U(C)AV ontwikkelingen

[Harald]

India confirms AoN to acquire 31 MQ-9Bs



The Indian government has accorded an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9B high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS).

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 25 June that the country's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had accorded the AoN on 15 June to acquire 31 MQ-9Bs for the three services of the military. According to the statement, 16 of the aircraft to be acquired are SkyGuardians and 15 are SeaGuardians. The announcement was made via state-owned information network Press Information Bureau (PIB).

Janes understands that the acquisition will provide the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force with eight SkyGuardians each. The Indian Navy is to operate all 15 SeaGuardians.

The aircraft are to be acquired through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, the MoD said. The AoN also includes associated equipment acquisitions. According to the MoD, the US government has cited an estimated price of USD3.072 billion for the aircraft and equipment.

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/defence/latest/india-confirms-aon-to-acquire-31-mq-9bs

[Ace1]

Wat meer info over de LUNA drone van Rheinmetall.

https://www.rheinmetall.com/en/products/unmanned-systems/luna#anchor-luna-ng

[Ace1]

[Ace1]

Rheinmetall Unveils Multi-Purpose ?Game Changer? Drone



Rheinmetall recently unveiled a multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with reconnaissance and combat features.

The Rheinmetall Combat Drone is based on the German arms maker?s Luna NG reconnaissance drone and can carry the Hero-R type loitering munition.

?The Rheinmetall Combat Drone is the game changer for protecting your troops and fighting tactically relevant targets,? the company stated.

?Effectors as payloads transform the multipurpose drone from a sensor-to-shooter system into a highly efficient means of reconnaissance with com/network relay and SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) capabilities.?

Based on Luna NG
The NG is the latest in the Luna family of reconnaissance drones, with an endurance of 12 hours and a data link range of 100 kilometers (62 miles). Satellite Communication would provide it with increased range.

The robust fiberglass composite drone has a take-off weight of 40 kilograms (88 pounds) and a service ceiling of 5,000 meters (16,404 feet).

The runway-independent vehicle can be launched with a rope hoist catapult and landed with a parachute and has stealth features with low acoustic, thermal, and radar signatures.

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/04/20/rheinmetall-game-changer-drone/

[Harald]

Royal Navy Plans Carrier Trial For Mojave STOL UAS

https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/cne-2023/2023/05/royal-navy-plans-carrier-trial-for-mojave-stol-uas/

[Sparkplug]

Tests met drones vanaf Britse vliegdekschip gepland  ( interessante ontwikkelingen ! )

De Amerikaanse vliegtuigbouwer General Atomics zal vanaf een Brits vliegkampschip tests gaan uitvoeren om met drones te vliegen. De intentie voor het gunnen van een contract aan General Atomics maakte de Britse marine onlangs bekend. General Atomics is bezig met het project Mojave, een drone voor een korte start- en landingsbaan.

https://marineschepen.nl/nieuws/Tests-vanaf-Brits-vliegdekschip-met-drones-310523.html

Zat ruimte op het vliegdek van de Queen Elizabeth-klasse. De spanwijdte van de Mojave is ook ingekort t.o.v. de MQ-9B (16 meter om 24 meter). De Mojave is ongeveer net zo breed als een Fairey Gannet.


Illustratie van een Mojave, landend op een carrier. De wingspan van de Mojave is 16 meter. (Foto: General Atomics)

[Harald]

Tests met drones vanaf Britse vliegdekschip gepland  ( interessante ontwikkelingen ! )

De Amerikaanse vliegtuigbouwer General Atomics zal vanaf een Brits vliegkampschip tests gaan uitvoeren om met drones te vliegen. De intentie voor het gunnen van een contract aan General Atomics maakte de Britse marine onlangs bekend. General Atomics is bezig met het project Mojave, een drone voor een korte start- en landingsbaan.

https://marineschepen.nl/nieuws/Tests-vanaf-Brits-vliegdekschip-met-drones-310523.html

[Harald]

New Kit Will Allow MQ-9 Reaper To Fly From Navy Flattops

A STOL MQ-9 has the potential to provide persistent eyes in the sky for big deck amphibious assault ships, carriers, and Marines operating from austere locations.



https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/new-kit-will-allow-mq-9-reaper-to-fly-from-navy-flattops

[Harald]

MQ-9B SeaGuardian?: Ready Today for Peer Competition in the Maritime Domain



Anti-submarine warfare

And MQ-9B SeaGuardian is the only platform of its kind that can carry, release, and monitor sonobuoys ? indeed, the platform has revolutionized anti-submarine warfare.

