Marines practice amphibious war, storm US beaches

A small group of Marines trudged onto the beach sands in pitch-black night with an armada of US Navy warships sailing just off the shore. Their mission: root out insurgents that threatened to attack another American force to the south.

Military officials say the operation being conducted in Virginia and North Carolina is the largest amphibious training exercise they've attempted in at least a decade. Marines have been fighting wars in landlocked countries like Iraq and Afghanistan for years, and many have never even set foot on a Navy ship. That's of particular concern as the military shifts its strategic focus toward the coastal regions of the Middle East, such as Iran, and the Pacific, where North Korea and China are drawing increasing attention from the US.

"Suicide" Drones for U.S Army

A miniature "kamikaze" drone designed to quietly hover in the sky before dive-bombing and slamming into a human target will soon be part of the US Army's arsenal, officials say.

Dubbed the "Switchblade," the robotic aircraft represents the latest attempt by the United States to refine how it takes out suspected militants.

Weighing less than two kilos, the drone is small enough to fit into a soldier's backpack and is launched from a tube, with wings quickly folding out as it soars into the air, according to manufacturer AeroVironment.

Powered by a small electric motor, the Switchblade transmits video in real time from overhead, allowing a soldier to identify an enemy, the company said in a press release last month.

"Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target," it said.

The drone then flies into the "target," detonating a small explosive.

The California-based firm also said the drone can be called off at the last moment, even after a kill mission has been ordered. That feature provides troops with "a level of control not available in other weapon systems," it said.

The United States currently uses larger Predator and Reaper drones to hunt down suspected militants in Pakistan and elsewhere.

The robotic planes fire powerful Hellfire missiles and drop heavy bombs that can cause civilian casualties and extensive damage, which has fueled popular anger with the United States in Pakistan.

In the war in Afghanistan, US and coalition troops fighting the the Taliban can call in artillery fire or air strikes from fighter jets and attack helicopters. But the heavy firepower has been blamed by Afghan leaders for claiming the lives of innocent civilians and strained US relations with Kabul.

The Switchblade, however, is touted as a way to avoid killing bystanders.

"Flying quietly at high speed the Switchblade delivers its onboard explosive payload with precision while minimizing collateral damage," the company said.

The US Army in June approved a $4.9 million contract for AeroVironment to supply the new drones as soon as possible. Officials have not said how many Switchblade drones were ordered or when the robotic weapons would make into the hands of US forces.

Human rights groups have raised concerns that the use of drones by the CIA has allowed the conduct of a secret assassination campaign abroad without public scrutiny and little oversight by lawmakers in Congress.

USA Looking For Potent Weapons To Wage Cyber War On China

Pentagon plans to increase its research into offensive cyber warfare to counter the growing threat of Chinese in the cyber battle field. It is a perception growing in some quarters of the US Government that the Chinese have stolen the march over the Americans in the Cyber land and the frequency with which they have hacked into sensitive areas of the defense industry goes on to prove that theory.

The U.S. government needed "more and better options" to safeguard the country from assaults on sensitive computer networks and had to invest in both offensive and defensive tools, said Regina Dugan, director of the Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"Malicious cyberattacks are not merely an existential threat to our bits and bytes. They are a real threat to our physical systems, including our military systems," Dugan told a conference.

"To this end, in the coming years we will focus an increasing portion of our cyber research on the investigation of offensive capabilities to address military-specific needs," she said.

DARPA has proposed boosting funding in cyber research in the proposed 2012 budget from $120 million to $208 million and the Defense Department leadership has called for $500 million in funding for cybersecurity over the next five years, she said.

With other countries pursuing cyberwarfare capabilities and the danger from digital attacks growing by the day, the United States had to look at developing "offensive" arms to protect national security, said Dugan, without specifying what weapons could be employed.

"Our first goal must be to prevent war. We do so in part by being prepared for it. Failing prevention, however, we must accept our responsibility to be prepared to respond," she said.

