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Reaper, ready…
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The MQ-9 Reaper, once called “Predator B,” is somewhat similar to the Predator. Until you look at the tail. Or its size. Or its weapons. It’s called “Reaper” for a reason – while it packs the same surveillance gear, it’s much more of a hunter-killer design. The Reaper is 36 feet long, with a 66 foot wingspan. Its maximum gross takeoff weight is a whopping 10,500 pounds, carrying up to 4,000 pounds of fuel, 850 pounds of internal/ sensor payload, and another 3,000 pounds on its wings. Its 6 pylons can carry GPS-guided JDAM family bombs, Paveway laser-guided bombs, Sidewinder missiles for air-air self defense, and other MIL STD 1760 compatible weapons, in addition to the Hellfire anti-armor missiles carried by the Predator. When loaded up with laser-guided Hydra rockets, the Reaper becomes the equivalent of a close air support fighter with less situational awareness, lower speed, and less survivability if seen – but much, much longer on-station time. Some have called it the first fielded Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV).

That capability set makes the MQ-9 considerably more expensive than its MQ-1 Predator counterparts, whose price also benefits from volume production orders. Given these high-end capabilities, and high end expenses, one might not have expected the MQ-9 to enjoy export success that matches its famous cousin’s. Nevertheless, that’s what appears to be happening. MQ-9 operators currently include the USA and Britain, who have both used it in hunter-killer mode. If current contract requests are fulfilled, Italy and Germany will soon add MQ-9s to their forces as well.

Note that this is a new DID FOCUS article; it will shift to DII membership only after the first 2 days.

• The MQ-9 Reaper, and its Little Brothers
• Contracts & Key Events (SDD-2008)
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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RAF MQ-9, Kandahar
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On Jan 3/08, the US DSCA announced [PDF] the United Kingdom’s official request for:

“10 MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) aircraft, 5 Ground Control Stations, 9 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems (MTS-B/AAS-52), 9 AN/APY-8 Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI) systems, 3 Satellite Earth Terminal Sub Stations (SETSS), 30 H764 Embedded Global Positioning System Inertial Navigation Systems, Lynx SAR and MTS-B spares, engineering support, test equipment, ground support, operational flight test support, communications equipment, technical assistance, personnel training/equipment, spare and repair parts, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $1.071 billion.”

The principal contractors would be General Atomics’ Aeronautical Systems (MQ-9) and Lynx Systems (Lynx ground scan radar) subsidiaries in San Diego, CA, and Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in El Segundo, CA (MTS-B/AAS-52). If the contract goes through. It may not; meanwhile, British Reapers have begun firing weapons, and a “whole life support” teaming agreement has been signed…

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MQ-1C Sky Warrior
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In August 2005, “Team Warrior” leader General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. in San Diego, CA won a $214.4 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of the Extended Range/ Multi Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System (ER/MP UAS). The Warrior was designed to fill both surveillance and attack roles, and the MQ-1C Sky Warrior derived from General Atomics’ famous MQ-1 Predator beat the Hunter II system offered by Northrop Grumman, Aurora Flight Systems, and IAI.

The Sky Warrior ER/MP program is part of the US Army’s reinvestment of dollars from the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, and directly supports the Army’s Aviation Modernization Plan. ER/MP could be a $1 billion effort, and recently strengthened its position when a 2007 program restructuring cut the Future Combat Systems Class III UAV competition.

Now, in FY 2008, the MQ-1C Sky Warrior ER/MP prepares to move into production – as the first big “Key West” battle of the 21st century between the USAF and US Army reaches a resolution. But the Sky Warrior and Predator will be merging into a single program. What does that mean, exactly? DID asked. Meanwhile, our readers asked us to explain the differences between the MQ-1 Predator, MQ-1C Sky Warrior, and MQ-9 Reaper. DID is happy to oblige. The program’s engine supplier remains in very serious legal and financial trouble, and payment and warranty conditions are changing even as the UAVs begin to see action in Iraq…

• The MQ-1C Sky Warrior, and its Band of Brothers
• The Army’s Sky Warrior Program
• ER/MP UAS – Enter the Warrior: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Appendix A: US Army et. al. vs. USAF Over UAVs
• Appendix B: Additional Readings – Who Controls the UAVs?
• Appendix C: Additional Readings
  
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Centurion 2 engine
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On the face of it, Thielert AG of Hamburg appeared to be a well-positioned company, leveraging respected German engineering to modify a Daimler diesel engine for use in aircraft. The ability to use “heavy” fuel offers light civilian aircraft a convenient, less-expensive option, and can also be an important asset for armies who want a single fuel supply chain for land vehicles and UAVs. That commonality offers lifetime cost savings of its own, less operational risk, and more operational flexibility – which is why the US Army’s flagship MQ-1C SkyWarrior UAV uses Thielert’s 135 hp Centurion engine. By many accounts, the engine itself performs well, though some reports say the engines have some reliability issues and suffer from poor field support. The aero-diesel niche has few competitors at the moment, but several new competitors are expected to unveil products over the next year.

Those alternative options have now become a more urgent matter, given recent developments in Germany. In brief, Thielert is facing advanced stage criminal investigations for serious accounting fraud, providing false evidence, and more. The alternative explanation is that a long list of firms including General Atomics, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin each left millions of dollars in supplier invoices unpaid for over a year.

Regardless of which explanation is true, Thielert faced financing needs that the firm’s own April 10/08 release described as “an urgent liquidity crisis.” As a first step, the founder tried to sell his entire stake to a Russian hedge fund. Even so, the firm’s own statements confirm that much more cash will be needed, and shareholder lawsuits enabled by German court rulings that have voided their financial reports could drive that figure higher.

