U(C)AV ontwikkelingen

[Poleme]

UAE announced as first export customer for Hammerhead UAV.

Niet zo'n verrassende aankoop aangezien bouwer Piaggio goeddeels eigendom is van 1 vd Emiraten. Mede voor mij de reden deze an sich interessante UAV (ook gezien snelheid en stabiliteit) weer te schrappen en niet langer te bepleiten voor Nederland. Had ook niet de indruk dat het toestel verder wordt aangekocht binnen Europa. De Britten, Duitsers en Fransen gaan zelf wat ontwikkelen en kiezen als interim voor variant van de Reaper. Dat is ook de Nederlandse keuze.

Een Frans defensie materiaal bedrijf kocht ooit eens een Amerikaans defensie bedrijf op.  In het congres waren ze bang dat dat door een buitenlandse onderneming overgenomen bedrijf onbetrouwbaar zou worden voor het Pentagon.  Echter, (pro)actieve congresleden hebben er voor gezorgd dat dat niet gebeurde door allerlei voorwaarden te eisen bij de overname.  En het bleek te werken.

Het is begrijpelijk dat Europese landen voor de bewezen Reaper gaan.   Maar laten we vooral niet vergeten waarom het Frans-Nederlandse Eagle-1 MALE project mislukte.
Een apart en stug land wilde weer dat haar industrie het grootste deel van het werk mocht uitvoeren.  Niet bepaald een EUropese mentaliteit, maar dom protectionisme.

In Nederland vindt men Unmanned Air Vehicles, juist omschreven als Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), ten onrechte eng.
Ze zijn wel degelijk bemand, alleen zit die in een container op de grond en bestuurd de kist m.b.v. electro-magnetische signalen via een radio of satelliet verbinding.
In die RPA gaat het er nog ouderwets aan toe met stuur kabels of stangen.
Een F-16 en F-35A vlieger bestuurd zijn kist echter niet meer direct via kabels of stangen.  Zijn stuur commando's gaan eerst naar een computer, die die commando's beoordeeld op uitvoerbaarheid en daarna gaan de stuur opdrachten via electro-magnetische signalen door een electra kabel naar de roeren.  Zonder computer kan de vlieger een F-16 niet eens in de lucht houden.  En in de Euro canards, F-22A Raptor en F-35A wordt dit concept nog veel verder doorgevoerd.  Zodat je als vlieger nog minder te zeggen hebt in je 'kantoor'.  Het verschil tussen Remotely Piloted en Onboard Piloted vliegtuigen is dus aan het vervagen.
Inmiddels worden ook helikopters zoals de NH-90 en verkeersvliegtuigen zoals de Airbus A320, A330 etcetera ook op dieze manier gevlogen.

Een simpel kruisvluchtwapen zoals de Harpoon dat maar een keer gebruikt kan worden.  Wordt in de toekomst vervangen door een mini-vliegtuigje, lees bijvoorbeeld Noorse NSM / JSM of Amerikaanse Long Range Anti Ship Missile, die zelfstandig doelen kan opsporen, identificeren, zelf allerlei ontwijkende manoeuvres uitvoert, zelfstandig de zwakste plek aanvalt en kan communiceren via radio of satcom met andere gelijksoortige wapens, vliegtuigen en schepen.  Dit is dus echt een vliegende robot !!

Rent-A-UAV / UAV's leasen? 
Tussen 21-06-09 en 31-07-10 werden totaal 2.098 uur gevlogen (gemiddeld 5 uur 21 minuten) tijdens 392 missies  door gehuurde Aeronautics UAV's.  De inhuur van deze UAV's koste ca. EUR 39 miljoen exclusief mobilisatie / demob.; aanleg van een 700 x 20 meter verharde startbaan en 8 gedetacheerde Nederlandse militairen.  Duur!, daarom doen andere landen ook zo geheimzinnig over de kosten van ingehuurde UAV's.
Conventioneel bemande MC-12W Liberty, een variant van de King Air 350, deed toen USD 18 miljoen per stuk en heeft geen verharde startbaan nodig en doet missies van 6 uur.  De verbeterde King Air 350i haalt zelfs een vliegduur van 7,5 uur en kruist veel sneller en hoger dan een Aeronautics RPA.