To this end the first test of trans-Atlantic responses to cyber incidents, including cyber-attacks, took place in Brussels on the 8th of this month. Experts from the US Government joined counterparts from EU Member States to simulate how cyber security authorities on both sides of the Atlantic would cooperate in response to attacks.

Two hypothetical scenarios were tested: a cyber-attack which attempts to extract and publish online sensitive information from the EU's national cyber security agencies, and an attack on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems in EU power generation equipment.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda said: "Recent high profile cyber-attacks show that global threats need global action. Today's exercise provides valuable lessons for specialists on both sides of the Atlantic."

Sony Playstation, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, European Commission and European External Action Service have all been subject to cyber-attacks in recent months.

In practical terms, the EU contribution to Cyber Atlantic 2011 has been enabled by the European Commission, with key support from ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency, which has facilitated the exercise with the vital technical contributions provided by EU member states. The Department of Homeland Security has been in the lead for the US. The EU CERT (IP/11/694) also participated as an observer.

The Cyber Atlantic 2011 exercise was based on two hypothetical scenarios.

In the first scenario, various EU National Cyber Security Agencies (NCSAs) were confronted with what is known as an Advanced Persistence Threat (APT). Under this scenario, a hacker group, active for several years, launched a sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack to extract sensitive information from the victims, and publish this data online. Several cyber security agencies had been monitoring the group closely for more than a year. This surveillance led to cooperation between some European countries which succeeded in fighting off the attack. The US followed this incident and cooperated with the affected countries fearing that it may also be targeted.

The second scenario was based on (SCADA) system failure in an EU wind turbine. SCADA systems monitor and control processes in essential systems like water treatment and distribution, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power transmission and distribution, wind farms, civil defence siren systems, and large communications systems. This infrastructure failure, and the fact that US companies provide a significant percentage of SCADA equipment and software to Europe, led the EU to request coordination with American partners.

A recent DARPA analysis of cybersecurity over several months concluded that the U.S. government had to rethink how it defends cyberspace to keep up with a threat evolving at lightning speed.

"Why is it that despite billions of dollars in investment and the concerted efforts of many dedicated individuals, it feels like we are losing ground?" she asked.

The DARPA study found that security software had grown more and more complex over the past two decades - involving up to 10 million lines of code- while various viruses and other digital assaults required an average of 125 lines of code for malware, according to Dugan.

DARPA organized the "cyber colloquium" in the Washington suburb of Arlington to help find better ways to address the digital threat, inviting members of industry, government and academia - including "white hat" hackers, she said.

At the same event, the head of the National Security Agency, the secretive intelligence agency that carries out eavesdropping on foreign communications, and the U.S. military's newly created cyber command, Gen. Keith Alexander, proposed one way to improve the country's cyber defenses - cloud computing.

By shifting to a "cloud architecture," the United States would save money and be better placed to protect vital computer networks, Alexander said.

The current complex web of government and military networks is unwieldy and intelligence agencies cannot easily monitor for intrusions or attacks, he said.

Army rolls out first Apache Block III aircraft

The first Apache Block III helicopter was delivered to the Army today during a ceremony at the Boeing plant here in which the aircraft was rolled out on stage under bright lights and a wisp of generated smoke.

Hundreds of industry, government and military officials attended the event in which two of the new AH-64 aircraft were actually delivered to the Army ahead of schedule. The first Block III helicopter was finished about a week early and the second about a month ahead of schedule, according to David Koopersmith, Boeing Attack Helicopter Programs vice president.

"It's an amazing game-changer," said Maj. Gen. Tim Crosby about the new Apache. Crosby, the Army's program executive officer for aviation, went on to say during a press conference that no other helicopter in the world could match the Apache Block III.

The new attack helicopter has a stronger engine, improved avionics, better computer-networking capability and increased maneuverability when compared to current Apaches, officials said.

The Block III Apache features a 701D engine, composite rotor blades, a "Rotorcraft Drive System of the 21st Century" known as RDS-21, Face Gear Transmission and High Performance Shock Strut advanced landing gear.

