Lakshya Test Fired Successfully Shaurya ,P-II And Agni-II to follow soon

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) personnel on Monday flight-tested a digital version of PTA ‘Lakshya’ from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast.

“The micro-light aircraft fitted with an advanced remote controlled engine was test flown at about 12.50 pm from the launching complex-II. It was successful as we tested several developments made in the digital version of the unmanned aircraft,” said a defence official.

This time the aircraft flew over 30 minutes during which all the parameters were tested, he said, adding that another round of trial will be carried out in a day or two. Earlier both the sea and land recovery versions of the PTA have been test flown successfully.

The PTA, a sub-sonic and re-usable aerial target system, is remote controlled from the ground and designed to impart training to both air-borne and air-defence pilots.

Apart from this, a series of nuclear- capable missiles will be test-fired this month. While preparation for the tests is in full swing, hundreds of DRDO scientists are camping at two test facilities of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast.

The missiles which will be put under trial include land version of K-15 missile dubbed as ‘Shaurya’, surface-to-surface Prithvi-II and Agni-II.

While Shaurya has been slated for tests any time between September 17 and 18, Prithvi-II may be tested from September 22 to 24 followed by Agni-II on September 30.

The DRDO scientists are working overtime to ensure successful trials of the Shaurya and 2000-km range Agni-II this time. While Agni-II had developed technical snags during its previous test
leading to the postponement, ‘Shaurya’ is being tested for the second time.

Sources at the ITR said the 600-km range ‘Shaurya’ missile will be test-fired from an underground silo with a depth of nearly 30 feet at the Chandipur test facilities. The missile that was first tested in November 2008 is the land variant of sub-marine based ballistic missile (SLBM) K-15.

A user trial of the Agni-II missile to be conducted by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army on August 29 was aborted at the last minute as the missile developed technical glitches and ignition problem.

The SFC will also carry the user trial of indigenously developed Prithvi-II to gauge the effectiveness and performance of the weapon during a real time situation. While Agni-II missile will be test-fired from the Wheeler Island-based launching complex (LC)-IV, ‘Shaurya’ and ‘Prithvi-II’ were launched from the Chandipur-based LC-III.

AeroVironment Introduces Shrike Vertical Take-off And Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aircraft System

MONROVIA, Calif., Aug. 30, 2011 – AeroVironment, Inc. today introduced its lightweight and man-portable Shrike VTOL™ unmanned aircraft system.

In August 2008 AeroVironment announced the receipt of a contract from DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to develop a portable, stealthy, persistent perch and stare (SP2S) unmanned aircraft system. Shrike VTOL represents the conclusion of this development effort.

“With more than four years of customer funding behind it, our new Shrike VTOL unmanned aircraft system is designed to address the need for a small, light-weight hovering aircraft that delivers unique surveillance and intelligence capability not provided by current solutions. Not only does Shrike VTOL hover for more than 40 minutes with a high resolution video camera, but its innovative design also allows for the transmission of several hours of live video as a remotely emplaced perch and stare sensor,” said Tom Herring, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment. “This new solution adds an important set of new capabilities to our existing and battle-proven family of small unmanned aircraft systems that are saving lives in theater today.”

Herring said the Shrike VTOL system delivers the superior imagery, endurance and encrypted video found in all AeroVironment small unmanned aircraft systems. Operating quietly enough to go virtually undetected, Shrike weighs approximately five pounds and is small enough to fit in a backpack.

Adds VTOL, hover, perch and stare capability to battle-proven family of small unmanned aircraft systems (Raven, Wasp, Puma AE)
Enables frontline military and non-military missions requiring vertical launches and landings without additional infrastructure
Operated by AeroVironment’s common Ground Control System to ensure ease of use and acceptance
Result of more than four years of DARPA-funded research and development to create a portable, stealthy, persistent perch and stare capability

Taliban Has Shot Down U.S. Drone

A U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle has been shot down by Taliban forces in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, Taliban spokesman Zabiulla Mojahed said on 8th of June.

He said the UAV, brought down on Tuesday evening, is the second in the past two days.The International Security Assistance Force has yet to comment on the incident.And it is yet unclear which Drone have they shot down because the allied forces use variety of drones.

UAVs are used in Afghanistan for aerial reconnaissance, missile strikes, and ammunition deliveries to remote military garrisons.