We hadden ook voor een Europees alternatief kunnen gaan.
We nemen een Piaggio Avanti of de indrukwekkende en records brekende Grob G520 (NG) en rusten die uit met een Wescam MX-15HDi zoals onder de CH-47F Chinook zit. Als radar nemen we de AESA Seaspray 5000E, die ook in de nieuwste Super Lynx zit.
Zie:  http://www.grob-aircraft.com/index.php/technical-specification-23.html
In de eerste fase opereren we gewoon als Conventionally Piloted Aircraft (CPA) met een of twee 2-voeters in de stuurhut en 1 a 2 sensor operators (senso).
Tegelijkertijd beginnen we met het ontwerpen van een Ground Control Station (GCS).
In de tweede fase gaan we dit GCS bevolken met een schaduw bemanning, bestaande uit een vlieger en een senso die deze Optionally Piloted Vehicle primair bedient. 
In deze OPV komen nog wel 1 a 2 vliegers die overnemen in geval van calamiteit.  Gezien het feit dat op afstand bestuurbare vliegtuigen 10 x vaker neerstorten.
Die hogere crash rate gaan we natuurlijk proberen te verlagen door verbeteringen in software en het integreren van sensoren zodat men in het GCS als het ware rondom en in het vliegtuig kan waarnemen en met een tactiel vest zelfs kan voelen wat er in het OPV gebeurd.
Zie:  www.kennislink.nl/publicaties/tactiel-vest-houdt-piloot-in-positie
In Nederland zijn we erg goed in het ontwikkelen van geavanceerde software, integratie van diverse componenten en ontwikkeling van wereld klasse radar sensoren

Is de software stabiel, werkt alle hardware in kist en GCS naar behoren, is de verbinding betrouwbaar. Hebben de Europese luchtvaart autoriteiten geconcludeerd dat onze kist ook als Remotely Piloted Aircraft door civiel luchtruim kan vliegen.  En zijn onze politici gerust gesteld.  Dan veranderen we in fase 3 de OPV in een volwassen RPA die ook als basis kan dienen voor verdere RPA's en autonome robot vliegtuigen.

[Ace1]

UCLASS

Our approach leverages the experience of the Skunk Works® and our cross-corporation team to meet the Navy's requirements for a versatile and supportable carrier-based unmanned aircraft. UCLASS will balance endurance, early operational capability, and inherent growth that will enable operations in any environment or threat scenario.

CAPABILITIES

UCLASS is envisioned to be a versatile, carrier-based unmanned aircraft system that will provide persistent ISR collection combined with a light strike capability. Lockheed Martin's innovative approach supports the Navy's efforts to develop an operational UCLASS capability within the current schedule and budget.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/uclass.html

[Sparkplug]

UK selects Certifiable Predator B as Reaper replacement

By Beth Stevenson, London | 27 April 2016

The UK Ministry of Defence has decided to procure the in-development General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Certifiable Predator B unmanned air vehicle under its Protector programme. The UAV will be acquired through a foreign military sales contract with the US Department of Defense.

It was announced in October that the UK would replace its 10-strong MQ-9 Reaper Block 1 fleet with a derivative of the type under Protector, but it was unknown at that time if it would select the certifiable variant or the Block 5 that is currently coming off the production line.

In a 26 April justification document published on the EU's website, the MoD has now revealed that a need for the new system to be flown in UK airspace has led to the decision that the certifiable Predator is the only viable selection for the requirement. Some £415 million ($606 million) will be allocated for the purchase.

"The MoD has conducted a thorough assessment phase, which has concluded that the Certifiable Predator B [CPB] is the only system capable of achieving UK military type certification and delivering the Protector requirement within the required time-scales," the document says. "The only means of acquiring the CPB is through a contract with the US DoD."

Protector will see "more than 20" UAVs acquired to replace the Royal Air Force's in-service Reapers for operations between 2018 and 2030. Speaking last October, Air Cdre Peter Grinstead, head of UK unmanned air systems at the MoD, revealed to a Royal Aeronautical Society conference in London that a new Reaper derivative would be selected for the replacement.

At that time it was unknown which configuration the MoD would select, with Grinstead saying that he could not provide details on the exact configuration until a so-called Main Gate procurement decision was made in March 2016.


The extended-range variant
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

In February, General Atomics announced that a long-endurance Predator B, which will eventually increase the flight time of the Reaper from 27h to 40h, had carried out its first flight.