"It's like flying an Appaloosa stud," said Lt. Col. Dan Bailey, Apache Block III program manager, who said he had experience as a youth breaking horses.

"This aircraft is so much faster and stronger than anything we've had in the past," Bailey said.

Bailey said he used to compare the Block III to the older Apache models by saying it was like driving a sports car compared to a sedan. But after flying the newest aircraft configuration, he said it's much more than that.

"Flying the Block III is truly like trying to hold back that Appaloosa stud," Bailey said. "He always wants to go."

The first two Apache Block III aircraft will replace current prototypes and be flown by test pilots from the Redstone Test Center in Alabama. The helicopters will at first be kept at the Boeing complex in Mesa, Ariz., where pilots and engineers from Redstone will work with them. Then one of the two new helicopters may eventually be placed at Redstone Arsenal, officials said.

The next five helicopters are scheduled to be finished in March and will be fielded to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Bn., 1st Aviation Regiment at Fort Riley, Kan. The unit is part of the 1st Infantry Division and is slated to be at initial operating capability with the Apache Block III helicopters by the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, officials said. They said it's likely the 1/1st will deploy to Afghanistan with the aircraft soon after that.

The 1st Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas, is the next unit tentatively scheduled to be fielded with the Apache Block III. But that could change, Army officials were quick to point out.

Overall, the Army plans to acquire 690 Block III Apaches between now and 2026 at a production rate of roughly two battalions per year, beginning in fiscal year 2013. Some of these will be re-manufactured aircraft and some built completely new. Crosby did add that the "constrained budget environment" over the next few years could affect the acquisition rate.

"We've got to think of this as part of the overall modernization strategy of the Army today," Crosby said of the Apache Block III.

Plans also exist to field the Apache Block III with U.S. allies such as Taiwan. The Taiwan government has a contract for 30 of the new aircraft to be fielded over a 12-month period. Officials added that other coalition nations have requested demonstrations of the new aircraft's capabilities.

source Army News Service

US Army Realizes The Futility Of Keeping Pakistan As An Ally

It seems the US army has finally come to the conclusion that many of us already knew. The assumption is quite simple, depending on Pakistan for any help in war efforts is like inviting the wolf to guard the hen-house. After the convoy controversy in which Pakistan made USA grovel, US army has decided to find alternative routes to supply its men in Afghanistan.

As per reports in 2009 upto 90% of US army supplies for Afghanistan went through Pakistan specifically through Karachi port. Now 40% of these supplies are being routed through what is knows as the "Northern Distribution Network", this is a collection of road and rail networks across Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

According to Pentagon sources , US army wants to send 75% of all its supply through the Northern Distribution Network.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced last month that 10,000 troops would leave this year and all 33,000 personnel sent as part of a surge ordered in late 2009 would be home by next summer, leaving a U.S. force of some 65,000.

There are currently up to 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including about 99,000 from the United States. Obama has indicated a series of drawdowns until Afghan forces assume security responsibility in 2014.

General David Petraeus Planning A Retreat From Afghanistan

This news has been discussed quite often but more like conjunctures, rumors. Finally it is out in the open that General David Petraeus is giving the final shape to the retreat of Americans troops.(Do I see another Vietnam). Even though Taliban and AL-Qaeda remain undefeated in this region. The exact nature of this retreat is not clear to anybody because it is being guarded zealously by the General himself.

When asked about it he jokingly said that there is only one officer working on this project and you are looking at him.(Wry humor). The press was agog with news that around 5,000 to 10,000 troops will be removed in the first phase. This was dismissed by the General as rubbish because he said that he is the only person with the plans so how come the press knows about it.

It is expected that these plans will be presented to the President this June before he becomes the Director of CIA.So deep is the insecurity that Generals own staff have been kept out of it and some of them have been fed with false information to keep everybody confused. General believes this the best way to plug any leak which might give Taliban time to prepare and attack the retreating forces.

The General is a classic case of once bitten twice shy adage. This happened to his report of a troop surge in 2009. His report was meant for the President only got leaked to the press leading to a PR disaster and giving the enemy time to reposition assets and chalk out new strategies. The speculations became so much that President was forced to add that these new troops will start withdrawing within 2 years.

