Unmanned Vehicles Vol19 #5

Volume 19 Number 5
October/November 2014
In the pipeline
UAS support of oil and gas operations
HOPES
AND FEARS
BREAKING
TRADITION
CORE
WORKOUT
Tactical platforms
Small UGVs
Propulsion technology
www.UVonline.com
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1
CONTENTS
Editor
Andrew White
andrew.w@shephardmedia.com
+44 1753 727023
North America Editor
Scott R Gourley
scott.g@shephardmedia.com
Contributors
Claire Apthorp, Gordon Arthur,
Pieter Bastiaans, Angus Batey,
Peter Donaldson, Eugene Gerden,
Ashley Roque, Richard Scott,
Matthew Smith, Tom Withington
Production Department Manager
David Hurst
3 Editorial Comment

News
4 Taiwan boosts UAS capabilities

Commercial Manager
Christian Letessier
christian.l@shephardmedia.com
+44 1753 727003
Managing Director
Darren Lake
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In the first of a series of articles putting the spotlight

on up and coming areas of expertise in the
unmanned industry, Andrew White considers how
the oil and gas sector is looking to utilise UAVs.
20
31 Core workout

15 Hopes and fears
Editor-in-Chief
Tony Skinner
Chairman
Nick Prest
A review of some of the latest developments

from around the unmanned systems industry.
8 Knowing the drill
Sub-editor
Adam Wakeling
Head of Advertising Sales
Mike Wild
mike.w@shephardmedia.com
+44 1753 727007
With the rise of UAV leisure users, Editor Andrew

White considers whether this seemingly innocent
hobby could lead to potential security risks.
After a decade of accelerated UAS development

fuelled by campaigns in Southwest Asia, Western
commanders now face slower technological
progress (and reduced funding) coupled with
raised expectations of capability. Angus Batey
assesses the situation.
37 New brooms

20 A swarm front

With the rising threat of fast inshore attack craft,

navies are now utilising autonomous surface
vessels in their countermeasure preparations, finds
Richard Scott.
A little over a decade after it rushed unmanned

minesweeping equipment into service for shallowwater operations in the opening phase of Operation
Telic, the UK Royal Navy is back in the market for a
new-generation capability, Richard Scott reports.
44 An even playing field

25 Breaking tradition

With good power-to-weight ratios, smooth operation

and fuel-efficient performance, the two-stroke engine
is attractive to small UAV developers. Peter
Donaldson talks to industry about recent advances in
the technology.
As militaries seek UGV utility beyond the counter-IED

applications of recent times, platform requirements are
being redefined. Claire Apthorp examines how this is
impacting development activity.
Matthew Baldwin, the European Commissions

director of aviation, explains to Andrew White how
the continents RPAS community must steer away
from its current patchwork legislation if it is to
have a positive effect on the global unmanned
market.
The Shephard Press Ltd, 2014.

ISSN 1351-3478
DTP Vivid Associates, Sutton, Surrey, UK
Front cover: Alaskan airspace lends itself well to UAV operations due to the sparsely populated
environment, mitigating the requirements for sense-and-avoid technology. (Photo: BP)
Print Williams Press, Maidenhead,

Berks, UK
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Volume 19 Number 5 | October/November 2014 | UNMANNED Vehicles
26/09/2014 13:11:50
Improved Gray Eagle
EXTENDING THE EDGE

NETWORKING THE FORCE
Up to 42-hour endurance
External payload increases from 500 to 1000 lb
Increased capacity for missionized payloads:

SIGINT, EW, optical change detection, real time
LiDAR, hyperspectral
Organic GPS-targeting
Capable of video dissemination via JTRS network
2014 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
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Vehicles.indd
1
www.ga-asi.com
QTYUIOP
AERONAUTICAL
Leading The Situational Awareness Revolution
26/09/2014
9/15/1413:14:11
1:43 PM
3
EDITORIAL COMMENT
A dangerous hobby?
RESPONSE
Unmanned Vehicles editorial team is
always happy to receive comments on
its articles and to hear readers views
on the issues raised in the magazine.
Contact details can be found on p1.
www.UVonline.com
UV_OctNov14_p03_Comment.indd 3
It has been a long, hot summer in the UK and

during this period, I have been astounded by the
number of national newspapers focusing on the
leisure use of quadrotors and other VTOL UAS.
I am unsure as to what exactly triggered
this proliferation perhaps it was Amazons
optimistic plan to deliver parcels by air or a
few trendsetting celebrities deciding it
was the best mechanism to take selfies or
dronies but it appears the national press
and much of the population have become
somewhat fixated.
However, this aspiring love affair should be
closely monitored. Pleasing as it is to see our
industry take to the pages of the Evening
Standard and Times newspapers so regularly,
there are serious issues at hand.
In early September, I visited the UAS 2014
event at Twickenham Stadium. It was here
that Gerry Corbett, UAS programme lead,
intelligence strategy and policy, in the UK
CAAs Safety and Airspace Regulation Group,
made a very salient point.
There are no overarching airworthiness
requirements established for hobbyist
aircraft, he stated, before reiterating how this
sector had increased in popularity recently
thanks to cheap and cheerful kit.
He reinforced his point with an anecdote
about a tourist visiting London who decided
to pull some type of VTOL platform from his
camera bag and fly it around the historic
landmark of Tower Bridge. Inevitably, it
crashed into the bridge.
Corbett describes such operators as leisure
users, and this is a group gathering much
momentum. One just has to search for drone
plus various tourist attractions on YouTube
and youll see just how many people are
attempting aerial photography. I can pretty
much guarantee only a small proportion of
IN THE
NEXT
ISSUE
these leisure users have contacted the

