Avalon a surveillance showcase

One of the major themes of the Avalon air show was airborne surveillance, and especially UAVs.
The Australian International Air Show, held at Avalon Airport on March 15-20, became something of a showcase for manufacturers with surveillance products of one kind or another, and especially Unmanned Air Vehicles.

However, the RAAF's airborne early warning program, Project Wedgetail, received a boost when the first of six Boeing 737 Wedgetail aircraft took part in the flying display; and Australian firms are still competing for (and winning) contracts in the Systems Design and Demonstration phase of the Joint Strike Fighter program.

The three major surveillance programs which caught the attention were Air 7000 - Maritime Patrol and Response; JP 129 - Tactical UAVs for the Land Force; and the Coastwatch competition for which a source selection is due around mid-year. The contenders for all three programs were very much in evidence at Avalon.

Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems Sector used the opportunity to name its Australian partners in the contest to win the $1 billon contract for maritime patrol unmanned air vehicles under Phase 1 of Air 7000.

Tenix Defence's Electronics Systems Division, Saab Systems Australia and L-3 Communications Integrated Systems will support Northrop Grumman's RQ-4B Global Hawk in operational service with the RAAF.

Carl Johnson, Northrop Grumman ISS's Vice President, told ADM the team would establish a joint office in Adelaide to begin developing what he termed an appropriate architecture to integrate the Global Hawk with the ADF's existing and emerging information and network centric warfare assets (see p.xx).

Johnson said the goal is to offer Australia a fully capable, cost-effective solution. "We want to include command- and-control functionality, exploitation of Global Hawk data and complete interoperability among Australian forces and with US assets in the one package," he told ADM. "We also want to include these key companies in evolving a total support program for the Australian Global Hawk system, including through-life support."

This will be the precursor to a full bid for the contract. Tenders for Phase 1 may be called next year with the UAVs required to enter service by 2009. General Atomics, San Diego, is also positioning itself to bid for this program, offering its Mariner UAV, a derivative of the US Air Force's Predator B UAV.

The Global Hawk team effort will be based in South Australia to provide access to leading-edge industrial, academic and scientific resources. "Adelaide is well suited to be the center for our developments," noted Northrop Grumman's Carl Johnson. "Australia's maritime patrol aircraft operate from RAAF Base Edinburgh and DSTO is near by. RAAF Edinburgh hosted the Global Hawk demonstrations and deployment in 2001."

Shortly after this announcement Global Hawk notched up its 4,000th combat flying hour during an operational mission in the Middle East. The UAV has seen near-continuous service since 2001 and achieved this milestone largely through the exceptional performance of one air vehicle operating in theatre. Overall, the system has achieved more than 6,500 total flight hours accumulated by multiple aircraft.

Three contenders submitted tenders last year for the $100 million contract to supply Tactical UAVs for the Australian Army under JP129.

The winner is expected to be named by mid-2005, according to industry sources. The Army is seeking two UAV systems to equip two Brigades, each system consisting of a number of air vehicles and two Ground Control Stations (GCS), along with a launch and recovery system, a maintenance support vehicle and four remote viewing terminals for use by commanders and analysts at unit level.

The tender asked bidders to specify how many of their TUAVs would be required to maintain a specified (but classified) rate of effort on combat operations.

American UAV manufacturer AAI Corp has teamed with BAE Systems Australia to offer the Shadow 200 UAV which is already in US Army service and has flown over 23,000 hours in Iraq. BAE Systems and AAI named their bid partners at Avalon: four Australian specialist SMEs will provide in-service support and specialised technology solutions for the Shadow 200.

BAE Systems and AAI have proposed four Shadow 200 TUAVs per system. The Shadow 200 is a proven, non-developmental solution, says BAE Systems Bid Manager Robert Hughes told Defense News; it enables full interoperability between the Australian and US Armies, enables Australia to benefit from US-developed enhancements, and vice versa, and provides a secure base for airworthiness certification by the Australian Department of Defence as well as certification by Australia's civil air traffic control authorities.

