10 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
JERUSALEM — In a first for Israel, Elbit Systems is adding unmanned aerial system capabilities to its Seagull unmanned surface vehicle, according to the company.
The Seagull USV incorporates the Skylark C, a maritime drone based on the Skylark mini-UAS. The Seagull, which is currently operational and looks like a patrol boat, was designed as a solution for several missions, including anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures.
Elbit announced on July 8 that it had tested the new unmanned combo as a means to provide new intelligence gathering capabilities and improve situational awareness for naval forces. With a takeoff weight of 15 kilograms, the Skylark C provides a visual feed transmitted to land-based control units. The addition of a UAV also extends the Seagull operator's line of sight.
Skylark C was unveiled in 2016 as an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance asset. As an electrically propelled drone with low visual and acoustic signature, the company advertised it as ideal for covert operations and special naval operations, such as anti-piracy missions.
Elbit demonstrated the Seagull — without the UAV capability — to the British Defence Ministry last month.
This concept of integrating UAVs with existing technology is part of a trend across Israel. Elbit has incorporated its MAGNI micro-drone onto vehicles and is selling large numbers of small and medium-sized UAVs to countries that want to integrate them throughout ground forces.
Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems acquired local drone-focused firm Aeronautics Limited last year in hopes of combining their capabilities. The move could see UAVs alongside optionally manned vehicles.
For its part, the U.S. Navy has experimented with the unmanned vessel Sea Hunter, but reports do not indicate UAVs have been added to it.
Drone-enabled fleets are becoming part of the future of naval operations: Small UAVs, such as the Scan Eagle, are deployed from manned ships, and manned submarines have also launched drones.
Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, has argued that while the U.S. currently uses USVs to conduct anti-submarine warfare, the Navy “should increase the role of unmanned systems.”
14 octobre 2022 | International, Aérospatial
BRUSSELS — NATO said on Friday it would launch its annual nuclear exercise “Steadfast Noon” on Monday, with up to 60 aircraft taking part in training flights…
5 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has opened a lab focused on developing materials for new deployable space structures. Construction on the Deployable Structures Laboratory, or DeSel, began in December 2019 and opened Oct. 29, 2020. Scientists and engineers moving into the $4 million lab at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, will continue the work of the Spacecraft Component Technology Center of Excellence, which has a history of developing spacecraft structure materials. DeSel contains specialized equipment and a climate-controlled, vibration-isolated laboratory capable of testing spacecraft structures up to 20-by-15 meters, allowing AFRL to further research and develop high-strain composite materials. “I'm excited to have a facility that was specifically built for testing novel deployable space structures,” Benjamin Urioste, research engineer and lead for the Integrated Structural Systems team, said in a statement. “With the push toward hybrid architecture and smaller satellites, high packing efficiency structures and the ability to bring large satellite capability to small satellites is more important than ever.” “This new class of high strain composite enabled structures requires new ground test facilities,” he added. “Satellite deployments are nerve-wracking, one-shot endeavors and the high-fidelity ground testing that will take place in the DeSel is critical to ensuring on-orbit success.” Spacecraft Technologies Division chief Mark Roverse said the structures, made possible by high strain composites, "will enable new mission paradigms for the U.S. Space Force.” “AFRL has led development of high strain composites for deployed spacecraft structures, and we are excited to see the new mission capabilities that are being enabled,” Roverse added. One spacecraft in development that will benefit from these new structures is AFRL's Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstration and Research project. With the SSPIDR project, the lab wants to build a spacecraft capable of collecting solar energy on orbit and then transmitting that energy to forward-operating bases via radio frequency. Northrop Grumman was awarded a $100 million contract to support space-based experiments informing SSPIDR's development. The Space Force is testing that technology on the X-37B, the service's secretive spacecraft, but DeSel's work will provide the materials needed to build the SSPIDR craft. “This innovative research will help us to deliver the essential energy our warfighters need at the right place at the right time,” explained Col. Eric Felt, director of the AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate. “Some of the first structures that we look forward to testing in this new lab are those required for our Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstration and Research (SSPIDR) project, one of our top priority programs.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/11/04/air-force-research-laboratory-open-new-space-lab/
4 juillet 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
Gareth Jennings The United Kingdom must hold a fair and open competition before selecting any new surveillance aircraft to replace its current Boeing E-3D Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS), the country's parliament has said. The intervention by the Defence Committee followed earlier media reports that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had already decided to procure the Boeing E-737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to replace the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) increasingly unserviceable and expensive E-3Ds. “The chairman of the Defence Committee has written to the Minister of Defence Procurement to request that any requirement for replacing the UK's AWACS aircraft be put out to a competitive tender, rather than bought ‘off-the-shelf' with no competition taking place,” the committee declared on 3 July, adding: “On the possibility of Sentry being replaced with a new system, the [committee] notes the advantages of a competitive tender in terms of maximising value for money and allowing proper consideration of a range of alternatives. The committee also considers that a competition is particularly appropriate in this case, as there are viable alternatives available, which deserve to be given fair consideration.” The RAF currently has six E-3Ds in its operational fleet, with the type having entered service in 1991. While other operators of the type have benefited from regular upgrades, the RAF's fleet has fallen behind in terms of capabilities due to a lack of investment. In January 2017, the fleet was temporarily grounded due to an electrical fault, and despite an announcement in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) of 2015 that the fleet would be upgraded and extended from 2025 to 2035, the legacy Boeing 707 host airframe is becoming too expensive to sustain and an alternative is understood to be being sought. http://www.janes.com/article/81497/uk-must-compete-future-surveillance-aircraft-procurement-parliament-states