The latest developments are three-fold: the dismissal of the CEO and CFO for cause in light of criminal investigations, the collapse of the new investors consortium, and the firm’s filing for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the US Army says it was unaware of the situation at Thielert, which raises questions concerning its contractor General Atomics’ communications and program risk transparency with the US military….

• Situation Summary
• American Defense Contractors: Unpaid Bills?
• Timeline: Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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BAMS Operation Concept
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The world’s P-3 Orion fleets have served for a long time, and many are reaching the end of their lifespans. In the USA, and possibly beyond, the new P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft will take up the P-3’s role. While the P-8’s base 737-based airframe offers strong service & maintenance arguments in its favor, the airframe is expensive enough that the P-3s cannot be replaced on a 1:1 basis.

In order to extend the P-8 fleet’s reach, and provide additional capabilities, the Poseidon is expected to work with at least one companion platform under the BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) and/or PUMAS (Persistent Unmanned Aerial Surveillance) programs. The BAMS UAV competition is widely seen as a fight between Northrop Grumman’s high-flying, jet-powered RQ-4 Global Hawk, and General Atomics’ turboprop-powered Mariner (a cousin of its MQ-9 Reaper); but Boeing entered an optionally unmanned G550 business jet.

This DID FOCUS Article explains the BAMS concept, the program’s key requirements, and its international angle. We’ll also cover ongoing contracts and key events related to the program… including the recent announcement of a winner.

• Next-Gen Maritime Patrol Systems: Issues and Options
• BAMS: Requirements and Missions
• BAMS: The International Angle [updated]
• BAMS: The Industry Team [new]
• BAMS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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BAE’s EMRG
gun & ammo mock-up
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Back in March 2006, BAE Systems received a contract for “design and production of the 32 MJ Laboratory Launcher for the U.S. Navy.” Some hint of what they are talking about can be gleaned from the name. The project is an electro-magnetic rail gun that accelerates a projectile to incredibly high speeds without using explosives.

The attraction of such systems is no mystery – they promise to fire their ammunition 10 or more times farther than conventional naval gun shells, while sharply reducing both the required size of each shell and the amount of explosive material carried on board ship. Progress is being made, and a recent test set a record – but there are still major technical challenges to overcome before a working rail gun becomes a discussable naval option. This DID FOCUS article looks at the key technical challenges, the programs, and a history of key contracts and events.

• Rail Guns: Concept & Technology Developments
• Rail Guns: US Program Information
• Rail Guns: Key Contracts & Events
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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MQ-1 landing -
1 Hellfire fired?
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General Atomics of San Diego, CA won a firm fixed price contract from the USAF for $94.3 million in exchange for 36 Predator MQ-1B Aircraft, Aircraft Spares, RSP kits, Hellfire Missile Kit Installation, IMAs and core tasks. At this time, all funds have been authorized. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base OH issued the contract (FA8620-05-G-3028 0027).

MQ-1A Predators are successors to General Atomics’ I-GNAT platform, and serve with the US Air Force, US Navy, US Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Turkish Army, and the Italian Air Force. The US Army flies the upgraded MC-1C Sky Warrior, while the USAF and British RAF fly the Predator’s successor, the MQ-9 Reaper.

The Predator A fleet recently reached a pair of key milestones. One was the 25,000th’s flight by a Predator A, achieved by P-144 on Aug 8/07 in Iraq. The other was 300,000 flight hours for the fleet, achieved by P-137 on Aug 12/07 while it performed an armed reconnaissance mission in Iraq. That particular aircraft has flown over 145 combat missions in the 18 months it has been deployed, which may explain why 80% of those fleet flight hours have been combat flights. MQ-1As flew over 100,000 flight hours last year alone, and are currently flying some 10,000 hours per month.

MQ-9 at Creech AFB
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General Atomics in San Diego, CA received a $43.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification. It covers the manufacture, test and delivery of 2 Predator B MQ-9 (Reaper) unmanned aerial vehicles, 2 mobile ground control stations, and associated equipment to include initial spares, ground support equipment, pack-up kits, and Ku SATCOM antennas. At this time, $32.7 million has been obligated, and work will be complete December 2008. The Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (FA8620-05-G-3028, order number 0024/no modification number at this time).

Creech Air Force Base, NV received its first operational MQ-9 on March 13, 2007, soon to be assigned to the 42nd Attack Squadron. The Pentagon’s FY 2008 budget request asks for 4 MQ-9s,at a cost of $79 million.

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General Atomics in San Diego, CA is best known for UAVs like the Predator these days – but that isn’t all they do. The firm is also well known for designing power distribution systems used by the US Navy on its aircraft carriers; other specialties include nuclear fuel cycle work, airborne sensors, and advanced electric, electronic, wireless and laser technologies.

The firm recently received a $10.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to research and develop Integrated Power Systems (IPS). IPS provides total ship electric power including electric propulsion, power conversion and distribution, combat system support and mission load interfaces to electric power systems. This is a trend in ship construction…

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San Diego campus

General Atomics won a $10.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to research and develop Integrated Power Systems (IPS). IPS provides total ship electric power including electric propulsion, power conversion and distribution, combat system support and mission load interfaces to electric power systems. Work will be performed in San Diego, CA and is expected to be complete by the Dec 2011. The Naval Sea Systems Command inWashington, D.C., reported it received 14 proposals for the opportunity.

While General Atomics was founded in 1955, and is well known for designing power distribution systems used by the US Navy on its aircraft carriers, a spokesman for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, SC, that issued the contract call (N00024-07-C-4012) said the contract is not specifically geared to any platform already under construction. Instead, the technology developed during the R&D phase will be integrated into future systems.

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