In demonstrations and exercises, the SeaGuardian has proven repeatedly how well it can integrate with U.S. Navy and international forces. With a maximum endurance of around 30 hours in some configurations, the aircraft can supply a strike group or other commander with intelligence of a richness and quantity that nothing else can, including overhead assets. MQ-9B can detect and identify a vessel of interest and then preserve custody of that target for hours. With other aircraft working in teams, navies or coast guard officials can watch a key waterway or a target of interest for as long as they want.

In exercises with the U.S. Navy off the West Coast of the United States, the SeaGuardian has shown it can release sonobuoys, detect submarines, and monitor them over time. The SeaGuardian also can monitor sonobuoys released by other aircraft, increasing the utility of integrating unmanned platforms with the Navy?s existing human-crewed ones.



https://www.ga-asi.com/mq-9b-seaguardian-ready-today-for-peer-competition-in-the-maritime-domain

[Ace1]

Royal Navy to trial General Atomics Project Mojave STOL drone

A UK MoD pre-contract notice has revealed that the UK RN plans to trial General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc's (GA-ASI) Project Mojave Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) UAS.

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According to MoD documents, the ministry intends to award a single-source contract worth ?1.5 million to GA-ASI for a seven-month trial and experimentation period to demonstrate 'a threshold capability for a Short Takeoff and Landing Uncrewed Air Vehicle (UAV).'

Mojave is a STOL-capable version of the MQ-9B MALE UAV which is designed to fly from aircraft carriers.

In its lightest configuration, the Mojave can take off in around 122m, less than half the length of the UK's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers' 284m flight deck. Carrying 12 Hellfire missiles, the take-off distance increases to 304m.

Key to its potential capabilities

https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/air-warfare/royal-navy-to-trial-general-atomics-project-mojave-short-take-off-and-landing-drone/

De rest zit helaas achter de betaalmuur.

[Ace1]

British aircraft carrier to trial ?Project Mojave? drones

The Royal Navy has announced its intention to award a contract to General Atomics to trial ?Project Mojave? drones onboard a British aircraft carrier.
The contract, which has a non-qualifying single-source status, is worth up to ?1,500,000 (ex VAT) and is projected to span a period of seven months.

Under the ambitious Project Mojave, General Atomics is set to undertake trials and experiments aimed at showcasing the threshold capabilities of a Short Take off and Landing Uncrewed Air Vehicle aircraft.



The contract notice reads:

?The Royal Navy, part of the UK Ministry of Defence, intends to award a Single Source Non-Qualifying Defence Contract valued at up to ?1,500,000 (ex VAT) with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Limited (?the Contractor?) for a period of [7] months for the delivery of work to undertake trials/experiments in order to demonstrate a threshold capability for a Short Take off and Landing Uncrewed Air Vehicle (UAV).?

This trial forms part of the UK?s move to integrate cutting-edge drone technology within its armed forces, potentially revolutionising its military operations.

As we reported last year, the possibility of this initiative was on the horizon. General Atomics had demonstrated a concept for a carrier-capable MQ-9B drone, a type already being integrated into service with the Royal Air Force.

The manufacturer previously announced plans to develop a short takeoff and landing (STOL) capable MQ-9B aircraft, a model which includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian variants.

The STOL capability, initially tested on a modified Gray Eagle Extended Range platform in 2021, is now being developed on the MQ-9B. This model has already been chosen by the Royal Air Force, the Belgium Ministry of Defence, and the Japanese Coast Guard.


The MQ-9B STOL configuration involves an optional wing and tail kit that can be installed in less than a day, allowing operators to modify the aircraft in a hangar or on a flight line.

