UCAV/UAV/UAS News and discussion 2015

[mrmalaya]

The USN will be controlling its UCLASS units from embedded E2Ds:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...-fleet-407693/

Perhaps has implications for the way other UCAV operators might run their fleets?

[Sanem]

The USN will be controlling its UCLASS units from embedded E2Ds:?

an interesting bureacratic choice, as it keeps the UCLASS clear of the F-35 and its defenders, as at least on paper it's not in the same game

[Tango III]

Iran’s Hama new drone makes maiden flight.

http://www.tasnimnews.com/English/Home/Single/614703

[Tango III]

The second Israeli-made UAV-Heron of Indian Air Force crashed in Rajasthan.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/15011...shes-rajasthan

[mrmalaya]

Great to have your input Tango III , thanks!

[Tango III]

The Netherlands and aerospace services company Strat Aero have signed a letter of intent for the establishment of an unmanned air vehicle training facility focused on the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...cility-407808/

[bring_it_on]

an interesting bureacratic choice, as it keeps the UCLASS clear of the F-35 and its defenders, as at least on paper it's not in the same game

And one keeps on wondering when the USN would actually get off the A-12 phobia and try to frame requirements that actually try to produce something in line with the technology capability that exists today. But then again, you can keep de-risking the $hit out of technology and wait till the adversary fields a system you wished you had

[djcross]

E-2D is and ISR asset.
UCLASS is an ISR asset.

Why do you believe combining two platforms with the same mission requirements into a squadron is illogical? ISR guys know ISR requirements and how to plan/execute ISR missions.

It would be illogical to combine and ISR asset into an attack squadron. Attack guys don't have the slightest clue about ISR.

[TomcatViP]

E-2D is and ISR asset.
UCLASS is an ISR asset.

Why do you believe combining two platforms with the same mission requirements into a squadron is illogical? ISR guys know ISR requirements and how to plan/execute ISR missions.

It would be illogical to combine and ISR asset into an attack squadron. Attack guys don't have the slightest clue about ISR.

You take a VLO aircraft
Put passive radar sensor on it (Conformal AESA)
Ping the sky overall in its direction with an E2 through "VHF" Signal
Boom, you get an anti-pakFa/J20 solution


oooooh. Wait. That's what Su had also in mind
You are absolutely right. It makes sense.

It's a good news (by the way) for the 35 and all USN over stick addicted Pilots. The robot Joe are still one block away


Source:
None other than me some very month ago. Ok Ok modesty is still...

[djcross]

You take a VLO aircraft
Put passive radar sensor on it (Conformal AESA)
Ping the sky overall in its direction with an E2 through "VHF" Signal
Boom, you get an anti-pakFa/J20 solution


oooooh. Wait. That's what Su had also in mind
You are absolutely right. It makes sense.

It's a good news (by the way) for the 35 and all USN over stick addicted Pilots. The robot Joe are still one block away


Source:
None other than me some very month ago. Ok Ok modesty is still...

You do realize E-2 spends a large percentage of its on-station mission time listening? Don't you?

If an E-2 is radiating, everybody knows its there and they also know the CSG is within XXX miles. That defeats the CSG's primary defense - getting lost in the big blue ocean.

[mrmalaya]

Netherlands to open UAV training centre for Europe:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...cility-407808/

[TomcatViP]

You do realize E-2 spends a large percentage of its on-station mission time listening? Don't you?

If an E-2 is radiating, everybody knows its there and they also know the CSG is within XXX miles. That defeats the CSG's primary defense - getting lost in the big blue ocean.

Yes, poor posting from myself. Stand now corrected, Thx.

[Tango III]

The US Federal Aviation Administration has teamed up with news network CNN to explore the integration of sophisticated unmanned air vehicles into newsgathering.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...avs-in-407844/

[Sanem]

E-2D is and ISR asset.
UCLASS is an ISR asset.

the MQ-9 is an ISR asset
but you put an F-16's worth of weapons under its wings, and you get the most-used attack aircraft in decades

if they were to put the UCLASS with the attack wings, then a number of pilots would be reduced to sitting behind a screen, using a mouse to point and click stuff to death, rather than flying around on a rocketship
the Air Force has encountered this problem but has refused to accept it. as a result it's losing RPV pilots, even as demand is increasing (so much for all those who said UAVs would be useless when the West leaves Afghanistan)
the Army found an easy solution: just let NCO's do it, you don't need experience pilots. the UCLASS will take this a step further, as it'll be completely automated from take off to landing
so the Navy is taking the middle road: use its E-2D people

the other thing is that by putting the UCLASS with ISR, you're saying its an ISR asset, completely different from the F-35
if you put it with the attack wings, you're saying active combat pilots will be reduced to playing Hawx, and more importantly you're saying it might take over roles from the F-35. then you're suddenly getting in the way of a $300 billion program
by hiding with the ISR wing, the UCLASS is a wolf in sheep's skin. and probably the only way for it to reach operational status alive

It's a good news (by the way) for the 35 and all USN over stick addicted Pilots. The robot Joe are still one block away

the MQ-9 was only a block away from the F-16
then they started closing down F-16 squadrons, or replacing them with MQ-9s
if the F-35 slips up, you can be sure the UCLASS' builder will suddenly reveal that it can take over a large number of the F-35's missions, even as the F-18I/J takes over the other missions

The US Federal Aviation Administration has teamed up with news network CNN to explore the integration of sophisticated unmanned air vehicles into newsgathering.

funny how the FAA is limiting private UAV use, but the big propaganda generators can still use them
I guess they don't want private people to find an easy way to film stuff the government doesn't want us to know
I remember the story of an environmentalist who used a drone to film illegal activities by a firm. the guy then gets fined and his proof is illegal in court, because the FAA says you can't video a crimenal act without their approval

[Tango III]

A single US Air Force General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper unmanned air vehicle has surpassed a record 20,000 flight hours to date, following a 17h combat sortie in support of the US military's operations in Afghanistan.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/art...estone-407863/

[Tango III]

Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) experts at BAE Systems are developing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensor payload able to look for submerged enemy submarines by detecting small variations in the Earth's magnetic field.

http://www.militaryaerospace.com/art...ing-drone.html

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportun...tabmode=list&=

[SajeevJino]

.


From Reuters ..

An industry source familiar with U.S.-India discussions on the defense initiative said Kendall aimed to finalize two pilot projects, one involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the other involving systems for the C-130 military transport aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp.

The source said the drone project involved the RQ-11 "Raven" built by AeroVironment Inc, a small U.S. firm. Raven is the world's most widely used unmanned aircraft, a lightweight plane that can be used manually, or for autonomous operations.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0UT4P820150115

[Tango III]

Libyan militia purportedly uses Camcopter in operation against strategic air base

[mrmalaya]

According to bbc the UK will deploy more UAVs in the Middle East:

"Mr Cameron also said Britain would deploy more unarmed drones to help ground forces tackle Islamic State."

Unarmed? Watchkeeper or Reaper?

[halloweene]

Well... Reapers can't go back to UK due to regulations. Some would be very welcome in Niamey