CAA pre-flight for permission to fly.
As Corbett said: Its rare to see these
systems on sale without an integrated
camera. Aircraft and cameras are lighter and
cheaper, and tourists are coming over and
flying them into Tower Bridge. How much of a
risk do they pose and how much risk would
society accept if they hit someone? And is it
really for the CAA to regulate at all?
There is also a genuine security concern
for London or any major conurbation.
Although I cannot comment on the specific
theatre of operations due to operational
security restrictions, I have seen reports
regarding enemy forces combining
unmanned VTOL platforms with deadly IEDs.
This is not a fantasy, as both elements of
this lethal cocktail are readily available for
purchase in First World countries. The
potential for catastrophic consequences in a
city such as London is immeasurable.
The problem is how best to counter this
threat. Radio frequency jamming of aircraft
operating signals would be extremely unpopular
in a built-up area, as any action could result in
electronic countermeasures blocking wifi and
mobile telephone signals over a large radius.
Could another option be critical
infrastructure and potentially historic
landmarks protected by a bubble of wire
mesh to prevent the penetration of unwanted
airborne visitors?
A third option would be some kind of counterUAV weapon, mounted on the roofs of Londons
buildings, scanning the streets for VTOL IEDs a
type of Iron Dome for UAS, if you will.
Let us hope the security services around
the world are paying attention to this
particular threat.
Andrew White, Editor
n UAS training
n Commercial UGVs
n Data links
n Environmental monitoring
26/09/2014 13:15:21
4
NEWS
Taiwan boosts UAS capabilities

Taiwans Ministry of National Defense (MND)
is in the process of evaluating a secretive,
long-range UAV closely resembling the
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, Unmanned
Vehicles has learnt.
It is understood that the state-owned
Chung-Shan Institute of Science and
Technology (CSIST) commenced the so-called
Long March project five years ago.
The major difference to the MQ-9 is the
control system, with CSIST opting for a
microwave link rather than the Reapers satellite
relay. UV believes the stealthy Long March
aircraft will be armed with missiles such as the
AGM-114 Hellfire.
However, the MND told Legislative Yuan
lawmakers it will not use UAVs in Chinese
airspace, describing how it preferred alternative
means of collecting intelligence.
Elsewhere, the MND announced in July that
UAVs had extended detection zones from
airspace over eastern and southern Taiwan to
include the Taiwan Strait. This relates to CSISTs
Chung Shyang II that has been in Republic of
China Army (RoCA) service for three years.

Citing an anonymous official, local media said a
UAV launched from western Taiwan would be
able to detect military movements in coastal
areas of southeast China.
The tactical Chung Shyang, which boasts a
12-hour endurance, has insufficient range to
transit the Taiwan Strait, so they would need to
be based offshore to achieve this coverage. To
date, however, the MND has not decided
whether to base UAVs in western Taiwan, nor is
there any evidence they have been deployed
on outlying islands.
Taiwans UAV development and expansion
of reach concerns the US, which requested
Taipei send specialists to brief the DoD on the
status of its programmes. Intelligence collection
by Taiwanese craft could aid Washington,
which is understandably reluctant to operate its
own UAVs too close to China.
Thirty-two Chung Shyang II systems are
based in Taitung County in Taiwans southeast
under nominal authority of Aviation and
Special Forces Command. When deployed they
fall under regional commanders. The MND

has reportedly been in talks with the Civil
Aeronautics Administration about flying them
from Hengchun, Taiwans southernmost
airport, as a second training base.
Indeed, the RoC Marine Corps (RoCMC)
performed a drill with a Chung Shyang II in seas
south of Taiwan four months ago. The UAV
transmitted at-sea images back to land. This
news indirectly confirms that the RoC Navy has
also adopted this UAV type, operating it from a
logistics ship equipped with a launch device
and net recovery system.
CSIST has two other UAV designs
undergoing testing by the RoCA and RoCMC.
The hand-launched Cardinal II has a range of
greater than 13km, while the rotary-wing
Magic-Eye is destined for short-range
surveillance and target acquisition missions.
This project commenced in late 2011, but the
original 20kg craft with 10km range was
deemed too small. Therefore, efforts are now
concentrated on the larger Magic-Eye II.
By Gordon Arthur, Hong Kong
Zephyr HAPS breezes to new heights
Photo: QinetiQ
The Zephyr 7 High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite
(HAPS) has reached a number of new
programme milestones, completing an 11-day
non-stop flight in winter weather conditions
with a new primary payload, as part of tests for
the UK MoD. Airbus Defence and Space, which
acquired the programme from QinetiQ in 2013,

made the announcement on 28 August.
The test also saw Zephyr 7s flight controlled
and monitored via SATCOM for the first time.
Zephyr 7 HAPS runs exclusively on
solar power, which is used during the day to
charge a battery that is used to power the flight
through the night. The most recent flight,
conducted in the Southern Hemisphere in
winter conditions with shorter days and longer
nights, was significantly more demanding than
any previous test sortie.
The programme also reached an important
milestone in its regulatory roadmap. The
flight was approved in controlled airspace,
which required the close cooperation of the
UK Military Aviation Authority, the Type
UNMANNED Vehicles | October/November 2014 | Volume 19 Number 5
UV_OctNov14_p04-06_News.indd 4
Airworthiness Authority (TAA) and the