"What a commander in my position should do is to provide the chain of command and president with options to implement the policy … at a pace determined by conditions on the ground," said Petraeus, who led CENTCOM during deliberations over the troop surge.

U.S. Military Chief 'Open' To New Ideas On Japan Base

WASHINGTON - The head of the U.S. military said on June 1 that he was open to ideas on resolving a long-running row with Japan over bases after three senators called the two governments' agreement infeasible.

"I think we need to be as open as we possibly can to solutions now," Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a breakfast with reporters.

Sens. Carl Levin, John McCain and Jim Webb last month called for the United States to rethink base realignment plans in East Asia due to political opposition in Japan and cost overruns in both Japan and South Korea.

Japanese and U.S. officials earlier dismissed the proposal, saying that the plan worked out in 2006 was the best approach and would reduce troop numbers on Okinawa Island, where tensions with local residents have been frequent.

Mullen, whose term ends in September, did not comment specifically on the senators' proposal but said that the United States needed to be mindful both of costs and the political situation in Japan.

"This thing's been discussed for 15 years. There have been 20 different kinds of solutions that I've seen - all of them are difficult. So I think we have to be realistic here," Mullen said.

Any solution needs to preserve "the kind of influence and stability that our presence in that part of the world has done for 60-plus years, and at the same time recognize limitations and that there are needs on both sides."

The senators said that Japan needed to focus on reconstruction from its massive March 11 earthquake and not be distracted by the base dispute, which contributed to the resignation of a prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, last year.

Under the 2006 plan, the United States would move the flash point Futenma base out of a crowded urban area and to an isolated stretch of beach elsewhere on Okinawa.

Some Okinawan activists have demanded that the base be removed from the island completely. The senators said Futenma was needed for security but that its functions could largely be shifted to Okinawa's existing Kadena Air Base.

The United States stations 47,000 troops in Japan under a post-World War II security treaty, with half in Okinawa. The 2006 plan aims to shift 8,000 Marines and their families from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam in 2014.

Stratospheric UAV Payloads Provide New Ways to Chase Al Qaeda

In the near future, payloads flying on Stratospheric UAVs will be far more relevant to military operations than will today's Conventional UAVs, even with similar payload capabilities.

This is one of the conclusions of a new "Stratospheric UAV Payloads - Markets and Technologies Forecast 2012-2021", available on ASDReports.com.The new report examines, analyses and predicts the evolution of technologies, markets and outlays for the payloads that will serve aboard extremely enduring or persistent UAVs flying above the Jet Stream. While flying in the atmosphere, they will behave much like stationary satellites.

Today, persistence means maintaining a Predator orbit by replacing the on-station aircraft once or twice a day. That's a huge effort requiring at least three functioning aircraft and all their support.

They risk giving away the operator's intent, a strong motivation to hide human intelligence officers nearby rather than flying unmanned aircraft constantly. Conventional UAVs are hard to detect when flying very high, but certainly not impossible. Their presence over weeks to months will certainly be noticed.

Field of Regard or camera coverage area is a problem. Flying 20 - 30,000 feet above the ground, a camera can only be used over a relatively small footprint. Double that altitude and the footprint increases by a factor of four. In the illustration, you can see Persistent UAVs networking, and collaborating with a satellite while providing video surveillance services.

One of the strongest point for UAV's are that the High Altitude, Long Endurance mission profile was never meant to be used with manned platform, but is perfectly suited for unmanned systems. Only few manned aircraft are prepared to fly and operate at these altitudes. The thin air at the Tropopause limits the use of conventional engines, but opens new horizons for surveillance, communications and electronic eavesdropping activities. After overcoming the technical obstacles, mission planners could benefit from unobstructed operations at altitudes well above civilian or military air traffic. At these altitudes, the atmosphere is calm, the thin air causes reduced drag, resulting in less energy required to maintain higher ground speed. Aircraft flying at these lofty altitudes are well above the jet stream and other high velocity currents, averaging 40 – 80 knots in speed, with peaks of up to 160 knots. These currents encountered at the high troposphere, at altitudes between 20,000 to 35,000 ft., usually affect the performance of aircraft operating at medium altitudes.

