IAI’s I-View UAV Loses Australia’s JP129 Contract (updated)
Related Stories: Australia & S. Pacific, BAE, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, Interoperability, Middle East - Israel, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Rumours, UAVs
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On Nov. 11, 2005, DID relayed a report from the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, which noted that Australia had purchased 18 Heron UAV systems. It was at about the right time for the JP129 program’s announcement, but a couple of our readers emailed us to wonder. DID attempted to check this out, and eventually an official announcement re: the JP129 program has debunked the Ha’aretz report. Australia will have a new tactical UAV to go with the Israeli Skylark mini-UAV – and the new UAV was Israeli as well: the short-range IAI I-View (see also Defense Update profile).
Australian Minister of Defence Senator Hill said the Government had agreed to the A$ 145 million (USD $109 million) UAV project to provide the Army with a high precision day and night surveillance and targeting capability with accompanying ground systems. Details regarding the winning UAV, and the other members of the competition, follow – including additional details re: the competitors.
DID’s extra efforts to reveal the JP129 Program competitors have just become very relevant. The contract has been canceled…
- The I-View UAV
- The Competitors
- Australia’s UAV Plans
- Updates & Outcomes [updated]
The I-View UAV
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The winning bid for Project 129 belonged to Boeing Australia & Israel Aircraft Industries’ I-View 250 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which was chosen to provide airborne surveillance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition to support ADF land operations and work closely with Australia’s Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters to support operations on the battlefield.
In discussing the I-View 250’s win, Sen. Hill mentioned value for money of course. He also said:
“The I-View has a fully automatic take-off and landing system that dramatically increases operational reliability. Its catapult launcher and unique parafoil landing concept enables it to be deployed and recovered from an uneven area smaller than a football field [DID: soccer to our American readers]. This capability, which includes real time video, will enable 24-hour surveillance for the protection of Australian forces as well as the identification of enemy targets…
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I-View also offers multiple EO/IR payload options with the option to fit a Synthetic Aperture (ground-looking) Radar; TCDL and EPLRS communications systems to ensure joint and coalition interoperability, and a highly advanced ground control station fitted to standard Army vehicles. Follow-on reports indicate that this combination of sensor flexibility, integration with Australia’s C4ISR systems via Boeing, and risk reduction at landing where many UAVs are lost, were instrumental in winning it the contract.
According to this article in The Australian, the I-View has a range of up to 80 km (about 50 miles), is able to stay airborne for up to 6 hours, and can carry loads of up to 30 kg (66 pounds).
The Competitors
The Israel Trade Commission was good enough to inform us recently that the competitive teams for the JP129 competition consisted of 3 partnerships:
- Boeing Australia in Brisbane teamed with Israeli UAV manufacturer Israel Aircraft Industries Malat in Tel Aviv to offer the latter’s I-View system. Australia proved to be the launch customer for the I-View 250 model, which shares some components with IAI’s long-range Heron, medium-range Hunter and short-range Searcher II.
- ADI in Sydney (now Thales Australia) teamed with Elbit in Tel Aviv to offer a variant of the Watchkeeper 450 UAV chosen by the United Kingdom. Australia’s DMO eventually got back to DID, and added that Elbit has also offered the smaller Hermes 180 as an option. Elbit makes the Skylark mini-UAV which was recently selected for Australian service.
- BAE Systems Australia in Adelaide teamed with American firm AAI in Hunt Valley, MD to offer the Shadow 200 UAV, which is in U.S. Army service in Iraq.
- Australia’s DMO eventually got back to DID on Dec. 21, 2005, and added that SAGEM had offered its CU-161 Sperwer UAV, currently in service with Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The Sperwer is likely to exit service with Denmark soon, however, and Canada is crafting requirements for a potential replacement by 2010.
Australia’s UAV Plans
The first tactical UAVs were expected to be in operational service in 2008, but that date has slipped to late 2009 in the year between the announcement of Australia’s selection and the signing of the contract. Sen. Hill noted that tactically, the I-Views will complement the Australian Defence Force’s short-range Skylark UAVs that are being deployed to Iraq, and the High Altitude Long Endurance Maritime UAV that are to be purchased under Project Air 70001.
The new 132 Battery of the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment will operate the tactical UAVs at Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, in Queensland.
Boeing Australia will provide the through-life-support for the UAV systems, generating around 125 new jobs in the Brisbane area. In line with Australia’s Skilling Australia defense procurement strategy, a number of Australian small-to-medium enterprises and research institutions will assist.
Senator Hill also noted that Australia’s has further plans for UAVs. DID has mentioned Australia’s interest in using the RQ-4 Global Hawk as a maritime reconnaissance platform, Meanwhile:
“The Government is investing on more research and development of unmanned vehicle technology for use in future operations and for surveillance purposes. UAVs are an increasingly important part of the modern battlefield, particularly because they increase the troop’s ability to detect, respond and remain informed of activities across a wide area. This information can then be used to warn our troops and help them avoid potentially dangerous situations.”
Updates & Outcomes
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Sept 4/08: It’s officially over. The contract’s cancellation is announced by Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon:
“Since contract award, Boeing Australia and its subcontractors have experienced a range of technical issues making it increasingly difficult to deliver the full scope of the contract within a timeframe acceptable to Defence. With a Defence imperative to field a TUAV capability as soon as possible, and the potential for a number of lower risk alternative systems, the DMO and Boeing Australia have agreed to terminate the contract on mutually acceptable terms…. This decisive action will enable Defence to focus on the earliest acquisition of an alternative TUAV to meet the JP129 requirement.
....The Australian Army will continue to use the Scan Eagle UAV that is currently in service in the Middle East. As part of the agreement to terminate, Boeing will refund to Defence the $6 million they have been paid to date under the contract.”
See also: Flight International report.
Sept 3/08: The Australian reports that new Labor Party defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon may be about to terminate the JP129 contract:
“The Israeli-built I-View 250 UAV system is dogged with technical problems and more than two years behind schedule. The relationship between the partners in the project, US aircraft builder Boeing and Israeli Aerospace Industries, has deteriorated in recent months.
A defence source close to the project, who asked not to be named, said: “The capability has not been axed but the contract has. Boeing have had two years to get this sorted and they’ve been dragging the chain.”
Taxpayers can expect a refund from Boeing of about $6 million.”
Boeing could re-enter a re-competed JP129 program with its own ScanEagle UAV, which has been leased by Australia for front-line use as an interim measure. The Hermes 450 has also strengthened its position in the interim, however, deploying with British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and seeing front-line use with Georgia during Russia’s invasion. Given Thales Australia’s local strength, Australia might well become the first export customer for the Thales/Elbit Watchkeeper Mk450 UAV.
Dec 14/06: The contract was formally signed with Boeing Australia in December 2006. See also Boeing release, and the IAI release.
Footnotes:
1 Project Air 7000 is Australia’s program to upgrade and complement its AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft so they can remain effective until a successor is introduced. The USA’s RQ-4 Global Hawk is widely expected to be Australia’s preferred choice; still, Australia’s innovative Coastwatch program could end up choosing the Predator-derived Mariner UAV, and thereby create an interesting competition with implications for the USA’s BAMS program.
(Originally published on December 14, 2005. Updated as a result of new information received from the Australian DMO.)