UAS team of the MoDs Defence
Equipment & Support organisation, leading
to the Zephyr 7 being assigned its military
registration, PS001 the first pseudo-satellite
registered.
The TAAs Gp Capt Paul Lloyd said: This is
the first time that the UKs military aviation
authorities have expanded our well-proven
procedures and regulations into the domain
of these novel, long-duration pseudosatellites. It has been both instructive and
encouraging to see how effectively the
regulations and the Airbus approach to
Zephyr were brought together to enable
such an operation.
By Claire Apthorp, London
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:17:05
5
NEWS
Israel details Gaza UAV ops
The IDF has shed some light on its use of small UAVs
during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and the
West Bank. Speaking to Unmanned Vehicles on
7 August, IDF spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner said:
UAVs [have been] utilised to the maximum to enable
the ground forces enhancement of [their] strike
power, accuracy and in collecting intelligence, as
well as in damage limitation.
He went on to explain how IDF ground troops
had used small UAVs to aid in the decision-making
process, allowing commanders to get real-time
pictures of the battlefield.
The IDF also issued a video clip which showed
soldiers carrying and operating Elbit Systems
second-generation Skylark UAV (illustrated) which
was deployed in fly-by-wire mode once assembled in
the area of operations. It took a total of three troops
to carry the complete system.
The IDF ground force company commanders
have been supplied with these small tactical UAVs
which can scan the targeted terrain, especially the
West Bank which consists of mountains and forest,
Lerner explained. However, while Gaza is relatively
flat in comparison, it emerged that IDF soldiers were
unable to operate their small UAVs in this particular
area of operations.
In addition, the IDF said small UAVs were used
during operations in the West Bank in an attempt to
locate three teenagers from Hebron, reported
missing on 12 June.
In late July, Hamas fighters from the Izz ad-Din
al-Qassam brigade used tunnel networks to insert
behind Israeli lines in Nahal Oz in eastern Gaza,
dressed in IDF uniforms. However, it has emerged
that an Israeli company commander immediately
ordered a small UAV to be deployed to broadcast
real-time full-motion video of the group. The UAV
showed the fighters as carrying AK-47 assault rifles,
allowing the commander to positively identify the
personnel as enemy combatants.
The IDFs Directorate of Military Intelligence or
Aman prepared maps of Hamas-dug tunnels based
on footage taken exclusively by UAVs. At a briefing to
journalists in mid-July, one Aman officer showed
images of a mosque in Khan Yunis with a greenhouse
next to it used to store soil and sand from a tunnel
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Photo: IDF
being constructed underneath the building. Analysts
were able to estimate the length of the tunnel based
on the amount of sand and soil deposited in the
greenhouse each day.
Furthermore, it was claimed that Aman had been
able to identify the start point of most of the tunnels,
although it had been unable to track them to their
end points.
UAVs have been used during this Protective Edge
operation for different purposes, Eyal Alima, an Israeli
military analyst, told UV. He said these included
tactical intelligence, intelligence-gathering about the
digging of tunnels, tracking wanted terrorists, and
surveillance of targeted sites to specify civilians
among militants, as well as for offensive purposes.
Alima noted that Gazas skies were full of different
types of Israeli UAVs, adding: The IAF utilises UAV
offensive aircraft when they do not want to send
F-16 fighter jets to do the job.
While the IDF refused to reveal how many UAVs
it was flying at any particular time over the Gaza
Strip, according to Palestinian sources in the area,
Israeli Air Force UAVs were operating day and night.
Furthermore, television broadcasters claimed to
have been affected by EW interference of satellite
receivers, potentially caused by jamming payloads
carried by UAVs.
Finally, it emerged that, for the first time, the
IDF had merged maps and images gathered by
UAVs, fighter jets and main battle tanks into a
real-time common operational picture, allowing
decision-makers to respond more quickly to potential
security threats.
By Mohammed Najib, Israel
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2 September 2014
Energid to work on TARDEC
UGV programme
29 August 2014
New UAS pilot training course
launched in Canada
27 August 2014
USAF RQ-4 Global Hawk
expands operational area
15 August 2014
Remotec to upgrade US
military EOD robots
13 August 2014
Cubic to work on SUAS
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12 August 2014
ASV, Planet Ocean team for
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Visit
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for the full stories and latest news
26/09/2014 13:17:06
6
NEWS
EuroHawk still alive, claims Northrop
Photo: Northrop Grumman

Germanys EuroHawk HALE UAS programme is
still very much alive, senior officials at Northrop
Grumman continue to insist.
Speaking to the media on 20 August in
London, Andrew Tyler, Northrop Grumman
chief executive for the UK and Europe, said the
German government still had an existing
requirement and remained of the view that a
HALE platform was right to deliver that

particular mission capability.
We are still in discussions, he announced,
before describing how Northrop Grumman
remained hopeful and that the company had
not yet given up on a key European prospect.
In May 2013, it was announced that Berlin
planned to end the programme due to
problems relating to airspace integration and
airworthiness issues.
The German government informed the
select defence committee of the Bundestag
on 15 May 2013 about its plans to shut down
the development effort, which had seen a
single EuroHawk full-scale demonstrator UAS
involved in a series of trials in Germany
since mid-2011.
It had been expected that four additional
production systems would be purchased,
with EuroHawk reaching operational capability

by 2019.
We got to the end of phase and paused
there, with all parties agreed that the contract
had been executed well, Tyler explained.
We are at a discussional level rather than
any fixed, publicly declared programme
milestone. The Germans are going through
a process. We completed our contract and
left in a good state for whatever option
they choose.
Tyler said the single EuroHawk aircraft
remained in good order should the
programme be reactivated, or the platform be
required for the NATO Airborne Ground
Surveillance programme. It is quite capable of
being re-energised, as the aircraft is in a good
state of protection, he added.
By Andrew White, London
Unmanned K-Max ends Afghan deployment
The K-Max VTOL cargo UAV has returned to

the US following nearly three years of
operations in Afghanistan in support of the
USMC, it has been announced.
According to Lockheed Martin, the single
remaining platform was recovered from
Helmand Province on 11 July, having first
deployed to theatre in 2011.
The helicopter, developed and
manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Kaman
Aerospace, was used to deliver supplies to
patrol and forward operating bases to minimise
the threat of IEDs to combat logistics patrols on
the ground. The airframe is capable of lifting up
to 2,700kg of cargo at sea level.
Initially, two K-Max platforms had been
deployed to Afghanistan. However, in June
2013, one of the aircraft is understood to have
crashed in a landing zone at Camp Leatherneck
in Helmand. No one was injured in the incident.
Speaking to Unmanned Vehicles at the
Farnborough International Airshow,
George Barton, Lockheed Martins business

development VP for ship and aviation systems,
said two airframes would be stored at the
companys facility in Owego, New York, ahead
of further utilisation and requirement
development by the USMC.
Barton added that the USMC and USN could
also potentially use the systems for support
operations at bases and naval stations.
Meanwhile, the US Army and Lockheed
Martin successfully demonstrated a new
concept of operation using K-Max and the
companys Squad Mission Support System
(SMSS) UGV.
Details emerged on 18 August regarding
a test exercise involving the armys Tank
Automotive Research, Development and
Engineering Center (TARDEC), which
conducted a fully autonomous resupply,
reconnaissance, surveillance and target
acquisition demonstration using both
platforms and a Gyrocam optical sensor.
The Extending the Reach of the