A test vehicle was retrofitted with a 24m (78.7ft)-long wing – a 4m increase – and the new variant also has an increased internal fuel capacity and additional hardpoints. The wing also has provisions for de-icing and integrated low- and high-band radio-frequency antennas.

The US Air Force has fielded an interim retrofitted Block 5 model with an extended-range capability that includes auxiliary external fuel tanks and a new wing, but General Atomics is looking towards a production variant featuring the longer wing and increased internal fuel capability as a standard that could be certified to fly in national airspace.

The longer wing is the first element for the certifiable development project, and the lead production example is expected to emerge in early 2018.

Further hardware and software upgrades planned for the certifiable MQ-9 include a sense-and-avoid capability, improved structural fatigue and damage tolerance, more robust flight control software and enhancements allowing operations in adverse weather, General Atomics says. Other improvements include short-field take-off and landing capability and spoilers on the wing to enable precision automatic landings.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uk-selects-certifiable-predator-b-as-reaper-replacem-424667/

[Elzenga]

UAE announced as first export customer for Hammerhead UAV.

Niet zo'n verrassende aankoop aangezien bouwer Piaggio goeddeels eigendom is van 1 vd Emiraten. Mede voor mij de reden deze an sich interessante UAV (ook gezien snelheid en stabiliteit) weer te schrappen en niet langer te bepleiten voor Nederland. Had ook niet de indruk dat het toestel verder wordt aangekocht binnen Europa. De Britten, Duitsers en Fransen gaan zelf wat ontwikkelen en kiezen als interim voor variant van de Reaper. Dat is ook de Nederlandse keuze.

[Sparkplug]

UAE announced as first export customer for Hammerhead UAV

By Beth Stevenson, London | 09 March 2016

Piaggio Aero has secured the first export order for its P.1HH Hammerhead unmanned air vehicle, following the United Arab Emirates' decision to acquire eight of the type.

The P180 Avanti II twin-pusher-derived UAV will be provided to the nation under a €316 million ($347 million) deal signed between Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments and the UAE government, Piaggio said on 8 March.

Hammerhead is nearing the end of its development phase, with Piaggio collaborating with fellow Italian company Finmeccanica Airborne and Space Systems, which is providing the mission control system, sensors, data link and ground control station (GCS).

The UAE order will include an electro-optical/infrared payload, radar and "advanced communications", plus logistic support and training, Piaggio says.


Piaggio Aero

A domestic order for the medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV came in February 2015 when the Italian air force announced plans to acquire six P.1HH air vehicles and three GCSs, deliveries of which are planned for 2016.

Hammerhead competes with platforms such as the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator family of MALE UAVs, and the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron and Elbit Systems Hermes 900 aircraft.

The UAE has also ordered the Predator XP UAV, an export variant of the ubiquitous MQ-1 Predator used by the US armed forces and a number of other militaries, including Italy.

The XP variant is designed to be a surveillance-only system, and does not have the capacity to carry weaponry. While Piaggio has not referred to arming the Hammerhead, the decision of the UAE to acquire two similar types might raise that possibility.

Piaggio is owned by Mubadala Development Company, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uae-announced-as-first-export-customer-for-hammerhea-422929/

[Sparkplug]

New $2.2 billion Anglo-French FCAS phase announced

By Beth Stevenson, London | 08 March 2016

France and the UK are set to launch a new project under their Future Combat Air System (FCAS) effort that will see unmanned air vehicle prototypes developed under a newly announced £1.54 billion ($2.19 billion) agreement.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande met in Amiens, France on 3 March, during which they committed funding to build on the programme's two-year £120 million ($170 million) feasibility study phase, that kicked off in November 2014.

The study is expected to conclude in late 2016, and the development of full-scale prototypes is expected to start the following year.

"We are now looking to transition to the next phase in 2017, which will prepare for the full-scale development of unmanned combat air system (UCAS) operational demonstrators by 2025," the governments say.

"This demonstration programme, the most advanced of its kind in Europe, will be centred on a versatile UCAS platform that could serve as the basis for a future operational capability beyond 2030."

The governments intend to invest $2.2 billion in the next stage of the effort and a technical review will be carried out some time around 2020.

"In addition, we will strengthen our collaboration by working together to analyse the future combat air environment, including how manned and unmanned systems might operate together," they add.