(source RIO Novosti)

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

RAF Plans UK-Based Reaper Squadron

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is to form a second Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron.

It will be based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and will include facilities to enable RAF Reapers flying over Afghanistan to be controlled from the UK for the first time.

Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton made the announcement on 13 May at RAF Marham during the disbandment of 13 Squadron (Sqn), which has been flying Tornado GR.4 aircraft in Afghanistan and recently participated in Operation 'Ellamy' over Libya. The '13 Sqn' number-plate will transfer to the new Reaper unit during 2012.

RAF Reapers are currently controlled by crews of the existing unit, 39 Sqn, which is based at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. The CAS said that bringing Reaper mission control to the UK would make better use of resources and enable the operation of significantly more combat intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance aircraft over Afghanistan.

The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper UAV is equipped with an array of sophisticated sensors (including the Raytheon AN/DAS-1 Multispectral Targeting System-B and the General Atomics AN/APY-8 Lynx synthetic aperture radar with ground moving-target indication), which enable it to be used day and night for surveillance of insurgent activity at ranges undetectable from the ground.

The Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said: "Reaper aircraft are providing valuable support to our front line troops in Afghanistan. We are committed to providing the best available equipment to our Armed Forces.

"The formation of this new squadron follows our doubling of the Reaper capability to ten aircraft, which represents an increased investment of GBP135m.

"This extra squadron will help us get the best out of this valuable armed reconnaissance aircraft."

XIII Squadron was formed in 1915 and has continued its long and distinguished record through both world wars and operations over Iraq and Afghanistan. Notably, in 2009, XIII Squadron conducted the last Tornado sortie over Iraq in support of Operation TELIC.

In the summer of 2010, XIII Squadron deployed on Operation HERRICK in Afghanistan providing close air support and combat intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance during a very busy fighting season.

Finally, just a few weeks from disbandment, XIII Squadron were at the forefront of operations over Libya, delivering deep strike with the RAF's Stormshadow missile.

Indian UAV Rustom Successfully Flight Tested

Rustom 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was successfully tested today.

"Rustom 1" being developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab engaged in pioneering R&D work in the field of aeronautics, has an endurance of 14 hours and altitude ceiling of 8000 metres," a DRDO release said.

"Rustom 1 has been achieved by converting a manned aircraft into a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by removing pilot seat and making required electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic modifications", the release said.

The test flight was conducted at the airfield belonging to the M/s Taneja Aerospace (TAAL) located near Hosur. Many improvements have been carried out since the last flight, in terms of piloting, landing and taxiing,it said.

The flight was a precursor to one with payloads as required by the Services.

"The complete sequence of events went off well to the total satisfaction of the scientists and technical personnel of the Bangalore’s Aeronautical Development Establishment who have developed the UAV," the release said.

Prahlada, chief controller of research and development (aeronautics programme), said "with the successful accurate flying of Rustom 1,ADE is geared up for integration of payloads with the Aircraft within next three months, to demonstrate performance of payloads and necessary secure data-link to the users."

Netra UAV to enter into production

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) Netra developed by the Defence Research and Development (DRDO) will soon enter the production stage. Talking to Newsline, Alok Mukherjee, a senior scientist with the Research and Development Establishment (RnDE), a DRDO laboratory, said, “Netra has undergone successful trails and is soon expected to enter the production stage. Army as well as the paramilitary forces have shown keen interest in Netra.”

He, however, refused to comment on the orders or the details of the same. Netra, which has a live video and a thermal imaging equipment, was tested in the naxal-affected areas of Chhatisgarh in view of their utility to fight naxal menace in these areas.
Netra along with various other unmanned vehicles and robots would be on display at the Symposium of Robotics and Unmanned Vehicles at the RnDE campus on April 28 and 29. The two- day event, one of its kinds in the recent times, is expected to demonstrate Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) such as Daksh, which is already in the production stage along with Takshak, a smaller version of Daksh used to detect and diffuse Improvised Explosive Device (IED). “One of the major attractions of the event would be two underwater vehicles, one developed by National Institute of Oceanology (NIO), Goa, and the other by C-DAC, Trivandrum,” said Mukherjee.

The 1.5 kg UAV, called ‘Netra’, is a collaborative development project between ideaForge, a company formed by a group of Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, alumni and one of Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Pune-based labs, Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE) Pune.