Warfighter through Robotics capability
assessment at Fort Benning, Georgia,
saw K-Max deliver the SMSS as a sling
load during an autonomous resupply
mission for warfighters defending a village.
Once deployed, the UGV moved to an
observation position where it used the
Gyrocam sensor to scan the area of
operations for enemy forces.
Fully autonomous capabilities, as
weve just demonstrated, will allow service
members to focus on important missions
and remain out of harms way, said
Scott Greene, VP of ground vehicles at
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
This successful demonstration with both
unmanned air and ground vehicles shows us
that these missions are not only possible, but
can be available much sooner than you
would expect.
By Andrew White, London
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26/09/2014 13:17:07
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26/09/2014 09:50:08
8
OIL AND GAS
Insitus ScanEagle UAS is being utilised by

ConocoPhillips for oil and gas operations in
Alaska. (Photo: Insitu)
In the first of a series of

articles putting the spotlight
on up and coming areas of
expertise in the unmanned
industry, Andrew White
considers how the oil and
gas sector is looking to
utilise UAVs.
uch emphasis and focus has been

placed on UAS operating in conflict
areas, with instructions to execute
the dull, dirty and dangerous tasks to keep
warfighters out of harms way.
However, as has been witnessed with the
annual and ever-evolving AUVSI event in
the US, there is a marked swing towards
the utility of unmanned platforms in the
commercial sector.
Additionally, Unmanned Vehicles was
informed by industry commentators at UAS
2014 held at Twickenham Stadium, London, on
10 September, that commercial activity would
account for nearly 80% of the unmanned
market over the next five to ten years.
Potential is limitless, with concepts of
operations ranging from anti-poaching and
environmental monitoring through to search
and rescue and humanitarian aid/disasterrelief operations.
First is a tie-up between Insitu and oil giant

ConocoPhillips. According to the former
company, both parties have been heavily
engaged in a development programme for the
past five years. However, limited user testing saw
a total of just two hours flown in 2013, with test
flights only just beginning in August this year.
Taking place over the Chukchi Sea on the
North Slope of Alaska, Insitu most recently
commenced operations from land, flying a
ScanEagle from Wainwright in order to
undertake missions and potentially be
recovered on a patrol vessel at sea.
According to Paul McDuffee, VP of
government relations and strategy at Insitu,
this is an ideal model for UAV operations in the
oil and gas sector. We began in 2013, once we
completed FAA certification, safety case and
flight approvals, with a very limited opportunity
to fly up there, he said. That has changed this
nn APPLICATION APPRECIATION
Application to the oil and gas sector appears
obvious, and although there has been limited
use of flare stack inspections by small VTOL
platforms such as the Cyberhawk and pipeline
inspection below the surface by AUVs, this
utility has yet to be fully appreciated.
However, two projects currently ongoing in
the US are providing an interesting perspective
into future utility of UAVs in this arena.
Knowing th
UV_OctNov14_p08-13_Oil&Gas.indd 8
www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 09:58:48
9
OIL AND GAS
The Puma AE, as used in operations in

Afghanistan, is being flown in support of BP
in Alaska as well. (Photo: AeroVironment)
year. This is a commercial operation and the

first of its kind in the US.
The FAA is very interested in how
successful this will be. Can they validate the
safety case and assessment of operations?
Can UAS operate beyond line of sight safely
in that environment?
The area of operations is centred around
a mandate initiated by the FAAs 2012
Modernisation and Freeform Act which
created a flying zone for small UAS in an area
off the Alaskan coast below 2,000ft.
nn MODEL APPROACH
Previously, ConocoPhillips had used a mixture
of manned aircraft and satellite coverage to
acquire the data now compiled by ScanEagles.
We looked at different models as to how
best employ UAS technology in support of
exploration and drilling activity, explained
McDuffee. Debate ranged from marine
mammal monitoring they were very
concerned about oil exploration impact and

drilling activity and effects on marine mammal
populations because native Americans count on
the ability to hunt whales and other marine
mammals for sustenance.
Other taskings include the tracking of
sea ice in that part of the world and its effects
on drilling operations. McDuffee explained that
when ice encroaches into an area, oil platforms
have to be physically moved to a safe location.
UAS, he said, could perfectly supplement
forecasts garnered by satellite.
We are seeing a real effort this year to see how
effective ScanEagle can be in spotting ice and
providing operators with real-time tracking data.
The problem with satellite data is that when you
finally receive it, it can be 12 hours old and it does
not provide a 24/7 opportunity.
A year ago, shore-to-surface vessel
operations were not even being considered.
The FAA is pushing the envelope here, he
added, throwing water on the fire that the FAA
continues to thwart industry efforts to integrate

unmanned systems into national airspace.
With a long history of operating for the US
DoD in recent conflicts a total of 800,000 hours
of deployed experience Insitus ScanEagle has
the endurance and ability to go out to significant
distances compared to electrically powered
VTOL designs, McDuffee explained to UV.
nn ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
However, the sparse nature of Alaskan airspace
lends itself well to such operations, allowing
mitigation of sense-and-avoid technology
generally acknowledged as a critical
prerequisite for unmanned operations
in any national airspace.
UAVs can be used to inspect drilling rigs for

damage, or provide advance warning of
approaching sea ice. (Photo: Nandaro)
ng the drill
www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 09:58:50
10
OIL AND GAS
ConocoPhillipss Polar Adventure tanker,

seen here moored at Valdez, Alaska.
(Photo: ConocoPhillips)
Alaskan airspace is devoid of things we can

