Aerovironment’s Global Observer: Flying High, Again

ISR CONOPS(CONcept of OPerationS)

The late Dr. Paul McReady’s Aerovironment, Inc. has achieved just renown for the success of its small UAVs like the Army’s RQ-11 Raven and the US Marines’ RQ-14 Dragon Eye/Swift. Outside the military sphere, however, it is best known for civil successes like the human-powered Gossamer Condor, the giant, solar-powered Pathfinder and Helios aircraft, and the flying Quetzalcoatlus northropi ornithopter on display in the Smithsonian museum.

Those traditions have fused in a major Advanced Concept/Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (ACTD/JCTD) contract for a UAV that runs on hydrogen fuel cells, and can cruise at 55,000-65,000 feet for up to 7 days at a time, while carrying a 1,000 pound payload. Meet Aerovironment’s Global Observer, which promises formidable advantages in roles as diverse as communications relay, persistent ISR (intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance), maritime patrol, and even storm tracking and weather applications:

• The Global Observer JCTD
  
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
  
• Additional Readings
  

New Silent Motorcycles Eyed for U.S. Special Ops

Silent Hawk Prototype

Special Forces has had an abiding interest in silenced motorcycles as stealthy and quick insertion/extraction vehicles – and, not just from having viewed Chuck Norris’s 1986 cheesy Delta Force movie, where his trusty motorcycle was portrayed as a Batmobile-like source of plot moving tricks. Air force combat controller teams (CCTs) have been shoving dirt bikes out of airplanes at least since 2010. A 2012 Marine Corp report cited motorcycle use by MARSOC operators, and the Marines have been conducting dirt bike training by third party vendors contracted as early as February 2012. But the airdrop and landing can cause temporary fuel system issues at precisely the wrong moment.

Special Forces toyed with the electric Zero MMX concept a couple years ago, but ditched it due to battery concerns. That vehicle found a home at the LAPD a year later. The electric bike’s charge lasted for only a couple hours.

DARPA gave a grant to Logos Technologies around that time to develop a hybrid bike that could run on several fuels and also support an electric motor with about 50 miles of range. That grant was only $150,000. Things appear to have advanced adequately to have earned a second grant. A Logos representative contacted this morning indicated the new grant was for $1 million.

The bike, called now the Silent Hawk (not to be confused with the silenced SOF helicopters revealed in the aftermath of the 2011 Bin Laden operation), is based on an electric racing bike frame made by Alta Motors. The hybrid engine is Logos Technologies’ development, reportedly from one they developed for a secret drone project.

An example of the sound profile of current electric racing cycles can be seen in the video below. The bike used in the video is a Redshift model, the one employed by Logos for the first Darpa grant’s testing (although with a different engine than the one featured below):

India Buys C-130J-30 Hercules for Special Forces

1st flight

In May 2006, India Defence quoted Air Chief S.P. Tyagi saying that “the IAF is planning to buy C-130J planes” for its special forces and Border Security Forces. Reports indicate that the IAF was particularly attracted to the C-130J’s ability to land and take off even in improvised or short airfields, and without lights. Those characteristics have served the Hercules well in other anti-terrorism scenarios like Operation Yonatan in Entebbe, and are now more routine maneuvers thanks to the C-130J Hercules’ modern avionics and increased engine power. That extra power also means that the ‘J’ model performs well in “hot and high” conditions, which can reduce the useful load of older Hercules or similar transport aircraft by 50-60%.

The new C-130J-30 planes will be bracketed by India’s larger Ilyushin IL-76 jet transports on the high end, and on the lower end by twin-engine Antonov AN-32 turboprops. India’s interest in the Hercules is quite specific to the Special Forces at the moment; but the plane’s capacity for additional specialty operations like aerial refueling enhances those operations, and gives the IAF a number of additional employment options. The AN-32s are currently undergoing mid-life refurbishment, and a joint project with Russia’s Irkut looks set to develop a Hercules competitor in time for the AN-32’s replacement cycle. In the interim, however, India is fielding 11 C-130J-30s for its Special Forces…

Pocket Gunship: From AC-XX to the MC-27J Praetorian

C-27J 3-view

In mid-2008 Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) made a $32 million budget reprogramming request in order to buy a C-27J light tactical transport plane and convert it into a small prototype AC-XX gunship, using “proven/known” weapons and systems.