This proof-of-concept trial will utilise existing technology and services provided by General Atomics. By addressing a range of capability problem sets, the initiative is set to determine the future scope of UAV integration and support.

C. Mark Brinkley, spokesman for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc, tweeted:


?There?s a lot of speculation today about the possibility of our Mojave STOL aircraft launching from a carrier in the near future. From the moment we announced our Mojave concept, operating from ships was always on the table. But let?s not all rush up to the flight deck just yet.

We have already demonstrated Mojave?s short take-off and landing capability in less than 300 feet. That was under optimal conditions on the ground, so add some feet for fuel, weapons and payloads. Regardless, our engineers know that a tactically-relevant Mojave can take off from a runway shorter than the decks of many carriers or amphibious ships used around the world. Moving from a ground-based STOL demo to a ship-based STOL demo has always been a priority for the Mojave project, and we?ve been discussing that with fleets worldwide.

We have also discussed modifying the MQ-9B with a STOL conversion kit that replicates many of the attributes of our Mojave demonstrator, and we?ve shared those ideas publicly at trade shows and on social media. We have conducted feasibility studies for both platforms, and continued our experimentation. We have big plans, but plans take time to execute. Mojave is a remarkable aircraft, and I?m impressed by it every time I see it fly. Our team is working hard on it. But whether it flies from a ship in the near future still remains to be seen. Fingers crossed.?

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british-aircraft-carrier-to-trial-variant-of-reaper-drones/

[Ace1]

53rd Wing tests Angry Kitten Pod on MQ-9 and completes Full Integrated Combat Turn in record time

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron completed the first round of MQ-9A Reaper ground and flight testing with the Angry Kitten ALQ-167 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) Pod at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada Apr. 10-28, 2023.

The pod provides the MQ-9 elevated Electronic Attack (EA) capability against relevant ground and airborne threats.  This capability enhances survivability for the Reaper and other friendly forces, and complicates adversary planning efforts. The test focused on proving the concept of conducting EA from the MQ-9 to provide operational planners new force application options when confronting Pacing Challenge threats.

?The goal is to expand the mission sets the MQ-9 can accomplish,? said Maj. Aaron Aguilar, 556th TES assistant director of operations. ?The proliferation and persistence of MQ-9s in theater allows us to fill traditional platform capability gaps that may be present. Our goal is to augment assets that already fill this role so they can focus and prioritize efforts in areas they are best suited for.?

The Angry Kitten Pod represents the beginning of what the 556th TES hopes to achieve with the MQ-9 in the EA sphere. Through participation in future Large Force Exercises (LFEs) such as Red Flag 23-3 and integrating with the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, the squadron aims to further develop Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) against complex target sets.

?Electronic Attack on the MQ-9 is a compelling capability,? said Lt. Col. Michael Chmielewski, 556th TES commander. ?15 hours of persistent noise integrated with a large force package will affect an adversary, require them to take some form of scalable action to honor it, and gets at the heart of strategic deterrence.?

Earlier in April, the 556th TES also executed a Cold Integrated Combat Turn on an MQ-9 aircraft, which included simultaneous refueling and rearming of four hellfires.

Overall, the event took less than 25 minutes, a record that crushes the standard three-hour typical turn time for the MQ-9 and only added 4 minutes to the previously demonstrated rapid refuel procedures that did not include weapon reloading.

?The Cold Integrated Combat Turn furthers our validation efforts on the MQ-9 agile combat employment model and further maximizes the MQ-9?s relevancy across the continuum of strategic competition and the phases of combat operations in all theaters that require agile operations,? said Chmielewski.

Following the successes in April, the 556th TES is slated to work on multiple tests during Northern Edge 2023, a joint field training exercise at various locations in and around Alaska, beginning May 4, 2023.


https://www.53rdwing.af.mil/News/Article/3394752/53rd-wing-tests-angry-kitten-pod-on-mq-9-and-completes-full-integrated-combat-t/

[Harald]

PteroDynamics X-P4 Transwing   ( interessant )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA1ENhxLqTo

https://pterodynamics.com/

Pterodyamics scales up its remarkable dihedral Transwing eVTOL

Fresh video shows that one of the most fascinating eVTOL aircraft designs we've seen is now flying at larger scale. The Transwing platform uses a unique dihedral folding wing system to move between hover and cruise modes, unlocking huge advantages.