“The UAV is capable of operating in all the conflict theatres, including urban quarters, in a situation similar to that of the 26/11 terror attacks.”, he told reporters here yesterday.

Dr. Mukerjee said the estimated cost of Netra is Rs 20 lakhs, but the price could vary if additional components like thermal camera are added as per the requirements of the security agencies concerned and their use.

IdeaForge, vice-president (Marketing and Operations Unmanned Systems) Amardeep Singh said the UAV has been designed to carry out surveillance in an area of 1.5 KM Line of Sight (LOS) and has an endurance capacity of 30 minutes of battery charge.

Apart from that, Netra is equipped with a resolution CCD camera with a pan/tilt and zoom to facilitate wider surveillance. It can also be fitted with thermal cameras to carry out night operations.

Singh said the operational altitude of the UAV is 200 meters maximum, having a vertical take-off and landing capacity (VTOL) and is equipped with a wireless transmitter.
In addition to that, the in-built fail-safe features allows Netra to return to base on loss of communication or low battery.

Asked if the UAV could function in all-weather condition, Singh said the machine cannot be operated in rainy conditions but research is being carried out to make Netra function even during monsoon

THE VULNERABILITIES OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM COMMON DATALINKS TO ELECTRONIC ATTACK

THE VULNERABILITIES OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM COMMON DATA LINKS TO ELECTRONIC ATTACK

UAV That Can Fly For 15 days Continuous

After launching development of stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles), India is now also looking at designing solar-powered spy drones which can cruise in the sky for several days at a time.

The high-altitude, long endurance (HALE) solar-powered UAV will not just reduce Indian military's carbon footprint but more importantly provide a cost-effective and flexible 24x7 ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) platform akin to "a pseudo-satellite" orbiting closer to the ground.

"Yes, Army and IAF have asked us to develop the solar-powered HALE UAV. Initial work is in progress for such a drone which can undertake a 15-day continuous flight over 30,000-feet," DRDO's chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada told TOI.

The drone will harvest solar energy during the day, storing it in fuel cells to provide power for electric motors for night flying. "Solar efficiency is low but we are looking at a payload of around 50 kg (sensors, cameras etc). We will seek some collaboration from either US or European companies," said Dr Prahlada.

This comes at a time when several international aviation majors are doing cutting-edge research on solar UAVs. Boeing, for instance, is developing a UAV with a 400-feet wingspan, called Solar Eagle, which can operate continuously for an astonishing five years. It is being described as a "zero-maintenance, launch-and-leave UAV".

With remotely-piloted spy as well as combat drones being seen as major force-multipliers or game-changers in modern-day warfare, DRDO has launched a series of UAV programmes for Indian armed forces, which have largely depended on Israeli drones like Searchers and Herons till now.

The secretive AURA (autonomous unmanned research aircraft) programme to develop UCAVs capable of firing missiles, bombs and PGMs (precision-guided munitions).

The Cabinet Committee on Security has also now cleared a Rs 1,500 crore DRDO project to develop the Rustom-H MALE (medium-altitude, long-endurance) drone, capable of operating for 24 hours with a 350-kg payload. "Its first flight will take place in two years," said Dr Prahlada.

Then, of course, there is the smaller Rustom-I drone, with an 8-12 hour endurance and a 100-kg payload, as well as the already-developed Nishant UAV, which has a 4.5 hour endurance level.

Army, in fact, has projected a requirement of seven "troops" (akin to squadrons) of Rustom drones. As for Nishants, Dr Prahlada said, "Army has already inducted four such drones, which can be launched from hydro-pneumatic launchers without the need of runways, while eight more are being manufactured."

"Nishants can carry electro-optical, electronic intelligence and communication intelligence payloads. Since they can also be used for counter-insurgency operations, the home ministry has also expressed interest in seeing their operations," he added.

With DRDO working on the entire spectrum ranging from hand-held mini to full-fledged combat drones, a dedicated aeronautical test range from them is also coming up at Challakere, around 220 km from Bangalore. "It will be fully operational in two years," he said.