The parties involved in the development are split between British and French industry, and include: BAE Systems, Dassault, Finmeccanica Airborne and Space Systems, Rolls-Royce, Snecma/Safran and Thales.


BAE Systems

The two leaders also signed an agreement for France to explore the purchase of the MBDA Dual-Mode Brimstone 2 missile for its Airbus Helicopters Tiger attack rotorcraft.

Brimstone is used by UK forces in Iraq and Syria, and "would offer a valuable upgrade to the French arsenal", according to the UK Ministry of Defence.

The March meeting resulted in Cameron and Hollande signing an agreement to begin a joint concept phase for the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon programme to develop replacements for the MBDA Scalp/Storm Shadow missiles that both countries operate, plus the Harpoon for the UK and Exocet for France.

This concept phase would lead to a decision on replacements by 2020, and it is planned for an arrangement for this to be agreed on by the end of 2016, and for contracts to possibly be signed by March 2017.

UK defence secretary Michael Fallon also agreed one strategic airlift flight per month, to be provided to support French troops involved in counter-terrorism operations in Africa. The Royal Air Force operates eight Boeing C-17 transports that would fit the role, Flightglobal's Fleets Analyzer database shows.

The UK is also considering involvement in Operation Barkhane, Paris' ongoing anti-insurgency mission in the Sahel, Africa, "the modalities of which are still being discussed", the governments say.

"France is grateful for this commitment and supports all its operational aspects," the joint statement adds.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/new-22-billion-anglo-french-fcas-phase-announced-422866/

[Sparkplug]

Enhanced MQ-9 carries out maiden flight

By Beth Stevenson, London | 26 February 2016

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has carried out the maiden flight of an enhanced endurance variant of its MQ-9 Reaper unmanned air vehicle at its Palmdale, California facility.

Conducted on 18 February, the test flight of the extended range (ER) "Long Wing" MQ-9 saw the UAV fly at 7,500ft and carry out a series of airworthiness manoeuvres. The company says a full test programme will take place to declare the type operationally capable.

The test vehicle was retrofitted with a 4m (13ft) longer wing than the MQ-9 version, at 24m, with an increased internal fuel capacity and additional hardpoints. The wings also have provisions for de-icing and integrated low- and high-band radio-frequency antennas.

The new version of the medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV will be able to fly for 40h, up from the 27h endurance of the previous system.

The US Air Force has fielded an interim retrofitted Block 5 model with an extended range capability that includes auxiliary external fuel tanks and new wings, but General Atomics is looking towards a production variant featuring the longer wings and increased internal fuel capability as a standard that could be certified to fly in national airspace.

The wing has been designed to conform with NATO's airworthiness standard for UAVs and includes lightning and bird strike protection, non-destructive testing, and advanced composite and adhesive materials for extreme environments, General Atomics co-owner Linden Blue says.

The longer wings are the first elements for the certifiable development project, and the first production example is expected in early 2018.


US Air Force

Further hardware and software upgrades planned for the certifiable MQ-9 will include sense-and-avoid capability, improved structural fatigue and damage tolerance, more robust flight control software, and enhancements allowing operations in adverse weather, the company says. Other improvements include short-field take-off and landing capability and spoilers on the wings which enable precision automatic landings.

Under its Protector programme, the UK will acquire 20 new UAVs to replace its 10 Block 1 Reapers. It is expected to choose either the Block 5 currently in production or wait for the ER version.

Another recent success for the MQ-9 programme was a contract award from Spain for the delivery of four Block 5 Reapers, plus two ground control stations.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/enhanced-mq-9-carries-out-maiden-flight-422452/

[Sparkplug]

Northrop preparing German Euro Hawk to fly again

By James Drew, Washington DC | 26 February 2016

The Northrop Grumman-built Euro Hawk unmanned air vehicle will fly again after the German air force decided to resume testing of the aircraft and its Airbus Defence & Space signals intelligence (SIGINT) payload.

Since the cancellation of Euro Hawk in May 2013, Germany's one RQ-4 Global Hawk-derived full-scale demonstrator has been in storage at Manching Air Base. Plans hatched last year will see testing resume as Germany looks to field the SIGINT payload, perhaps on an alternative platform.

"Working with our German partners, we are returning our full-scale demonstrator to flight status and we continue to negotiate with the German Air Force to prove out that [Airbus] payload that we're currently under contract with," says Northrop Global Hawk chief Mick Jaggers. "I have a crew in Manching right now putting that aircraft back into flight status."