Until the early 2000s, only few manned platforms could soar to such heights. One of the first to explore these altitude was the Lockheed U-2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, designed in the late 1950s. A decade later, the SR-71A strategic reconnaissance aircraft, unofficially known as the "Blackbird," was used as long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The first flight took place on Dec. 22, 1964. Then the 'Blackbird' served for 22 years providing strategic reconnaissance missions and was retired in 1990 only to return five years later to fill a critical recce gap. Throughout its nearly 24-year career, the SR-71 remained the world's fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft. The SR-71 flew at more than three times the speed of sound (Mach 3) at altitudes in excess of 80,000 feet (approximately 15 miles high).

The successor of the U-2, the U-2R 'Dragon Lady' is still operational today. Designed for high-altitude intelligence and reconnaissance missions, this aircraft can fly above 70,000 feet and carry some o the most advanced long-range reconnaissance gear available today. Its mission payloads include highest resolution SAR radar in service today, as well as sophisticated SIGINT systems. Providing near-real-time imagery and signals intelligence to warfighters and national authorities, the 'Dragon Lady' was used extensively during operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and provided important damage assessment information after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf of Mexico in 2005.

With the arrival of the RQ-4A Global Hawk, the missions of U-2R were reduced to those specific services which could not be supported yet by the unmanned platform. These missions will be transferred to the Global hawk fleet in the next decade, as the RQ-4B (Block 20, 30 and 40) aircraft are fielded, capable of carrying heavier payloads, including SIGINT and advanced SAR payloads.

Global Hawk may be dominating the high altitudes today, but in the near future, it will have to share those heights with more unmanned platforms. One such system is the Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS) developed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. ISIS will provide a new model for persistent, autonomous ISR platform. Utilizing a stationary stratospheric airship, ISIS will establish a position on the 'high ground' at an altitude of 70,000 ft. This airship will be deployed for long missions, staying in position for one, five or even ten years. It will provide a persistent early warning sensor able to detect cruise missiles at distances of 600 kilometers or dismounted enemy combatants at a range of 300 km.

Smaller but but not less effective for its proposed mission is the Global Observer high altitude UAV system developed by Aerovironment. This aircraft was designed to provide long dwelling stratospheric capability with global range and no latitude restrictions. Operating at these heights, the platforms provides 'near space' capability comparable to satellites, providing services such as persistent ISR and communications relay, including dedicated communications support and satellite link redundancy for other UAVs.

Another system under development by Aurora Flight Science and Boeing is the the Orion, High Altitude, Long Loiter (HALL) Unmanned Aerial System. This stratospheric platform will be able to cruise at an altitude of 65,000 ft for about 100 hours, powered by reciprocating engines consuming liquid hydrogen fuel. With a gross takeoff weight of 7,000 lbs (3.175 tons) HALL will be able to carry payloads weighing about 400 lbs (181kg). The U.S. Army/SMDC is supporting a team lead by Aurora and Boeing as a strategic partner, developing two Orion HALL platforms, to demonstrate the new technology. First flight is expected by 2009. Aurora and Boeing have also teamed since 2004 on a Boeing-led concept definition study of a twin-engine, larger unmanned platform designed for missions over a week long, carrying multi-sensor payloads weighing up to 2,000 lbs.

Flying at the edge of space in the high stratosphere, a future unmanned aircraft could one day carry weapons or other payloads anywhere in the world within few hours, or deploy cargo to lower space orbit, responding within minutes to urgent mission requirements. These high flyers will be designed to carry our fast strikes deep into enemy territory, anywhere in the world. Such a project known as FALCON is pursued by DARPA and the US Air Force. Lockheed Marin, the system's developer is planning to fly the first FALCON demonstrator by the end of 2018, and is preparing to have such platform operational in about 10 years.