(Note(Oct 24 2010) The Indian Navy has invited information to support a potential acquisition of an unspecified number of high-altitude long endurance (HALE) UAVs. The Navy has specified that it wants a platform with at least 25-hours mission endurance, an all up weight of no more than 15-tons, service ceiling of 40,000 feet and cruise speed of 100 knots. The Navy currently uses a small mix of IAI Heron and Searcher MK2 UAVs, and has an ongoing efforts to acquire shipborne unmanned rotorcraft.)

RAVEN UAV For Pakistani Army

A non-lethal albeit highly successful and popular drone called the RAVEN will be gifted to the Pakistani army by the US for its unflinching support to TERRORISM ooops slip of tongue for its unflinching support  for war against terrorism . In a meeting it was decided yesterday at Washington. Here are few salient points of this so called non-lethal drone.

"Flashlight" (Raven proof-of-concept vehicle)

  In 1999, the U.S. Army bought four AeroVironment FQM-151 Pointer UAVs for the Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) ACTD (Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration) program. The Pointer system was found to be useful, but the ground control station was too large to be really man-portable. AeroVironment was therefore asked to develop a smaller station, and in turn the company also developed a smaller air vehicle, called Raven. It is about half the size of Pointer and a proof-of-concept vehicle, named the "Flashlight" SUAV (Small UAV), first flew in October 2001.

Block I Raven

The "Flashlight" SUAV was further developed into the Raven in 2002 under the Army's "Pathfinder" ACTD program. The Raven prototype was hand-built and not suitable for mass production, and so the first LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) version was the modified Block I Raven, first delivered in May 2003. It had a new fuselage section with an easily interchangeable payload nose. Testing of the Block I UAVs revealed some drawbacks, including a difficult launch procedure and insufficient flight stability.
The Block I's shortcomings were corrected in the Block II version, which was first delivered to the Army in September 2003. The Block II was evaluated in Afghanistan, and the U.S. Special Operations Command eventually ordered a batch of 179 Raven systems with three UAVs each. The Raven has since been successfully used during Operation Iraqi Freedom, too. In late 2004, the official designation RQ-11A was allocated to the Raven air vehicle.

Weighing in at four and a half pounds with a five-foot wingspan and stretching a mere 38 inches in length, the Raven is by far one of the smallest vehicles in the Army, but its aerial reconnaissance value has quickly earned the respect of battalion commanders in Iraq and has filled a niche at the battalion level when larger UAVs are unavailable.

Block II Raven (RQ-11A)

“The system is developing the confidence of the leadership,” said Maj. Chris Brown, Kuwait Raven Equipping Detachment officer in charge. “We had one commander's team find an IED (improvised explosive device) on its first mission, and the commander has been sold ever since.”

The Raven flies various missions that aid in force protection. It is flown to search for IEDs, provide reconnaissance for patrols and flies the perimeter of camps.

“When a company or battalion can't get the larger UAV, such as the Hunter, Shadow and Inet, ... the Raven works very well,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steve Schisler, Raven integration and customer service officer.

Schisler explained that the Raven is best employed in conjunction with ground forces. "If you have guys doing a mounted or dismounted patrol in a city or a small town, you can have the Raven flying overhead providing far-sight security.” He continued, “The patrol can't see past the building 100 meters in front of them, but the Raven can. The Raven can see beyond the building … to where two terrorists with their AK-47s are running to engage the patrol. The Soldiers can then respond to the intelligence rather than respond to an attack."

The UAV is small and can be transported easily in three small cases that fit into a ruck sack. The crew can bring it with them and operate wherever the patrol goes.

The Raven three different cameras that attach to the nose of the plane, an electrical optical camera that sends data either through a nose camera or a side camera, an infrared camera in the nose, and a side-mounted IR camera.

The IR technology is still too big to fit into the nose section of the plane, Brown said.

The camera does not have a zoom and is unable to lock on a target but provides enough resolution to show someone carrying a weapon. "You have to select what camera is going to be best for the mission at hand,” Brown said. “For example, if you're flying over a city and there are shadows, the IR camera can penetrate the shadows and show the hotspots.” He added, "The average Apache pilot would say that the IR on this is better than the Apache, and I would have to agree."

One of the advantages of the Raven is that it provides real time data that can be recorded to a video camera.
The Raven has about 45 to 60 minutes of flight time on a battery. The kit comes with spare batteries and a charger that plugs into a Humvee so they can land it, pop in a spare battery and get it back in the air.