Northrop Grumman

Euro Hawk development began in 2000, but the programme was shuttered because of concerns about airworthiness and unmanned aircraft integration in European airspace.

Early-model Global Hawks do not have a weather radar or anti-icing systems, and cannot automatically detect and avoid other aircraft when transiting to their operating altitudes of 60,000ft.

Germany is considering several options for hosting the Airbus-developed electronic and communications intelligence sensor, which began flight testing in January 2013 before being truncated.

One option is the Global Hawk-derived MQ-4C Triton – being built for the US Navy and Australia – or perhaps the same Global Hawk type being delivered to NATO for its Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) programme. Another option is to host the payload on a manned business jet aircraft.

Jaggers says airspace integration is not as problematic as it once was for the Global Hawk type.

"We've been in a couple of demos in the European theatre, including Unified Vision in 2014 and Trident Juncture in 2015," he says. "When you look at the airspace that was opened for us, we've been through the entire European airspace right now."

Three "Q-4" types will eventually be hosted in Europe at Sigonella Air Base in Italy: the US Air Force and NATO Global Hawks and MQ-4C Triton. The US military has already begun developing sense-and-avoid technologies and adverse weather modifications for its RQ-4s.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/northrop-preparing-german-euro-hawk-to-fly-again-422449/

[Sparkplug]

Singapore Airshow 2016: USN set to debut enhanced MQ-8B Fire Scout UAS aboard Littoral Combat Ship

Kelvin Wong, Singapore - IHS Jane's International Defence Review | 15 February 2016


The US Navy's MQ-8B Fire Scout made its maiden flight with the AN/ZPY-4(V)1 surveillance radar at NAS Patuxent River's Webster Field Annex, Maryland, on 16 June 2014. Source: Northrop Grumman

Key Points
• The US Navy is set to field an improved MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial system aboard the Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado in June 2016.
• The MQ-8B UAS is equipped with the newly installed Telephonics X-band RDR-1700B+ maritime surveillance radar.

The US Navy (USN) is nearly ready to commence deployment of a radar-equipped Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial system (UAS) aboard the Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) from June 2016, an official from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) told IHS Jane's .

According to Captain Jeffrey Dodge, Multi-Mission Tactical UAS programme manager at NAVAIR, the MQ-8B has been fitted with the Telephonics X-band RDR-1700B+ multimode maritime surveillance radar which is known in USN service as the AN/ZPY-4(V)1.

The crew of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC)-23 "Wildcards" will be the first USN composite helicopter squadron to operate the enhanced MQ-8B UAS from Coronado in combination with an embarked MH-60S naval helicopter. Pre-deployment training with an under way period for the detachment is expected to commence in March 2016.

"One of the things that we want to use the Fire Scout for is to enhance maritime situational awareness in the sea and airspace around the ship, and persistence is important because you want to keep track of how things change," Capt Dodge said. "Previous to this we were working with an [electro-optical infrared] EO/IR package, and even though we added some algorithms that helped with the detection of targets on the video feed there is still a limit on the field of view that you can get out of it, so we were looking at only a little bit of that sea or airspace at any given time."

"With the radar we are going to open up a 180° aperture and be able to look out at pretty [long] ranges and see it all at once, and that in co-ordination with [built-in] automatic identification system (AIS) to identify merchant shipping will give us a much better ability to be aware of what's going on [before employing] the EO/IR package to visually identify what we are picking up with the radar," he added.

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http://www.janes.com/article/58024/singapore-airshow-2016-usn-set-to-debut-enhanced-mq-8b-fire-scout-uas-aboard-littoral-combat-ship

[Ace1]

SINGAPORE: New UAV partnership ups Skeldar appeal

Recently established unmanned air vehicle joint venture UMS Skeldar believes it will be able to boost the competitiveness of the Saab Skeldar unmanned helicopter over rival systems.

In December it was announced that UMS and Saab's UAV division would jointly promote Skeldar through the new business, alongside the former's range of rotary- and fixed-wing platforms, which head of business development David Willems says will enhance the appeal of the family of aircraft.

Willems says that the pricing structure will be modified for Skeldar, which will "put us in a very competitive bracket". Systems with a similar capability to Skeldar include the Schiebel Camcopter and CybAero Apid UAVs.