Specific modifications to be developed in Australia will include an enhanced imagery analysis and exploitation capability, an interface with Australia's military communications architecture, re-configuration of the launch and recovery system to match Australian Army 6x6 Perentie utility vehicles; and a communications suite

To help achieve these enhancements BAE Systems and AAI have selected four Australian specialist companies as team members, Hughes said. Mediaware Solutions Pty Ltd, Canberra, will provide an enhanced imagery analysis and exploitation system; Canadian firm CDL Systems will provide the Shadow 200 vehicle control system; Redflex Communications, Melbourne, will provide the integrated communications interface; and Aerosonde Ltd, also based in Melbourne, will provide specific UAV and payload engineering and support services.

Boeing Australia Ltd has teamed with Israeli UAV manufacturer IAI Malat to offer the latter's I-View UAV system. Boeing sources said that Australia could be the launch customer for the I-View 250 model, which uses common avionics, sensors and GCS equipment with IAI's existing Heron, Hunter and Searcher 2 UAVs.

The I-View will carry the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) along with the Enhanced Position Locating Reporting System (EPLRS) as a back-up, and has a 41kg payload sufficient for IAI's MOSP multi-spectral surveillance and reconnaissance sensor. It will also be compliant with the US Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) software-defined radio system which Australia is studying closely.

However, while IAI is a world leader in developing TUAVs, and the Boeing company has unrivalled expertise in airworthiness and certification issues, the discriminator in their joint bid is the force multiplier effect they have been able to demonstrate, according to Boeing sources.

Boeing Australia and IAI have modelled a series of operational scenarios at the former's Systems Analysis Laboratory (SAL) in Brisbane; these have included reconnaissance and surveillance missions and the use of TUAVs to interact with and cue other platforms such as the Army's new Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH).

Many of these scenarios are derived from modelling Boeing has done in the US to support the US Army's Future Combat System and Future Unit of Action concepts.

While the I-View itself is only flying in prototype form at present, several potential customers are studying it closely and a launch order could be placed this year. Furthermore all of the critical components have already been proven in operational service on other IAI-made UAVs such as the Searcher Mk 2, Hunter and Heron - these include mission computers, Ground Control Stations and the POB-300 and MOSP electro optic and infra red sensors.

ADI Ltd has teamed with another Israeli form, Elbit, to offer a variant of the British Army's Watchkeeper Tactical UAV solution. Thales UK is prime contractor for the Watchkeeper program and the French parent, of course, owns 50 per cent of ADI Ltd.

An ADI source told ADM the company has offered a choice of the Hermes 180 or much larger Hermes 450 UAVs. The latter has an endurance of 20 hours which would be sufficient to meet the Australian Army's requirements for daily rate of effort with the minimum of take-offs and landings; these are the highest-risk phases of UAV operations, the source said.

While the Hermes 180, the Hermes 450 has a much greater 150kg payload and

Under the teaming agreement Elbit would build the UAVs while ADI would support hem in-country. Both UAVs meet the Australian Army's requirements, but offer different benefits. The Hermes 180 has a 40kg payload and 10 hours endurance, so can easily carry the electro-optical and infra red sensor payloads specified by the Army's request for tender. But the larger Hermes 450 has a 150kg payload and 20 hours endurance and would be able to maintain the Army's daily rate of effort in a single sortie without needing to land and refuel.

Landing and take-off are the high-risk phases of a UAV mission, and the Hermes 450's longer endurance reduces this risk considerably. Its greater payload also enables it to carry larger, more powerful sensors such as Synthetic Aperture Radars if the Army specifies these in the future.

ADI estimates that three Hermes 180s or two Hermes 450s would be sufficient to maintain the Army's daily rate of effort during a 30-day surge period. The company's estimates are based on Israeli experience, the Israeli Defence Force has some 30,000 hours experience of combat operations with the Hermes 450.

Furthermore, both aircraft offer growth capability above and beyond the Army's current surveillance requirements so could be equipped to operate as a communications relay. ADM understands future versions of the Hermes 450 could also be armed with missiles, though this is not a requirement under JP129.

Boeing and BAE Systems Australia signed a teaming agreement at Avalon to pursue global sales of Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) systems.