A similar platform expected to be demonstrated around that time is the X-51 WaveRider, developed by Boeing. This vehicle will demonstrate capabilities similar to the FALCON, as Boeing aims to compete with Lockheed Martin to fulfill the future USAF requirement for global strike with the hypersonic atmospheric vehicles. The waveRider will integrate a scramjet engine developed by Pratt & Whitney, a boost rocket motor derived from an ATACMS missile matched with an airframe built by Boeing. It will demonstrate acceleration from boost (Mach 4.5+) to Mach 6 -7 cruise.

So, the next hunt for an elusive, very high value target like bin Laden may benefit from Stratospheric UAV Payloads flying on the new Stratospheric UAVs being prototyped now. Those payloads will revolutionize the hunt by flying at twice the altitude of conventional UAV's and can see areas at least four times as large, all the while being much harder to detect and remaining on-station for months or longer.

US Armies Experimental Squadron Of UAVs With Choppers

This year, the U.S. Army will create an experimental air cavalry squadron composed of 21 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters and eight RQ-7 Shadow UAVs.The US Army hopes that the new arrangement will allow the service to meet the exponentially increased demand for aerial reconnaissance with fewer forces over larger areas more efficiently.

"Unmanned aircraft have endurance and range, whereas manned aircraft have the ability to react to contacts and have better situational awareness," said Ellis Golson, director of the Army Aviation Center of Excellence's Capability Development and Integration Directorate. "We know it will work. It's just a matter of how well it will work and how we can make it even better."

The US Army has been experimenting with manned-unmanned teaming as far back as 2002 under the now-canceled RAH-66 Comanche scout helicopter program. But technological advances and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have thrown the effort into fast forward.

The concept of operations for the new hybrid squadron has been developed from feedback from deployed aviation soldiers flying Kiowas and Shadows in Iraq and Afghanistan, Golson said. To boost input from the conflict zones, the Army uses a "Wikipedia-like" collaboration site where deployed soldiers contribute ideas to keep the doctrine up to date, he said.

Now the Army is working to institutionalize the lessons of the wars, where the persistent ground surveillance provided by unmanned aircraft teamed with the Kiowa Warrior has proven instrumental, said Col. Jessie Farrington, assistant G-3 for operations and aviation at Army Forces Command.

RETROFITTING THE OH-58D
Key to the effort is equipping the Kiowas with the gear to stream live video from the Shadow UAV to the helicopter's cockpit, which the Army has already begun. The new suite is similar to the video from Unmanned Aerial Systems for Interoperability Teaming Level 2 found on the Block II version of the AH-64D Apache.

"Our system is that on steroids, but a lot lighter," said Lt. Col. Scott Rauer, the Army's product manager for the Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopter.

The Tactical Common Datalink will enable the Kiowa to share information with ground commanders and other aircraft, but it won't allow pilots to control the Shadows.

The program office, which had previously demonstrated Level 2 manned-unmanned teaming in July 2009 as part of an experiment, rapidly modified its prototype equipment to production standards to meet the urgent demand from deployed commanders, he said.

"That system was actually developed by the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis, Va.," said Rauer, who credited the talent at the office with developing a "fantastic system."

A more advanced Level 4 manned-unmanned teaming system, which would allow the Kiowa to take full control of the Shadow instead of just receiving and transmitting video data, is unlikely to be fitted to the OH-58D, Golson said. The helicopter lacks the "space, weight and power" needed to support such equipment.

However, if a pending analysis of alternatives concludes the Army requires a new helicopter, the aircraft may be fitted with Level 4 teaming abilities if it has enough power, he said.

For now, the Army is focused on creating the first prototype hybrid air cavalry squadron, Golson said. Once the unit is selected, trained and reorganized for its new role, the squadron will deploy to Afghanistan in fiscal 2012, which begins Oct. 1, 2011. The forthcoming operational deployment will highlight "what works and what doesn't," he said.

Subsequently, the Army will adjust the organization of the squadron based on the "lessons learned" before converting further units to the new arrangement. "We have looked at this extensively. In every case, it seems to make sense. So ... we think we're getting more bang for the buck," Golson said.

