Defense Groups Eye Drones for War and Policing By MIKE BRODY
08-17-2009 Baitullah Mehsud was said to have been having a leg massage from his wife when two Hellfire missiles killed the Taleban leader ten days ago. He had been staying at his father-in-law’s house in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan and was on the roof relaxing, unaware that a Predator B drone was silently tracking him. Once the drone’s electro-optic sensors had identified him, the aircraft launched its missiles. Such attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are becoming increasingly common in Afghanistan. One report has identified 42 UAV attacks in the past 18 months, in which 360 people have died and the ability of Taleban commanders to operate in the open has been seriously hampered. UAVs are favoured for such missions because they can stay airborne for long periods — often more than 24 hours at a time — and are much quieter than fighter jets or helicopters. UAVs also have the advantage of removing pilots from danger because the drones are controlled by satellite from bases miles away, even continents away. The UAVs deployed by British and American forces in Afghanistan are used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (Istar) missions. They vary in size from a handheld remote controlled aircraft used by troops to determine what is behind a hill to the $35 million (£21 million) Global Hawk, built by Northrup Grumman. Britain uses Hermes 450 drones and also leases Reapers, or Predator Bs, from General Atomics, of the United States. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will introduce Watchkeeper, which is built by Thales, next year as Britain’s main UAV. Among its tasks, Watchkeeper will be able to spot whether terrain changes from hour to hour, so that troops can be alerted to possible explosive devices hidden at the side of the road. Although details of UAVs’ capabilities are secret, they are widely understood to carry video and highresolution cameras capable of daytime surveillance ranging up to ten kilometres (six miles). They also have infrared systems for night surveillance and some of the larger models have ground-monitoring radar, which increases their range to about 30 kilometres. Some of the large UAVs, such as Predator, also carry missiles. This is a rapidly growing area of development, with suppliers building smaller weapons systems capable of launching from unmanned platforms. The potential for the next generation of UAVs is even greater and British defence companies are developing the technology that will be required. The MoD called together seven such companies two weeks ago to lay out rules and requirements for developing the next generation of UAVs. BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence company, is hoping that the future lies in autonomous UAVs, which would follow a set of instructions rather than be controlled by a pilot. This would open many new applications because the aircraft could operate without constant attention. For example, a UAV could patrol a border and alert ground troops or civilian police if people were seen crossing. BAE is working with some British police forces on how UAVs could aid crime prevention. They may be used at the 2012 Olympic Games to aid crowd control and anti-terrorist surveillance. The main problem to be solved before UAVs can be deployed outside regions such as Afghanistan is integrating them into busy airspace and teaching them to avoid other aircraft. Another area of research is the creation of combat UAVs (called UCAVs), which may one day replace fighter pilots. BAE is developing a model for the MoD called Taranis. The advantage of UCAVs is that they can be smaller, stealthier and more manoeuvrable because they do not have to be built around a human being. BAE is sponsoring research at several British universities to develop advanced technologies that could be used in a future UCAV, including moulding all components into one skin. This would allow the UCAV to do away with flaps and rudders and its movement would be controlled by deforming sections of its skin. David Kershaw, BAE’s director of strategy for UAVs, said: “The key to the next generation of UAVs and UCAVs will be autonomy, because every time you communicate with it, you alert the enemy to where it is. But autonomy requires a high level of decision-making by the UAV and that is not easy.” UK groups doing UAV research BAE Systems Developing Herti semi-autonomous UAV for low-level reconnaissance. Also developing Mantis, a much larger UAV that may be able to carry missile systems, and Taranis — a combat UAV Rolls-Royce Engine research for a number of UAV projects QinetiQ Developing Zephyr, an ultra-lightweight UAV that will act as a mobile satellite. Recently set record for longest UAV flight at 54 hours Thales UK Has an £800 million contract from the Ministry of Defence to supply 54 Watchkeeper UAVs from next year EADS UK Developing Talarion, although this is a mainly German project Cobham Developing lightweight sensors for UAVs Selex Communications Developing lightweight sensors for UAVs http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article6798332.ece http://www.noonehastodietomorrow.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1301&Itemid=121
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