UMS Skeldar offers the 3h-endurance R350 rotary-wing UAV in addition to Skeldar and the F330 and F720 fixed-wing designs.

The R350 has seen success in Europe, while the fixed-wing models have been used in the Middle East, Willems says.

It will also look to provide UAVs on a service basis and for training, as "budgets are shrinking everywhere, and services contracts are a good way to target the market", Willems adds.

The company announced during the show that it will begin to provide training in Indonesia, and previous successes include offering data services to Singapore's police force.

In addition, the joint venture will pursue military opportunities, says Willems. "There are some big navy tenders in Asia and Europe and we are involved in the tenders right now," he says.

The R350 is also being pitched to a government agency in China, a market that the Apid UAV has seen success in.

Work is underway to integrate Skeldar into the common ground control station used by the other three systems, Willems says.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/singapore-new-uav-partnership-ups-skeldar-appeal-421963/

[Sparkplug]

UCLASS reborn as US Navy spy-tanker

By James Drew, Washington DC | 11 February 2016

The US Navy's long-running attempt to field a carrier-based unmanned combat aircraft has taken another turn, morphing from a surveillance and strike aircraft into a reconnaissance and aerial refuelling drone with "limited strike capability".

The about-turn follows a top-level review and restructuring of the now-defunct unmanned carrier-launched airborne surveillance and strike (UCLASS) project, with the service's latest budget instead funding the RAQ-25 CBARS, or carrier-based aerial refuelling system.

According to budget documents, $1.1 billion has been committed to UCLASS through fiscal 2016, supporting carrier-based demonstrations of the Northrop Grumman X-47B and other activities. About $435 million was enacted by Congress for 2016, but CBARS takes form with just $89 million in the fiscal 2017 budget submission.

Total funding for CBARS is $2.2 billion through 2021 and a competition and downselect of an air vehicle provide has been delayed by approximately one year to 2017 compared to the discarded UCLASS plan. Northrop, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems are vying to build the flying gas station, which is expected to reduce dependence on Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for aerial refuelling.

"The real value of this restructure is that it incrementally gets at the manned-unmanned interface and operation on the carrier deck and in the air wing by the mid-2020s," says Rear Adm William Lescher, navy deputy assistant secretary for budget. "The mission of tanking is going to be critical to making the air wing more effective and projecting power forward, but the long-endurance [surveillance and targeting] is going to be critical as well. The limited strike function adds value."


Flightglobal

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/uclass-reborn-as-us-navy-spy-tanker-421844/

[Sparkplug]

DOD official: World faces 'Terminator conundrum' on AI weapons

By James Drew, Washington DC | 22 January 2016

The US military faces a "Terminator conundrum" when it comes to artificially intelligent killing machines, including armed UAVs and loitering munitions.

The Department of Defense (DOD) does not field such weapons today, says one senior military official – but the technology is nevertheless close at hand, and other nations might press forward.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC today, vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen Paul Selva says there should be a national and global debate on "AI" weapons for air, land, sea and undersea combat.

"We have proven that we can build and field unmanned underwater vehicles, unmanned surface vessels, unmanned wheeled vehicles, and remotely piloted air vehicles," he says. "We can actually build 'autonomous' vehicles in every one of those categories.

"That gets us to the cusp of a question about whether or not we are willing to have unmanned autonomous systems that can launch on an enemy. What happens when that thing can inflict mortal harm and is empowered by artificial intelligence?"


Northrop Grumman X-47B is a proposed carrier-based UAV that would be armed and largely autonomous, but the human operator would make any decision to employ weapons.
US Navy

Selva says the technology is already here, with rudimentary AI systems monitoring day-to-day bank transactions and mining large volumes of data. But there are ethical, political and laws-of-war questions that must be answered before these types of weapons enter combat, he says.

"I call it 'the Terminator conundrum'," he says. "That's a debate we need to have, I would argue nationally and internationally, to answer if we as humans want to cross that line."

The US government has initiated and then cancelled several UAV and missile programmes that would have autonomously identified and destroyed targets based on "hard-coded" decision metrics.

"They are robotic, but not intelligent. There is a significant difference," Selva says, adding that true AI machines could study targets and track them, but the final decision to launch weapons should remain with humans. "That's about as far as I'm willing to go at this point," he says.

High-profile technologists such as Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have come out against AI weapons, saying they could spell disaster for humanity.