That effort foundered for good when the USAF canceled the C-27J, but programs to turn existing USMC and AFSOC C-130s into light gunships had laid the technical foundations. Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi figured that a C-27J gunship might have a lot of appeal on the international market. Especially if the gunship kit could somehow co-exist with its role as a transport. In 2012, they unveiled exactly that, thanks to a collaboration with America’s ATK: the MC-27J Praetorian.

US SOCOM’s CCM Fast Boats

Mark V

US Special Operation Command’s Mark V fast boats are known for their daring crews and SEAL passengers. They’re also known for back-breaking bumpy rides, and for an occasional tendency to have their entire pilot house collapse when hit by a wave. SOCOM has been interested in a replacement since 2003, and the Combatant Craft, Medium Mark 1 (CCM Mk1) was originally described as that Mk.V replacement – until that iteration was canceled in April 2010. The revised and re-issued program is sold instead as a replacement for current Naval Special Warfare Rigid Inflatable Boats (NSW RIBs), to be accompanied by a future CC-Heavy counterpart that would replace the Mk.V. Until CCH arrives, however, there’s always a a possibility that CCM will wind up being the only delivered program.

The CCM competition is currently in Phase III, with a final design selection for the 10-year, $400 million contract due in 2013.

JPADS: Making Precision Air-Drops a Reality

Strong’s JPADS,
Afghanistan

The dilemma for airdropping supplies has always been a stark one. High-altitude airdrops often go badly astray and become useless or even counter-productive. Low-level paradrops face significant dangers from enemy fire, and reduce delivery range. Can this dilemma be broken?

The US military believed that modern technologies could allow them to break the dilemma. The idea? Use the same GPS-guidance that enables precision strikes from JDAM bombs, coupled with software that acts as a flight control system for parachutes. JPADS (the Joint Precision Air-Drop System) has been combat-tested successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan, after moving beyond the test stage in the USA… and elsewhere.

Ravens, Mini-UAVs Winning Gold in Afghanistan’s “Commando Olympics”

RQ-11: higher, faster…

In 2005 the RQ-11 Raven mini-UAV was enjoying positive field reports from Iraq. In November 2005, StrategyPage reported that the RQ-11 Raven was also turning heads in what it calls “the commando Olympics” of Afghanistan:

“In addition to all the cooperation, there’s also a lot comparing notes. One thing everyone has noted is the large number of useful gadgets American Special Forces troops have. The most envied item is the American Raven UAV.”

It’s an apt phrase. This Spotlight article looks at Special Forces related mini-UAV buys from a number of countries, spurred by requests from special operations troops in theater.

Stiletto Stealth Ships: Look Different. Ride Different. Buy Different

M-Ship Stiletto

With the formal roll-out of the 88-foot Stiletto stealth ship and its cutting-edge “M-Hull” wave-damping design on Jan 31/06, the late Vice-Admiral Cebrowski’s legacy of advocating “the small, the fast and the many” for the US Navy took a step forward.

The ship was deployed on operations, and proved out a number of the concepts behind her construction, but questions about the long-term durability of composite hulls prevented the type’s adoption into full US Navy service. The ship has been pushed to a maritime technology experimentation and demonstration role, but her saga remains interesting.

SOCOM’s TACLAN IT Contracts

Latest updates[?]: Contract challenge is resolved. And the winner is...

Special forces are even more reliant on excellent communications infrastructure, and on help desk support that can go the extra miles with them. On October 2005, IT consulting firm iGov Technologies, Inc. in McLean, VA received an indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract to design, install, and support US SOCOM’s Tactical Local Area Network (TACLAN) related equipment, as part of the Special Operations Forces Digital Environment (PM-SDE) program. TACLAN provides everything from help desk support, to management and evolution of hardware configurations, to the creation of new software that offers flexible interfaces to communications, databases, and mission applications.

iGovTech created Team TACLAN, based in Tampa, FL, to execute the contract, which included additional industry and academic partners. Until a 2012 award appeared to have placed TACLAN’s near-term future in other hands…

Up to $250M to Support SOCOM’s Night Stalkers

Nov 30/12: International Development and Resources in Centreville, VA receives a $250 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to provide aviation specialized support services in support of the US Special Operations Command, Technology Applications Program Office (TAPO). The resulting contract will provide specialized support services to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. They are SOCOM’s helicopter pilots, also known as the Night Stalkers.

Orders will be placed as needed, and Task Order #0001 for $952,395 will begin on Jan 1/13. Most services will be performed at Fort Campbell, KY; however, “other duty locations may be needed.” No kidding. The contract could run until Dec 31/22, managed by U. S. Special Operations Command at MacDill AFB, FL (H92241-13-D-0001).