RQ-11A

Schisler’s role with the Raven had him travel throughout Iraq to provide customer service to units who flew the UAV. The longest continuous operation Schisler recalled was for more than 10 hours, where they would land the plane, change batteries and launch the aircraft again.

Where large UAVs need space to taxi and land, the Raven is launched by hand and requires one pilot and a second person to monitor the incoming information. Brnow said, “The Raven is not MOS specific, but rather the question is who can the unit use?” One example Brown gave was the food service specialists in Iraq have a smaller role because the food services are contracted to Kellog, Brown and Root. "One of the best pilots in the 1st Cav. is a cook, but that doesn't mean we don't have ... scouts operating the Raven,” he said. “Some of these kids have been raised with Playstation in their hands and are better able to handle watching a screen and controlling the aircraft.”

A single Raven costs about $35,000 and the total system costs $250,000 but that is a cheap OH-58C, Brown said. "With this system, we replace a helicopter and crew that's down range and put a system at risk rather than people,” he added


Data for RQ-11A:

Length	1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)
Wingspan	1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Weight	1.9 kg (4.2 lb)
Speed	95 km/h (60 mph)
Ceiling	4500 m (15000 ft)
Range	10 km (6.2 miles)
Endurance	80 min
Propulsion	Aveox 27/26/7-AV electric motor

India's AURA (Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft) Project

India’s premier defence agency DRDO is developing an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), which it has named ‘Aura’.
DRDO is quietly going ahead with an ambitious programme to develop its own stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) or 'smart' drones capable of firing missiles and bombs at enemy targets with precision.
Talking about the secretive AURA (autonomous unmanned research aircraft) programme for the first time, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) informed that the aim is to develop the UCAVs for IAF in seven to eight years.
Three DRDO laboratories – the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the Aeronautical Development Establishments (ADE) and the Defence Avionics and Research Establishment (DARE) – have joined hands to design and develop Aura.
The flight control system and data link packages of Aura will be designed and developed jointly by ADE and Defence Electronic Application Laboratory, Dehradun, according to Technology Focus, a bi-monthly journal published by DRDO.
The unmanned aircraft will fly at altitudes of 3,000 feet with payloads. It will have short take-off and landing capability on prepared runway, the journal said, elaborating on the combat drone’s key features.
Earlier in September, P S Subramanyam, project director and chief of ADA, had said that all technologies required for the UCAV had been identified, and the most important of them were its flying wing and stealth technology.
The combat drone, which will be able to detect and identify targets, and even fire weapons at them, will be controlled with command and control centres (CCC) spread across the country, DRDO Chief, V K Saraswat had revealed last year.
"With Rs 50 crore as seed money, a full-fledged project team with 15-18 scientists has already begun work on the UCAV's preliminary design and technology. With on-board mission computers, data links, fire control radars, identification of friend or foe, and traffic collision avoidance systems, they will be highly intelligent drones," DRDO's chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada said.
"Capable of flying at altitudes of 30,000 feet and weighing less than 15 tonnes, the UCAVs will have rail-launching for the missiles, bombs and PGMs (precision-guided munitions) they will carry," he added.

The realisation that UCAVs are "game-changers in modern-day warfare" has been reinforced by the successful use of American 'Predator' and 'Reaper' drones, armed with Hellfire and other missiles, against the Taliban in the Af-Pak region.
"But unlike Predators, which are like aircraft, our UCAVs will be more of 'a flying-wing' in design. This will ensure they have a low radar cross-section to evade enemy sensors," said Dr Prahlada.
Pakistan, incidentally, has been after the US to get Predators but so far has only managed to extract assurances for supply of the unarmed 'Shadow' drones for intelligence-gathering missions.
DRDO, on its part, is confident of developing the UCAVs mainly on its own, with "some foreign consultancy or collaboration" in fields like stealth as well as autonomous short-run take-off and landing.
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at Bangalore is the main nodal DRDO lab for the AURA project, with others like Defence Avionics Research Establishment (Bangalore), Defence Electronics Application Lab (Dehradun) and Gas Turbine Research Establishment (Bangalore) chipping in.
UCAVs are much more advanced, almost like fighter jets in the sense that they let loose missiles on enemy targets before returning to home bases to re-arm themselves for the next mission.
IAF is also exploring "add-ons or attachments" to its existing fleet of Israeli Heron and Searcher-II UAVs to upgrade them from their present surveillance and precision-targeting roles into some sort of combat drones.
Read more about killer drones of Indian Army and Navy

