Defense Technology International - June 2008 - (Page 44)

RECONNAISSANCE AERIAL OVERWORKED General Atomics-ASI is ramping up production of the 10,000-lb. Predator B. User demand creates need for larger UAVs U.S. AIR FORCE BILL SWEETMAN• MINNEAPOLIS D riven by demand for surveillance and realization that crew training is the limiting factor in Predator operations, the U.S. Air Force and export customers are shifting attention to the more productive, turbinepowered Predator B/Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from the Predator A. General Atomics-ASI is ramping up Predator B production to three a month from two. USAF requests nine MQ-9As in the Fiscal 2009 budget, following 12 in 2007, plus another eight aircraft under the Global War on Terror supplemental budget for 2008. The Royal Air Force was the first Predator B export customer, signing up in 2006 and putting the aircraft in service in Afghanistan in October, in a joint task force alongside USAF Reapers and Army Sky Warrior Block 0 UAVs. GA-ASI President Tom Cassidy says Italy has ordered the Predator B, and will take delivery of four this year. Germany is evaluating the Predator B, and seeks an initial operational capability in 2010. Spain is also looking at the Predator B, and Canada has put a request for proposals out for a leased UAV in the class. Why the interest in the big (10,000-lb.) UAV? Cassidy ticks o advantages over the classic Predator: equal endurance, higher altitude, shorter time to station, 3,000-lb. weapon load and improved sensors. “And the cost of ownership is as good, if not better than the Predator A.” Cassidy declines to detail that calculation, but points out that the turbine engine on the B requires less maintenance and the higher-flying model covers more territory. The key to ownership economy may, in fact, lie in a calculation of cost relative to maintaining area surveillance. If the job takes fewer aircraft and crews, economics and force structure may favor a bigger platform. Two facts became clear in recent months: the commander’s appetite for full motion video coverage of an area of operations is almost unlimited, and maintenance of that coverage takes resources. USAF has surged operations, increasing Predator and Reaper orbits to 24 in May from 19 late last year. But to do this the service has frozen Predator assignments, keeping pilots on the UAV longer than expected, and reassigning pilots from other duties. Col. Chris Chambliss, commander of USAF’s 432nd Wing, notes that one Predator combat air patrol takes four aircraft, 80 people—50 in-theater—and two ground-control stations. Last year, the 432nd trained 240 pilots and sensor operators; this year, it will train 320. The basic course for rated pilots takes 90 days, but does not include takeo and landing; pilots assigned to launch and recovery need another 21 days of training. Sensor operators, mostly enlisted crew fresh from basic training, take a six-month imagery analysis class and three months of training on the sensor package. Chambliss says the primary stress factor on sensor operators, who are based in the U.S., is the “Groundhog Day” e ect of carrying out the same mission, day after day. The psychological factors are unique, says an RAF ofﬁcer. “You go to war. You see death and destruction, and sometimes you create it. Then you go home.” Not only are users calling for more video-surveillance orbits, but other missions are being added. The Reaper is the platform for the Wide Area Airborne Surveillance program, which uses a battery of sensors to cover areas much larger than today’s cameras, but at a lower refresh rate. “It can increase the e ectiveness of combat air patrols by over 1,200% initially, and eventually increase e ectiveness to over 3,000% from where we are today with the Predator,” USAF says. Northrop Grumman was AviationWeek.com/dti 44 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2008 http://AviationWeek.com/dti

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Defense Technology International - June 2008

Defense Technology International - June 2008 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Basic Black Self-Defense Fire-Resistant Perfezione Hyperspeed Trial Big Sky Cashing In Digital Links Hang Ten Sea Change Programs Update Two Steps Back Direct Hit Staying Power Potent Stinger Do No Harm Guard Duty The Net Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - June 2008

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