If that is realized, Farrington said, the Army plans to convert three units per year to the new configuration until the entire force is standardized. Golson said it would take about five years to reconfigure all units.

In operation, a Shadow unmanned aircraft could be stationed to provide persistent coverage over particular geographic areas to cue Kiowa Warriors to hot spots. The Shadow also could be used to perform "active reconnaissance" where an unexpected contact is made with enemy forces. The Shadow would continue with the reconnaissance mission while manned choppers attack the enemy force, Golson said.

The UAVs allow the air cavalry squadron to maintain continuous coverage of the enemy, which is not possible with a force composed solely of Kiowa Warriors, Golson said. OH-58Ds have to perform a complex handoff maneuver when a relief helicopter comes on station, Farrington said. Adding Shadows would allow a cavalry squadron to maintain unbroken coverage during such handoffs.

The US Army does not plan to arm the Shadows."In the operating concept, reconnaissance is at a premium. We don't want to trade endurance for weapons," Golson said.The Shadow's six-hour endurance, three times greater than the Kiowa, is a key advantage.

Still, Golson said, the Shadow carries a laser designator and data links that would allow it to pass targeting information to armed aircraft such as the Kiowa Warrior, the AH-64D Apache or even a Sky Warrior unmanned aircraft, which would make the actual kill."So in reality, it is armed," Golson said.

SHAPING THE FUTURE
The squadron's experience may shape the future of the service's air cavalry units.

The Army's Training and Doctrine Command is working on an Armed Aerial Scout Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) to help determine what UAV to buy and whether to upgrade the Kiowa or replace it with a new or existing aircraft. The AoA's second part, is looking at the mix of manned and unmanned aircraft.

It is possible the Army would end up with two parallel air cavalry inventories if the AOA concludes the service requires a new helicopter and a new unmanned aircraft, Golson said.Nonetheless, the Army will retain the venerable Kiowa Warrior for at least the next 15 years, Rauer said.

Both Golson and Farrington, however, said the Army would try to minimize buying any extra Shadows by carefully managing the existing inventory between deployed forces and those at their home stations. The Army does not provide numbers on how many Shadows are deployed overseas."It's all on the table. We're anxious to see where we go from here," Rauer said.

RQ-7 Shadow Key Data:

Manufacturer

AAI Corporation

Primary Operator

US Army

Dimensions:

Wingspan

4.27m

Length

3.4m

Height

0.86m

Weights:

Empty Weight

90kg

Maximum Payload

25.3kg

Maximum Take-Off Weight

127.3kg

Maximum Gross Weight

170kg

Engines:

Type

1 x UEL AR 741 rotary engine

Rating

28.3kW

Fuel Capacity

RQ-7A – 40l<br />RQ-7B – 57l

Performance:

Speed

194.5km/h (105kt)

Flight Ceiling

4,572m (15,000ft)

Endurance

5 to 7 hours

Mission Radius

200km

Climb Rate

300m to 450m a minute

Take-Off Distance (Launcher)

10m

Maximum Dash Speed

219km/h (118kt)

Cruise Speed

167km/h (90kt)

Loiter Speed

111km/h (60kt)

Datalinks:

Datalink Bands

X band, C band, UHF

Standard Datalink Range

50km

Optional Datalink Range

200km

U.S.A Reducing Troops In Pakistan

The U.S. military said Wednesday it has begun pulling some American troops out of Pakistan after Islamabad requested a smaller presence, amid tensions over a U.S. raid against Osama bin Laden.

"We were recently (within past 2 weeks) notified in writing that the government of Pakistan wished for the U.S. to reduce its footprint in Pakistan. Accordingly, we have begun those reductions," spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said in an email to reporters.

There are more than 200 U.S. military personnel in Pakistan serving mostly as trainers as part of a long-running effort to counter al-Qaida and Islamist militants.

But the uneasy relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. has come under severe strain following a unilateral raid by U.S. commandos that killed bin Laden on May 2 in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, home to a military academy.