Transitioning electric VTOL aircraft can take off and land more or less like multicopter drones, but then cruise efficiently in forward flight supported by wing lift. There are literally hundreds of companies racing to bring different designs to market, and they all have to deal with the same set of problems.

The most efficient winged flight requires large, wide wings, but large wings are a headache when you're trying to land, and take up a lot of space on the ground. The simplest way to handle both vertical and cruise flight is to run separate propellers for each mode, but then you add parasitic drag and weight.

Pterodynamics ? as we've covered before ? says it's created an exceptionally efficient eVTOL airframe that's also exceptionally small on a landing pad, and mechanically quite simple.

This unique and patented design looks just like a plane in forward flight, with props distributed along its wings. But when it's time to land, the wings fold back, ending up stowed against the sides of the fuselage.

The key here is the dihedral hinges upon which the wings rotate; the wings tilt as they fold, so by the time they're resting back against the body of the aircraft, they're facing upward, along with the propellers. The entire transition is "aerodynamically benign," simple and smooth, and it's driven mechanically by little struts extending from the fuselage, on a linear actuator.

As a result, these things can run significantly wider wings than any other eVTOL design where ground space or helipad access is a concern. And for portable drone-style applications, they can sit in a compact box, completely ready to fly.

Pterodynamics has built its X-P4 prototype with a 4 m (13.1 ft) wingspan, and a fuselage about 2 m (6.6 ft) long. It runs only two props in forward flight according to Unmanned Systems Technology magazine, allowing the other two to passively fold back against their nacelles until they're needed for a vertical landing.

It's been undergoing testing with the US Navy as a ship-to-shore logistics platform, a job in which it could ferry roughly a cubic foot of cargo, held within its fuselage, vastly cheaper than the current solution ? which is apparently to fly things out to Navy ships on Black Hawk helicopters or V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft.

But the concept is capable of scaling much larger, up to eVTOL air taxi size and beyond. Indeed, a Transwing design could potentially fly 10 or more people from rooftop to rooftop, while fitting on the same helipad that a five-seat Joby or seven-seat Lilium might use.

And with the ability to run very large wings, as well as the capability to start transitioning toward cruise flight almost immediately upon takeoff, it promises to be one of the most efficient eVTOL designs around, capable of squeezing more range out of a battery than competing designs.

https://newatlas.com/aircraft/pterodyamics-transwing-x-p4/

#PteroDynamics' X-P4 #Transwing aircraft that we're building for the U.S. Navy was featured in the Dec/Jan 2022 edition of Unmanned Systems Technology magazine that was published yesterday. This is a pretty deep technical dive: https://ust-media.com/ust-magazine/UST041/

https://twitter.com/pterodynamics/status/1479606360853540864?cxt=HHwWgMCroauJz4gpAAAA

https://www.ust-media.com/ust-magazine/UST041/36/

[Harald]

U.S. Navy Uses E-2D And MQ-9 UAV For Simulated Anti-Ship Strike

The U.S. Navy demonstrated the ability to share data between an MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, F/A-18s and AV-8B Harriers to execute a simulated long-range missile strike on a simulated adversarial ship...

.../....

The U.S. Navy demonstrated the ability to share data between an MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, F/A-18s and AV-8B Harriers to execute a simulated long-range missile strike on a simulated adversarial ship...

[Huzaar1]

Kan me de super tucano discussies nog wel herinneren hier van de afgelopen jaren. Dat is nu totaal niet meer relevant.

Na de oorlog zal drone ontwikkeling veel meer gaan verdringen. Met veel type helikopters op 1. Japan vervangt nu al meerdere types aanvals en verk. heli door drones.

https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-plans-to-replace-its-attack-helicopters-with-drone-aircraft-2023-3