Concerns about armed robots entered popular culture with The Terminator movie in 1984, but became a more pressing worry when the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1 Predator UAV was armed with the AGM-114 Hellfire missile in 2002.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dod-official-world-faces-terminator-conundrum-on-421094/

[Sparkplug]

Boeing's Unmanned Little Bird nears completion of flight trials

Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly | 10 January 2016


Boeing is conducting final flight trials of its MD 500-based H-6U Unmanned Little Bird that it expects to conclude in mid-2016. Source: Boeing

Boeing expects to conclude flight trials of its optionally piloted H-6U Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) later this year, a company spokesperson told IHS Jane's on 11 January.

The H-6U, which is an MD 500 Little Bird observation and scout platform fitted with Boeing's Optionally Piloted Vehicle kit, is currently conducting its final flight trials, the company said in a statement. No further details as to the nature of the trials or the company's plans for the platform once the trials are concluded in mid-2016 were disclosed.

"The MD 500 helicopter, with the Optionally Piloted Vehicle kit installed on it, is currently undergoing flight testing. We expect flight tests to be completed in mid-2016," IHS Jane's was told in response to a question on the status of the programme.

Boeing has two ULB helicopters at its Mesa facility in Arizona that it is using on multiple US and international customer technology demonstration programmes, such as automated shipboard launch/recovery, autonomous cargo delivery system, cyber attack resistance, and development of advanced flight control system prototyping. They are also being tested for unmanned kits to potentially convert a variety of helicopters to optionally piloted platforms.

Of all the potential international requirements for unmanned/optionally piloted MD 500 technology, arguably none are as defined or advanced as those of South Korea. Boeing was due to undertake demonstration flights of the ULB for South Korea in late 2015, but it has not said if this has yet happened (these latest unmanned flight trials were originally scheduled to have taken place before the end of 2014 but were understood to have been delayed by certification and clearance issues).

Boeing has previously conducted a demonstration flight of the ULB helicopter for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) in the United States in 2012, and in 2013 a memorandum of understanding was signed with Korea Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD) to convert an undisclosed number of the RoKA's MD 500 helicopters into unmanned platforms.

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http://www.janes.com/article/57095/boeing-s-unmanned-little-bird-nears-completion-of-flight-trials

[Jooop]

Turks UCAV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqRj59K9zPk

[Sparkplug]

Northrop Grumman wins DARPA TERN programme

By Stephen Trimble, Washington DC | 28 December 2015

Northrop Grumman will demonstrate that an MQ-9 Reaper-sized unmanned air vehicle (UAV) can operate at sea from ships smaller than an aircraft carrier under a $93 million contract awarded on 24 December.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) eliminated AeroVironment last September as Northrop's only remaining competitor for the Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) programme. But Northrop's role in designing, developing and demonstrating the medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV was not confirmed until DARPA announced the contract award.

The terms of the contract require Northrop to contribute $39 million, raising the overall cost of the demonstration programme to $132 million.


DARPA

On 11 December, Northrop revealed a model of the company's secretive design to a handful of journalists touring the company's El Segundo, California, research and manufacturing facilities. The model showed Northrop had selected a flying-wing tailsitter design with a nose-mounted counter-rotating propeller system.

The 12.2m (40ft)-span vehicle appeared reminiscent of the tail-sitting Lockheed XFV-1 and Convair XFY-1 Pogo fighters research projects of the 1950s. But Northrop's TERN differed in design with the absence of a fuselage and a much larger set of counter-rotating propellers that measured as much as one-third of the wingspan.

The model also showed that Northrop envisioned mounting weapons and other stores externally on hard points under the wing.

DARPA launched the TERN programme to solve a capability problem for the US Navy. The service regularly operates small, tactical unmanned air systems, such as the Boeing/Insitu Integrator from frigate-class ships, using a catapult to launch the aircraft and a crane to recover it. But carrying payloads larger than about 30kg required using an unmanned helicopter, such as the Northrop MQ-8C Fire Scout, which can carry heavier loads but lacks the range and endurance of a General Atomics Aeronautics Systems MQ-9.

The TERN attempts to bridge that gap with a vehicle that can carry a 272kg payload on missions up to 900nm (1,670km).

The Phase III contract awarded to Northrop on 24 December requires the company to build a demonstrator, perform ground testing and demonstrate the aircraft at sea.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/northrop-grumman-wins-darpa-tern-programme-420385/