hit, McDuffee quipped. However, he described
how notices to airmen were published ahead
of flights.
Regarding payloads, Insitu explained that
all options remained viable for oil and gas
taskings, although current operations utilised
EO/IR full-motion video (FMV) with cheaper
sensors, including multi-megapixel SLR
cameras, on board for review upon landing.
However, deployment of ScanEagle was
not without its problems. In September, the
aircrafts first flight lasted just 36 minutes and it
then crash landed into the sea during its
second flight.
Another company involved in oil and gas in
Alaska is AeroVironment once again, tapping
into experience gained from the battlefield
with the DoD.
On 10 June, the company was awarded
a five-year contract with BP Exploration
(Alaska) to provide mapping and geographic
information system (GIS) services at the
Prudhoe Bay oilfield, with AeroVironment
claiming this to be the first time UAVs have
routinely performed commercial services over
land in compliance with FAA regulations.
Work began on 8 June, with the company
deploying its Puma AE UAV equipped with
either a custom integrated light detection
and ranging (LiDAR) or its standard EO/IR
sensor payload. These produce imagery and
data for processing into 3D computerised
Mi
models of roads, paths and pipelines, and

other actionable information, including
precision volumetric measurement and
topographic analysis of gravel pits at the
North Slope field.
AeroVironments expert UAS operators are
now performing photogrammetry and LiDAR
analysis to survey Prudhoe Bay infrastructure.
The Puma AEs ability to fly low (200-400ft
above ground level (AGL)) and slowly (at
less than 40kt), provides BP with highly
accurate location analytics capabilities to help
manage its complex.
nn MANAGING INFRASTRUCTURE
According to VP of marketing strategy and
communications Steve Gitlin, Puma AEs are
being used to observe and collect data on
roads, paths and pipelines, before it is
processed in the cloud for engineering quality
geospatial analytical data in high-resolution,
3D models and maps. This is very useful to BP
in managing infrastructure and operations up
there, he told UV.
BPs operations utilised high-resolution
still cameras and FMV feeds as well as LiDAR
payloads used to overfly 320km of roads in
Prudhoe Bay in order to monitor ground shifts
as a result of permafrost which can affect the
levels of gravel surfaces.
This, according to Gitlin, is critical for the
transit of mobile drilling rigs, which can weigh
up to 1,500t. It is very important that roads are
kept very level so vehicles can traverse them

without getting stuck, he said.
Once information is recorded, it can be
integrated with existing GIS data in order to
generate 3D models to detect if gravel has
slipped away. Any ruts can then be replaced
with an estimated amount of gravel, again
generated from the modelling.
The Puma AE is capable of flying for up to
3.5 hours at altitudes between 200 and 500ft
AGL in this particular environment. However,
Gitlin warned that flying too high would lose
resolution of imagery, while flying at specific
altitudes allowed for very rich and robust
data collection.
Similar to ConocoPhillips operation, BP
previously used ground surveyors, manned
aircraft and satellites to generate this data. The
number of Puma AEs currently operating as
part of the BP contract could not be confirmed
as UV went to press. However, Gitlin suggested
that the number of systems would be expected
to grow as the year continued.
However, he asserted that the use of UAVs
in oil and gas was just beginning, with a
solid milestone already reached in its current
operational capability. Looking ahead, he was
unable to comment on the BP contract due to
customer-sensitive information, but described
how such technology could be applied to
the 6.5 million kilometres of roads in the
US, 3.2 million kilometres of pipelines and
hundreds of millions of acres of cropland.
www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 09:58:51
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OIL AND GAS
Furthermore, he described potential for

future chemical detection technology, digital
data links on each aircraft and communication
relays, among other things. Well identify new
requirements for exciting new payloads,
Gitlin concluded.
nn EUROPEAN SUPPORT
Beyond the continental US, Cyberhawk
Innovations has conducted UAS support
of oil and gas operations in the UK as well
Sweden. Chris Fleming, operations director
at the company, explained how this new
inspection technique is reducing plant
shutdowns worldwide.
At oil and gas production facilities all over
the world, maximising uptime is of paramount
importance, he said. Accordingly, there is an
The Cyberhawk VTOL UAS is used to

check flare stacks for maintenance issues.
(Photo: Cyberhawk)
ongoing requirement to carry out close visual

inspections of plant and equipment as part of a
planned maintenance schedule.
Traditional methods of accessing assets for

inspection include rope access and scaffolding.
Both approaches involve working at height and
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www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 09:58:54
13
OIL AND GAS
require assets to be shut down. Rope access

inspection puts personnel at risk and can be
time-consuming, both in terms of crew set
up and inspection duration. Scaffolding is an
expensive option and may take weeks to erect,
he explained.
The final inspection technique, according
to Fleming, is the use of manned, full-size
rotorcraft, which can be very expensive to
run. A full-size helicopter inspection renders
many safety-critical parts of a flare structure
uninspectable examples may include the
underside of the flare deck, access ladders,
the flare stack/deck penetration and the
flare boom.
Cyberhawks UAVs use HD video, as well as
still and thermal imagery cameras to conduct
inspections, with the battery-powered systems
weighing less than 2kg and measuring

less than 1m in length. Controlled by two
personnel, the UAV is operated from the
ground by line of sight, normally near the base
of flare towers. Meanwhile, the image operator
can concentrate wholly on generating highresolution imagery.
nn PROVEN METHODS
Describing recent work on the Sleipner A rig,
operated by Statoil, Fleming noted: The ROAV
[remotely operated air vehicle] solution delivers
a step-change in safety and a significant cost
and efficiency benefit from live flare inspection,
especially with such a critical hub. Statoil now
have a proven method for flare tip inspection,
with the plant in production, which will enable
them to plan maintenance on the flare tips
and flare structure much more precisely

than before.
The company is looking at other inspection
areas where ROAVs could be deployed, such
as underdeck or jacket structures. They stated
that even a manual flare tip/structural
inspection during a shutdown could not
supply such high-quality pictures from the
angles and locations as were possible with
Cyberhawks ROAV.Despite such notable
successes, last word must go to Insitus
McDuffee who looked further afield and
highlighted the Gulf of Mexico as an area in
which UAVs could be deployed directly off
oil rigs, with potential applications for spill
monitoring, maintenance and security.
However, he warned: We must crawl and
walk before we start running. uv
www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 09:58:55
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15
TACTICAL PL ATFORMS
More than a decade of

operations in Afghanistan
have leveraged ISTAR
technology gathered by
unmanned assets.
(Photo: Crown Copyright)
Hopes and fears

