Israeli Manufacturers’ Turkish UAV Contract

IAI Heron

In April 2005, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems won an contract to supply medium endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Turkish military. Turkey’s local industry would provide sub-systems and services amounting to 30% of the contract.

The contract’s terms have been the subject of shifting reports, and the type of UAV was not specified in the official releases. Over time, however, clarity has emerged on several fronts. One front is the UAV type: the same Heron UAVs that serve with Israel, India, Canada, and other customers. Another front has involved problems with the contract, related to the weight of made-in-Turkey equipment. As clarity has emerged on those fronts, however, a 3rd front – the political front – is introducing complications.

Walking Back the Cat: The US Army’s Constant Hawk

What really happened?

The US Army’s Constant Hawk program feeds into 2 big trends. One is the need to create systems that dip into the gushing firehose of data from UAVs, aircraft, ground-mounted stations like GBOSS/RAID, etc., in order to create information that people can use. “Too Much Information: Taming the UAV Data Explosion” covered some aspects of those efforts, and the critical area of “change detection” is an additional element.

US Army Program Manager – Aerial Common Sensor’s (PM ACS) Constant Hawk program is one of several change detection systems in operation, in the service of the second big trend: the drive to find solutions to the land mine problem, which has been the #1 killer in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Beechcraft Reconnaissance Planes for Egypt

350-ISR layout

June 1 /11: Raytheon Co. in McKinney, TX receives a $24 million firm-fixed-price contract award to buy 2 used commercial Beechcraft airliners, then refurbish the airframes, add special mission equipment and components, and cover spare parts, accessories and other material and services for the Arab Republic of Egypt. Work will be performed in McKinney, TX, and Egypt, with an estimated completion date of July 31/12. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by the US Army’s AMCOM Contracting Center at Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-11-C-0084).

Raytheon spinoff HawkerBeechcraft’s King Air twin-turboprops have found a niche as affordable, long endurance manned reconnaissance airplanes. Used commercial aircraft are likely to be the King Air B200/ 300, which have been bought and refurbished for Canadian use under the MARSS program, rather than the new King Air 350ERs in use by Iraq and the USA. Malta operates King Air B200s as maritime patrol craft, and private firms like ASSI (SkyEye 350) and Dynamic Aviation own King Air ISR(Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) planes that are available for lease.

In all of these variants, a belly “canoe” fits the required surveillance gear, which can involve surface-viewing radars, surveillance and targeting turrets like Raytheon’s own MTS, and more. Inside, workstations in the plane receive the data; depending on the communications gear and available bandwidth, that information can be sent on to command sites. The net effect is similar to a Predator level UAV, but with more sensors and more flexibility, in exchange for less endurance in the air.

You Gotta Have HART: Northrop Grumman Develops ISR Aircraft Control System

HART system diagram
(click to view larger)

The US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency is working with the US Air Force Research Lab and Northrop Grumman to develop a web-based system to autonomously control manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.

Getting real-time information in an urban firefight can mean the difference between life and death, success and failure. The Heterogeneous Airborne Reconnaissance Team (HART) program is developing IT capabilities to feed ISR aircraft data directly to the soldiers in the field.

On Feb 17/10, Northrop Grumman received a $46.2 million contract under the HART program to develop technologies enabling command and control of unmanned aircraft for the conduct of urban operations.

Northrop Grumman Provides Communicatons Upgrades for USAF’s ASIP

B-52H

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in San Diego, CA received an $8.2 million contract to provide Phase II data rate communications upgrades for the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP).

The US Air Force initiated the ASIP because of catastrophic, unanticipated, in-flight fatigue failures of in-service aircraft. ASIP is the management tool for the USAF to safely manage the fleet from initial operating capability through the design service goal and beyond.

The program focuses on monitoring the structural integrity of USAF aircraft, including:

$60M to General Dynamics for USAF Distributed Common Ground System Support

AF DCGS

The US Air Force awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a 5-year $60 million contract to provide network management and mission operations support to the 480th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing.

General Dynamics will support the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System (AF DCGS) and 2 network operations centers in Virginia and California.

The AF DCGS is a globally networked intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system that integrates information collected by the U-2 high-altitude spy plane and the RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-9 Reaper, and MQ-1 Predator UAVs…

Australia’s 2009 Defence White Paper

(click to download)

Defense was an issue in the 2007 Australian election. The center-left Labor Party attacked the center-right Liberal Party by citing mismanaged projects, and accusing the Howard government of making poor choices on key defense platforms like the F/A-18F Super Hornet and F-35A Joint Strike fighters. That sniping continued even after Labor won the election, and has been evident in more than a few Defence Ministry releases.

The new government made some program changes, such as canceling the SH-2G Seasprite contract. Yet it has been more notable for the programs it has not changed: problematic upgrades of Australia’s Oliver Hazard Perry frigates were continued, the late purchase of F/A-18F Super Hornets was ratified rather than canceled, and observers waited for the real shoe to drop: the government’s promised 2009 Defence White Paper, which would lay out Australia’s long-term strategic assessments, and procurement plans.

On May 2/09, Australia’s government released “Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030.” DID has reviewed that document, and the reaction to date including a new ASPI roundup of reactions from around Asia.

Azimuth to Research Ways to Protect Sensors from Directed Energy Threats

Space-based sensors
could be vulnerable

Azimuth Corp in Dayton, OH received a $50 million contract to conduct hardening and survivability research designed to protect sensors from directed energy threats. The contract is being awarded under the US Air Force’s Hardened Materials Research and Survivability Studies program, which is intended to study materials technologies, interactions, and/or applications to improve the survivability of military systems.

Air Force Research Laboratory Detachment 1 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio manages the contract (FA8650-09-D-5434).

A 2007 report by a US Defense Science Board task force identified the potential use of directed energy to disrupt sensors…

Canada’s Auroras Getting Land Surveillance Capabilities

P-3/ CP-140 Aurora

Canada’s C$ 1.67 billion Aurora Incremental Modernization Project began in 1998, and is an amalgamation of 23 individual projects grouped into 4 chronologically consecutive block upgrades. Key upgrades successfully performed under the AIMP to date have included new electro-optical and infrared sensors (L-3 Communications) under Block III, and upgrades to the navigation and flight instruments (CMC Electronics) under Block II. AIMP, plus the Aurora fleet’s new long-term, performance-based maintenance program, are designed to keep Canada’s fleet flying until 2015 or so.

Canada is also pursuing land-surveillance upgrades to its fleet. Given Canada’s commitments on the ground in Afghanistan, and employment of American P-3 Orion and British Nimrod MRA2 aircraft for ground surveillance in that theater, these contracts may yet contribute to NATO’s Afghan mission.

The latest update involves deployment of the aircraft to Afghanistan on a special overland mission.

General Atomics Gets $9.8M Predator Terminal Contract

MQ-1 Predator

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems received a $9.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for Predator receiver terminals, installation, and software updates from the USAF. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, manages the contract (FA8620-05-G-3028). The receiver terminals are ruggedized laptops that are compatible with both the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper.