watchkeeper UAV, flown for the first time on 16 April from Megido airfield in northern Israel, is the first produced air vehicle, designed and built to meet the demanding requirements of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Watchkeeper will provide the UK armed forces with an essential intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability, and will be a key component of the UK's network enabled capability (NEC). Thales UK, as Prime Contractor for the Watchkeeper programme, will deliver equipment, training and facilities, with the capability coming into service from 2010.

Commenting on this major programme milestone, Richard Deakin, Managing Director of Thales' aerospace business in the UK, says: "Thales UK's Watchkeeper programme is on track and has been steadily moving forward since June 2007 when the company unveiled its final configuration following a Critical Design Review undertaken by the MoD. We have made tremendous progress since the contract was signed in 2005 and all the customer-agreed programme milestones have so far been met on or ahead of schedule."

Looking forward to the plans for the rest of the year he adds: "2008 is an important year for the programme as it will also see the testing and integration of the automatic take-off and landing (ATOL) system, the I-Master radar and EO/IR/LTD payloads*. The I-Master radar flight trials have been extremely encouraging. The SAR imagery seen in the initial trials is outstanding and testing the GMTI functionality has just commenced. The combination of these sensors operating in a networked manner will certainly provide a transformational step in ISTAR capability for the UK armed forces."

Production of the Watchkeeper system will take place at U-TacS (UAV Tactical Systems Ltd), the Thales UK and Elbit Systems joint company, based in Leicester.


BACKGROUND NOTES:

The Watchkeeper system consists of the unmanned air vehicle, with a dual-payload configuration. This includes day/night electro-optic sensors, laser target designator, as well as advanced synthetic aperture radar/ground moving target indicator radar. The ISTAR information and images are provided to a network of highly mobile ground control stations and remote viewing terminals where UK military operators will control the whole mission and interface within a network-enabled environment. High resolution optical and radar imagery will be exploited and disseminated to provide valuable intelligence for operational commanders.

The Watchkeeper air vehicle is fully autonomous, including ATOL, and has a de-icing capability, to expand its ability to operate in all weather operational environment. The system is capable of rapid deployment and operations anywhere in the world. Watchkeeper will support the information requirements of all three services.

USAF Tests New, Autonomous UAV

(Source: U.S. Air Force; issued May 14, 2008)

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --- Thanks to technology advances in small, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, service-members on the ground may be able to get an inside track on what lies ahead, literally.

The Air Force Research Laboratory tested the Arcturus unmanned aerial vehicle prototype May 7 at Northern Edge 2008 in the Pacific Alaska Range Complex.

The significant fact with this launch and testing is the new ability to follow movement on the ground, recognize changes on the landscape, and work autonomously, officials said.

"We've done complete tracking of target vehicles where the aircraft is controlled by the tracking algorithm, we don't have to do any man-in-the-loop intervention," said Capt. Samuel Hart, the unmanned services program manager at the Air Force Research Laboratory. "We tell it to track the vehicle and it auto-tracks and follows it around corners, turns, behind trees and things like that."

The main goal is to capture real-time images whether it be live video or snapshots and take those for targeting, tracking and geolocation, said the captain.

"They can also use it for battle damage assessment, if there is a bomb drop," he said. "we can go back and see what kind of effect it had, if they were on target or if they missed."

The new technology will give service-members a bird's eye view of the battle space.

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Lockheed Formally Protests UAV Contract

Aviation Week's DTI | Amy Butler | May 06, 2008

(This article first appeared in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report.)

LINK

Lockheed Martin is protesting the U.S. Navy decision to award a $1.16 billion contract to Northrop Grumman to design and build its new Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aerial vehicles.

The company filed its protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) May 5. GAO has 100 days to rule on the protest.

Lockheed proposed a version of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator, which was thought to be a lower-cost proposal than Northrop’s. Northrop’s Global Hawk-based RQ-4N system, however, is expected to carry a more powerful radar system and reach the objective capabilities for range and time-on-station with fewer aircraft. A Boeing-led team also proposed a manned/unmanned Gulfstream jet for BAMS.

The sensor suite is integral to BAMS, as it will be expected to collect intelligence on ocean-going targets.

“Information provided to us during our debrief indicated that we offered a technically compliant and awardable solution at significantly lower cost, leading us to request a Government Accountability Office review,” according to a Lockheed Martin statement.

The BAMS protest adds to the list of major Pentagon acquisition programs that are contested by losing contractors – and Lockheed has found protesting Pentagon acquisition decisions to be effective. For instance, along with another losing contractor, Sikorsky, Lockheed apparently has earned another shot at the U.S. Air Force’s $15 billion Combat Search and Rescue replacement (CSAR-X) program. Boeing won the work in late 2006 but GAO referees were quickly bombarded with a string of protests. Now the Air Force expects to decide this fall whether the work will stay with Boeing or to re-award it to a new provider.

Also under protest is the Air Force’s award of a Northrop Grumman/EADS North America design for the KC-45 aerial refueling tanker. GAO is expected to rule on that matter by late June.

Navy and Northrop officials had scheduled a news briefing about BAMS for May 6 in Washington, but by midday on May 5 they said it was “postponed due to scheduling conflicts.”

US Air Force Awards $324M Order for Global Hawk

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued July 10, 2008)

The Air Force is modifying a fixed price incentive firm contract not to exceed $324,600,000 with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Integrated Systems Air Combat Systems of San Diego, Calif.

This contract will provide 2 RQ-4B Block 301 Global Hawk air vehicles, 3 RQ-4B Block 40 air vehicles with MP-RTIP sensor, 1 mission element, 1 launch and recovery element, and associated equipment; option for 4 EISS sensor payloads.

At this time $180,351,181 has been obligated.

303 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-07-C-4015 P00008).

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