Indian Navy wants more Heron And Searcher-2 UAV's

Our Indian Navy is being stretched to the limits and with most of its project delayed it is looking for force multipliers. For this reason it requires unmanned air vehicles made by Israel Aerospace Industries. Some sources have reported, that these to potentially include improved Heron or Heron-TP systems carrying maritime sensor payloads. Evaluations using some systems have already been carried out, they add.
This January Indian Navy has completed the organisation of its second squadron of UAV's, Currently Heron and Searcher II are in operation and being used for multiple missions. The operational demand on these machines have grown so much that additional contract might be given to IAI.
In addition to having already provided UAVs to the Indian navy, IAI is also equipping the service with additional equipment, such as the Barak-8 air defence missile.

Searcher MK-II
The Searcher Mk II is a multi mission tactical UAV system used for surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery adjustment and damage assessment.
The Searcher Mk II system main features and capabilities are:

Multiple operational configurations
SAR/GMTI
SIGINT
EO/IR

Low-noise integrated 4 stroke engine for low audio detection
Built from composite materials to reduce radar tection
Adverse weather capability
Safe, reliable and easy operation
Two proven simultaneous Automatic Takeoff and Landing (ATOL) systems for maximal safety

Fully redundant, state-of-the-art avionics

Payloads

Electro Optical (TV & IR Combi or Triple Sensor TV/IR/LD)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
COMINT & ESM Integration Capability
Customer furnished payloads

Datalinks

Direct Line-of-Sight (LOS) data link
UAV airborne data relay for beyond LOS missions
Ground-based data relay for beyond LOS missions

Searcher Mk II For India

The Indian Army has reportedly deployed its first batch of 25 Israeli-made Searcher Mark II unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over its frontiers with Pakistan and China. I India has purchased 100 of the reconnaissance drones at a cost of $750 million and may double this order. The Searcher Mark II is produced by Israel Aircraft Industries. It can remain airborne for 16 hours and has a maximum range of 150 kilometers at the relatively high altitude of 18,500 feet, making it especially suitable for missions over the Himalayas.

Heron 1/Mahatz 1/Shoval
The HERON I main features and capabilities are:

Multiple operational configurations
Adverse weather capability
Safe, reliable and easy operation
Simultaneously 4 sensors use capability
Satellite communication for extended range (SATCOM)
Two proven simultaneous Automatic Takeoff and Landing (ATOL) systems for maximal safety

Fully redundant, state-of-the-art avionics
Retractable landing gear

Payloads

Electro Optical (TV & IR Combi or Triple Sensor TV/IR/LD)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
Maritime Patrol Radar (MPR)
COMINT & ESM capability

Customer furnished sensor suites
Communication relay package
Integrated ATC Radio

Datalinks

Direct Line-of-Sight (LOS) data link
UAV airborne data relay for beyond LOS missions
Ground-based data relay

Performance
Endurance: 45 hr

Range: 350 km
Range with satellite coverage: Beyond Line of Sight
Altitude: 30,000 ft

Technical Data
Maximum take-off weight: 1,150 kg
Maximum Payload Weight: 250 Kg
Overall Length: 8.50 m
Wingspan: 16.60 m

Heron 2/Mahatz 2/Heron TP/Eitan

The HERON TP main features and capabilities are:

Multi mission platform with multiple operational configurations
Large internal volume for a variety of payloads
Simultaneous and flexible operation of payloads

All weather capability
Operation above commercial traffic
Satellite communication for extended range (SATCOM)
Automatic Takeoff and Landing (ATOL) systems for maximal safety
Triple, fully redundant, state-of-the-art avionics
Retractable landing gear
Safe, reliable and easy operation

Payloads

EO/IR/LRF
SAR
MPR
ELINT
COMINT

Data Links

Liine of Sight
Satellite communication (SATCOM)

Performance

Endurance: 36 hr
Range: Beyond Line os Sight (BLOS
Altitude: 45,000 ft

Technical Data

Max take-off weight: 4,650 kg
Typical mission payload: 1,000 kg
Overall length 14 m
Wingspan 26 m
Engine: 1,200 Hp Turbo Prop