The two companies are already partners in the development of the RAAF's Wedgetail AEW&C system, based on a Boeing 737-800. The first of six Wedgetails ordered by the RAAF is now in flight test and was a major feature of this year's Avalon air show. It is scheduled for delivery in late-2006.

Boeing is prime contractor for the Wedgetail program; BAE Systems Australia is providing the mission simulator and mission support system, Electronic Warfare Self Protection (EWSP) and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) systems under a sub-contract worth some $400 million.

The second customer for the Wedgetail system, Turkey, will develop its own EWSP systems rather than use those developed by BAE Systems Australia. But the elements developed by BAE Systems Australia for the RAAF will form part of the baseline for Wedgetail proposals to other potential customers according to BAE Systems Australia sources; where necessary these will be augmented by indigenous capabilities also, ADM was told.

The Republic of Korea Air Force is expected to re-open its own AEW&C program later this year while other potential customers identified by Boeing include Singapore, Italy, Japan and Spain. The global market potential for Wedgetail amounts to some 30 aircraft, according to Patrick Gill, Boeing's Vice President for 737 AEW&C programs.

BAE Systems Australia is also studying participation opportunities in the US Navy's Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) program. The MMA is a contender - probably the only realistic contender - to replace the RAAF's AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft under the $3.5-4.5 billion Phase 2 of Project Air 7000.

Like the Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, the MMA is based on the Boeing 737 and the RAAF will decide by mid-year whether or not to join the MMA Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. If it does so, those elements of the Wedgetail program which BAE Systems Australia provides could be the basis for the company's participation in the MMA.

BAE Systems sources at Avalon noted that Boeing has already established its supply chain under its SDD contract. But under the US Navy's Maritime International Program (MIP) potential international partners such as Australia, Canada and Italy could also form part of the supply chain for the total MMA production program.

The US Navy requires 108 MMAs; Australia may order 9-10 aircraft; Boeing sources estimate the total market to be over 200 aircraft worldwide.

American UAV manufacturer General Atomics is positioning itself to bid for two major Australian contracts - Phase 1 of Air 7000, in competition with Northrop Grumman; and the Australian Customs Service's Coaswatch aerial surveillance contract, in partnership with Adelaide-based Surveillance Australia, which is the current incumbent.

General Atomics is offering the Mariner UAV, a new derivative of the Predator B which it already manufactures for the US Air Force.

Both Surveillance Australia and its principal rival, Raytheon Australia, have offered satellite surveillance, the former by the Israeli Radarsat system, in order to provide cost-effective broad area surveillance (BAS) of areas such as the Southern Ocean where large, metal-hulled fishing boats and merchant ships are relatively easily detected by space-based and airborne sensors.

Further north Coastwatch wants the contractor to achieve 96 per cent probability of detection of a small (3 square metre) target in Sea State 4. The technology exists to do this with Electro-Optical and Infra Red (EO/IR) sensors but this demanding requirement will impact on the time taken for a sensor platform to cover a given area. The Mariner UAV will provide persistence in airborne surveillance, according to Surveillance Australia sources, who declined to reveal which manned aircraft the company will offer, nor the sensor fit for either manned or unmanned aircraft.

The Mariner is already integrated with a range of EO/IR sensors, satellite links an tactical data links, with development continuing into radar integration and the addition of extra fuel to increase its endurance to some 40 hours. Mariner is designed with an open architecture to enable customer-specified sensor payload options. Many of the payloads lready integrated with the Mariner/predator airframe are classified so its ultimate capabilities are not widely know, according to Surveillance Australia.

However, the open architecture enables significant Australian industry Involvement at the sensor and integration level.

Surveillance Australia and General Atomics have signed a teaming agreement to bid for Phase 1 of Air 7000; in preparation, they are readying themselves for the UAV trial announced last September by the Prime Minister, John Howard. The timing and scope of the trial have not been disclosed as yet, but it is understood the basic concept of operations is for the UAV's Integrated Ground Environment to be located at RAAF Edinburgh for easy integration of UAV surveillance data into the air
The exact configuration of a Mariner IGE hasn't been settled as yet: General Atomics is awaiting the US Navy's evolving Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) requirement before settling on a definitive architecture and configuration.

By Gregor Ferguson, Avalon and Adelaide