President Barack Obama's administration has stepped up diplomatic efforts to smooth over the crisis sparked by the raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound, while some lawmakers in Congress have called for cutting aid to Islamabad.

Since the bin Laden operation, the U.S. has kept up CIA drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan's northwest. The bombing raids are deeply unpopular and often draw public criticism from Pakistani officials.

US Army Survival Field Manual

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Robotic Future Battlefield Is Here

Unmanned Ground Vehicle(UGV) or simply "robots" in lay man terms, are fast shaping the way developed militaries conduct operations. Unlike Unmanned Aerial Vehicles which enable commanders to make key strategic decisions faster and with more accuracy, UGVs are valuable assets in another way.

The Army, which has been looking into UGV technology for about a year, recently unveiled the Rush Demonstrator UGV which aims to address requirements for a future spectrum of operations.
Before the advent of UGVs, repetitive and tedious tasks such as mine clearance and casualty evacuation required sizeable manpower. Imagine an asset which can work autonomously, constantly sweeping the ground to detect and remove land mines, or an automated system that transports wounded soldiers to the nearest medical post.

That asset comes in the form of a UGV which the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries have used to great effect in Iraq and Afghanistan. To put it simply, UGVs proved their worth in performing repetitive but highly dangerous tasks that a soldier would be subjected to as combat operations progress.

Building on success

After achieving success in developing a mini-UAV, DSO proceeded to take up the role of developing a UGV to meet the Army's operational needs. To enhance their capacity to support the Singapore Armed Forces' exploration into UGVs for future force development, DSO developed a UGV with a much higher payload capacity for integrated payloads, as well as towed or dragged loads.
Dubbed the "Rush" for its comparatively fast ground speed, the UGV is designed to be a highly robust and deployable system that can potentially cover multiple roles such as forward tactical surveillance, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive defence, combat support, and even casualty evacuation.

It is currently designed to support two modular mission payloads, the Electro-Optical/Infrared Camera and the Manipulator Arm and Gripper, which are within the maximum allowable payload weight.

Performance for the future

The Rush Demonstrator, which weighs about 40kg, has successfully demonstrated the capacity to carry a 30kg load. It can also tow a 60kg trolley and drag a 30kg load by the rear.
To achieve this impressive power-to-weight ratio for a UGV of this weight class, the design team built the platform using high torque electric motors, which also allow the system to move at a maximum ground speed of 7km per hour.

The system has successfully completed environmental-worthiness tests and demonstrated several engineering innovations by DSO, such as a form-specific integrated circuit board design, common payload connectors and integrated heat sinks.

With its Electro-Optical Camera and Manipulator Arm, the Rush Demonstrator can support certain explosive ordnance disposal tasks and real-time tactical surveillance.
Surpassing expectations

While the team had set out to explore what could be achieved within the local defence science ecosystem, what they eventually came up with exceeded even their own expectations, said Captain (CPT) Gilbert Foo, Weapons Staff Officer, Army Systems Integration Office and officer-in-charge of the Rush Demonstrator Project.

Following the Rush Demonstrator's success, the Army will proceed to go into full-scale development, which will be applied to niche applications.

Robotics are expected to be next revolution in military affairs because of the benefits provided by such systems in countering insurgency warfare. The realisation of key enablers promoting the use of UGVs, such as better networks, artificial intelligence and more efficient approaches to power and energy all make UGVs a viable option for the future, said Colonel (COL) Tan Chor Kiat, Chief Systems Integration Officer.

"We want to position ourselves favourably to capitalise on this potential game changer as this technology matures," said COL Tan.

With so much going for the platform, its future is bright. According to CPT Foo, the Rush Demonstrator has been used in several studies. One example: the 2nd Singapore Infantry Regiment tried the system as part of tactics development under the Army's infantry motorisation studies.

"The study told us a lot about what is needed in a UGV and what isn't, for a particular group and we will leave it to further studies to indicate if something like Rush Demonstrator is needed," added CPT Foo when asked about the system's future.