W
ith the possible exception of

battlefield medicine, the one area
that has seen more progress than all
others during Western deployments to Iraq and
Afghanistan has been the development of
unmanned aerial capability.
Although the kinetic strikes carried out by
UAS and in particular the understandable
controversies created by the CIAs programme of
targeted assassinations using Predator aircraft
over countries where, at present, the US is not
engaged in a military conflict have tended to
hog the limelight, the gains made in the
collection of ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance,
target acquisition and reconnaissance) data
through the use of unmanned aerial platforms
has arguably done more to change the way
advanced militaries operate than any other
technological development of recent years.
But the benefits these technologies bring
to commanders are not going to carry on
increasing at the same rate as has been seen
www.UVonline.com
UV_OctNov14_p15-18_Tactical_UAVs.indd 15
over the past decade. Indeed, as Western

militaries complete the drawdown from
Afghanistan and embark on what is hoped will
be a lengthy period of contingency operations,
the collection, exploitation and dissemination
of ISTAR data from unmanned platforms
will quickly become a significant challenge.
Decisions being taken now, both within
defence departments and elsewhere, will set
boundaries on the art of the possible for the
use of tactical UAS. Many of these challenges
apply across all ISTAR disciplines, and have
been understood for some time.
nn GREAT EXPECTATIONS
There is now an expectation that we can
deliver [high ISTAR] sophistication, the UKs
then Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen Sir Peter
Wall, told the Defence Geospatial Intelligence
conference last year. You just cannot deliver,
after the early days of a campaign which
of course is the most critical [period] for
After a decade of
accelerated UAS
development fuelled by
campaigns in Southwest
Asia, Western commanders
now face slower
technological progress
(and reduced funding)
coupled with raised
expectations of capability.
Angus Batey assesses
the situation.
understanding and planning and analysis

the sort of sophistication you can plumb in over
a period of years.
And so one of the challenges is how now to
service this appetite thats growing. Weve set,
over the last ten years, a new expectation
a new benchmark. People are not going to
29/09/2014 10:01:17
16
TACTICAL PL ATFORMS
Watchkeeper has been in development since 2005, but has yet to deploy operationally. (Photo: Thales)
readily dismiss that opportunity just because

were in the early days of a campaign rather
than at a mature point.
There are several areas, therefore, where
militaries are having to make crucial decisions if
they wish to preserve the UAS gains made in
recent conflicts and build on the conspicuous
and considerable successes these systems have
achieved. One concerns equipment portfolios
and funding for what were, in many cases,
systems purchased for specific conflicts.
In the UK, the Urgent Operational
Requirement (UOR) funding construct has
enabled quick procurement and streamlined
delivery of new capabilities to the front line,
but the financial tap for programmes initiated
under UOR is turned off when the British
military leaves Afghanistan. If UOR capabilities
are to be retained, funding to operate,
maintain, repair and refresh them will have to
be found from within existing defence budgets.
Given the challenges facing those budgets to
start with and despite what it claims has been
its prudence since taking office, the present UK
government inherited a 36 billion shortfall
between its planned defence expenditure and
its allocated funding it has been by no means
a given that money would be found to retain
the entire suite of UAS capabilities.
An announcement was made in June this
year that the RAFs General Atomics MQ-9
Reaper fleet would be retained as part of the
core equipment programme, though its
status in the longer term is unclear. The
UK MoD is currently working through the
assessment phase of a requirement for a

next-generation ISTAR aircraft programme
known as Scavenger, and the future of Reaper
is tied up in that project.
In the same June announcement, the MoD
said that it is our intention to retain two British
Army UAS the hand-launched Lockheed
Martin Desert Hawk and the Prox Dynamics
micro-UAS, Black Hornet. No mention was
made of the Honeywell Tarantula Hawk, which
is flown by the Royal Engineers as part of the
Talisman route-clearing system. But the success
and the future importance of the fleets has
been underscored by the intent to retain them,
even though other capabilities may have to be
sacrificed to free up sufficient funding.
nn WATCHING OUT
The army currently also flies Hermes 450
aircraft from Camp Bastion under a leasing
arrangement with Thales. Those aircraft will be
replaced by the Watchkeeper system, which
has been in development since 2005. In March
this year, approval was given for training flights
to begin under the control of the Royal Artillery
officers who will operate the system.
There are several areas where

militaries are having to make
crucial decisions if they wish to
preserve the UAS gains made
in recent conflicts.
Watchkeepers protracted gestation points

to another area that will be of concern to
militaries which hope to retain capabilities
they have fielded successfully in Iraq and/or
Afghanistan training. For certain countries
particularly the US and Canada the
availability of large tracts of unpopulated
land with relatively little-used airspace above
them means the provision of segregated
ranges where UAS can be flown is not a
problem. For nations such as the UK, which
has a high population density and some of the
busiest civilian airspace in the world, routine
flights of military unmanned aircraft are going
to be very difficult to carry out.
Systems such as Black Hornet, which poses
no threat to other air users due to its tiny size
and very low mass, and which is flown within
line of sight of its operator, will be easy to
absorb into traditional military training plans
and use on scheduled exercises. Desert Hawk,
although larger and heavier, should still
be simple enough to add to conventional
exercises, so operational capability for
both flight crew and data analysts will be
straightforward enough to deliver. For larger
UAS, though, the challenge is considerable.
At present, despite the GCS now being
located at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire
rather than Creech AFB in Nevada, USA, the
UKs Reaper operators are going to carry out
significant portions of their training in the US.
There is no scope in the foreseeable future to fly
an aircraft of Reapers size on training missions
in the UK, so embedding British MQ-9 training
with the USAF offers the only practical solution.
There are benefits to the arrangement, too.
Weve got our instructors embedded at
Holloman [AFB, New Mexico, training hub for
the USAF Reaper fleet], even in the instructional
camp so Brit instructors train Brit crews and
American crews there, said Sqn Ldr Colin
Redican, a flight commander on Reaper in
13 Squadron, during an interview at
Waddington earlier this year. Redican did a tour
as a flight lieutenant on 39 Squadron, flying
Reapers over Afghanistan from Creech, so has
seen the benefits of integration UK and US
operations at first hand.
www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 10:01:17
17
TACTICAL PL ATFORMS
Thats really useful because it means

that the training empire isnt just delivering us
an American training course its delivering
us an American training course informed by
British instructors at the very outset, who then
go to a British squadron to continue their
development, he said. Its very neatly tied in
with the Americans, because, at the moment,
we do everything in a very similar manner.
nn PLAYING IT SAFE
Watchkeepers clearance for training flights has
only been possible following the culmination of
years of collaborative work by the UKs airspace
regulator, the CAA, with its new military
equivalent, the Military Aviation Authority
(established in line with recommendations
made following the loss of a Nimrod MR2 jet
over Afghanistan, and tasked with ensuring

safety of operations for all British military
aircraft), and in liaison with civil aircraft
operators, air traffic controllers and the
MoDs flight test centre at Boscombe Down.
The result has been the creation of a
corridor of temporarily restricted airspace,
connected to existing danger areas around
Boscombe Down and the military training
ranges on nearby Salisbury Plain. This enables
a Watchkeeper to take off at Boscombe and
transit to the ranges, which are closed to nonauthorised aircraft, then fly for the duration of
the exercise in its preferred stand-off position.
The temporary restriction will serve to warn
other air users that there is an unmanned
aircraft flying in the vicinity, but the airspace is
not entirely closed aircraft can arrange to fly
through the restricted zone, as long as it is

safe to do so, by liaising with ATC at Boscombe
Down under the Danger Area Crossing Service,
an established mechanism to permit transit of
dangerous airspace.
The additional area, Delta 122, was
established in July 2010, explained Gerry
Corbett, the CAAs lead on UAS, in a 2012
interview. Its segregated airspace, but its only
activated when necessary. Its a danger area
activated by NOTAMs [Notices to Airmen] and
when its notified, essentially the roadblock
signs go up. The Salisbury Plain danger area
goes right up, as high as you want, all the way
from the ground. Delta 122 is floating from
8,000ft to 16,000ft. So the aircraft takes off from
Boscombe Down, in its own little danger area,
goes into the main danger area and climbs
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29/09/2014 10:01:18
18
TACTICAL PL ATFORMS
to a height, then goes into [the temporarily

restricted airspace].
The reason for that is that Watchkeeper
stands off at the side and looks into the exercise
area, Corbett continued. So that airspace is
active for the whole period [of the exercise].
Its segregated airspace, but its managed as
well theres a crossing service available.
Obviously were not going to put aircraft head
to head, but if Watchkeeper is there and its
going in one direction, you can fly something
else behind it quite safely.
The other element of the equation that was
required and which explains why the airspace,
open for four years, has only recently begun
to be used by Watchkeeper is that the MoD
took the decision to ensure that the types
release to service would include airworthiness
elements that would permit the system to fly
in comparably controlled airspace, rather than
have it restricted to war zones or military ranges.
The delays to the programme which
have meant Watchkeeper has not been
deployed to Afghanistan have been the
subject of much critical commentary, but there
are good, pragmatic reasons why the UK
military may wish to have a UAS that is cleared
to fly in restricted civilian airspace.
nn HOME BASE
One of the lessons learned from the
military campaign over Libya was about the
deployability of UAS. The aircraft, typically, can
demonstrate extended endurance compared to
most manned platforms, but they operate at low
speed, so range is an issue. Therefore, they need
to be based close to the area of operations.
In Afghanistan this is not a problem as the
aircraft are launched from and recovered to
bases inside the battlespace. In a deployment
such as that over Libya, however, deploying a
UAS meant flying from bases in nearby countries,
which limited the viability of operations. An
aircraft certified as airworthy to comparable
standards as civil and/or manned platforms
could subject to permissions and with
appropriate NOTAMs and restrictions being
put in place be flown from, and through, civil
airspace to its intended operating location.
The Black Hornet poses minimal risk to other air assets and personnel. (Photo: Prox Dynamics)
Future conflicts will not be

conducted in the same permissive
air environment that Western
militaries have enjoyed in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
On top of acquisition strategy and training,
another key limit on the preservation, retention
and enhancement of UAS ISTAR capabilities
is the likelihood that future conflicts will not
be conducted in the same permissive air
environment that Western militaries have
enjoyed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While there are several programmes
currently developing UAVs that should be
more survivable in contested airspace, these
are all envisaged as strike platforms, with
weapons delivery the key goal. The outer
mold line that low observability demands
will not permit protrusions such as sensor
turrets, and collectors for electronic intelligence
data may also be incompatible with stealthy
operations. A low-observable, highly survivable
ISTAR platform is therefore unlikely to become
a reality very soon.
nn AVOIDING RISK
Notwithstanding the basing and transit issues,
a larger (Reaper- or Watchkeeper-class) UAS
would probably not have been risked in Libya
while there were still concerns about the ability
of pro-Gaddafi forces to operate air defence
systems, or in areas where man-portable air
defence missile technologies were known to
have been deployed.
There may not be a pilot on board the
aircraft, but the equipment is still expensive and
difficult to replace. In todays cost-constrained
environment, it is unlikely any political leader

would encourage a military planner to put
airframes at risk unnecessarily. The ISTAR
missions carried out during the Libyan
campaign by manned platforms would almost
certainly have been conducted by those same
aircraft, even if UAS had been available.
We recognise that remotely piloted air
systems are here to stay, but their contribution
will only continue to grow if it can be shown to
be demonstrably cost-effective and resilient
across a range of operating contexts, said
AVM Phil Osborn, Director of Capability at the
UK MoDs Joint Force Command, speaking at
the Airborne ISR & C2 Battle Management
conference earlier this year.
This understanding has to encompass
sensors and DPD [direct, process, disseminate],
as well as platforms, and range from air to
space. So, for example, we are interested in
the development of things like air-breathing
hyperspectral capabilities, multi-function
radar arrays and multi-intelligence search,
visualisation and analysis tools. We also want to
maximise the opportunity that comes from the
exponential rise in data collection capabilities,
from the vast opportunity of open source to the
remarkable ISR capabilities of platforms like
Airseeker or the F-35 Lightning.
However, he continued, we are not,
and will not be, in the game of bespoke and
exquisite solutions, or highly expensive
development programmes. It will take much
for us not to solely focus on technological
maturity and capability breadth, along with
a proven track record in delivery. And we will
have a ruthless focus on through-life costeffectiveness. To pay for something new, we
the JFC and our sister commands have got
to find compensating financial offset. There is
no new money. uv
www.UVonline.com
29/09/2014 10:01:18
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UMVs
An MBDA Brimstone telemetry missile impacts the

deckhouse of an ASV-built C-13 target during testing at
the QinetiQ-managed MoD Aberporth range. (Photo: MBDA)
A swarm front
With the rising threat of fast inshore attack craft, navies are now utilising autonomous
surface vessels in their countermeasure preparations, finds Richard Scott.
ver the past two decades, navies

worldwide have been forced to confront
the emergence of a new surface threat
that has been likened to a seaborne form of
guerrilla warfare. This threat is characterised
by swarms of fast inshore attack craft (FIACs)
that, exploiting mass, speed, coordinated
manoeuvre, low signature and concealment,
seek to evade outer layers of defence and
press home deadly attacks at close range.
This particular type of maritime asymmetry is
not altogether new. In 1945, the US Pacific Fleet
suffered a number of ship losses to Japanese
Shinyo-type explosive motorboats suicide
craft by another name; the Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps Navy (IRGCN) began to field
weaponised Boghammar speedboats in the
Gulf back in the mid-1980s; and Tamil separatist
Sea Tigers inflicted significant losses on the Sri
Lankan Navy in the 1990s using mixed swarms
of conventional and suicide fast attack craft.
nn ASYMMETRIC ATTENTION
However, there is no doubt that the asymmetric
surface threat has taken on an increased
significance and potency in recent years. In
particular, the IRGCN has continued to make a
substantial investment in both FIAC platforms
and weapons, and regularly exercises this
capability in naval war games in the Gulf. These
manoeuvres have been used by the regime in
Tehran to reinforce rhetoric threatening to close,

or at least obstruct, the Strait of Hormuz in the
event of international trade sanctions.
While there may be a perception that this
small boat threat is very low-tech, naval
practitioners point out that there is a real
sophistication in the tactics underpinning
swarm attacks. This stems from the effective
coordination of multiple manoeuvring assets,
the problems inherent in determining intent,
and the ability of operational commanders
to exploit their local sea space to achieve
tactical surprise and so potentially saturate
ship defences.
The problem is made more complex by the
fact that FIACs operate in their own littoral,
enjoying the concealment provided by the
coastal geography, mingling amidst neutral
shipping, and being able to clearly see what
they may wish to target. For those trying to
defend themselves, the complexities inherent
in this cluttered and congested environment
There is no doubt that the

asymmetric surface threat has
taken on an increased
significance and potency
in recent years.
UV_OctNov14_p20-23_Counter-FIAC.indd 20
make it difficult to identify potential threats

and, in particular, gauge intent.
Hence, navies have found themselves
obliged to invest in improved sensors and
effectors so as to enhance force protection. At
the same time, they have also reassessed their
defensive anti-surface warfare training needs in
order that command teams and upper deck
gunners are better prepared to confront FIAC
swarms at close range. Part of the answer is the
presentation of remotely controlled seaborne
target craft able to offer high-fidelity threat
replication, allowing crews to rehearse rules of
engagement and practise their weapon skills.
nn INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
It is to address this emerging market that
technology and services group QinetiQ and
UMV specialists ASV have established a
partnership for the supply and operational
support of autonomous surface target vessels.
This new Marine Surface Target Service initiative
leverages from QinetiQs existing target
services business, which is underpinned by
the operation of UK MoD ranges under a longterm partnering agreement (LTPA).
According to Peter Sumner, head of sales,
operational weapons trials and training within
QinetiQs weapons division, the LTPA provides
for the operation of core land, sea and air range
facilities for the MoD over a 25-year period.
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:23:39
21
The C-13 target craft is highly
manoeuvrable, and capable of
speeds over 50kt. (Photo: QinetiQ)
UMVs
End game a C-13 comes to grief in a live test

of the anti-FIAC Brimstone. (Photo: QinetiQ)
We are charged to provide realistic test

and evaluation of platforms, systems, weapons
and components on these ranges to enable
assessment of military capabilities throughout
their life, and provide a training support service
in a safe and secure environment for military
exercises, he told Unmanned Vehicles.
Alongside the LTPA, we also have a 20-year
contract to deliver aerial target services to the
MoD under the Combined Aerial Target Service
[CATS]. This is a managed service arrangement
under which QinetiQ maintains a fleet of aerial
targets and payloads to provide threat
replication of UAVs, missiles and aircraft.
Alongside CATS, the past three years has seen
QinetiQ working with ASV provide a range of
surface targets to emulate the threat posed by
FIACs. With that small boat threat increasing,
we recognise that dynamic surface targets have
an essential role to play in weapon trials and in
the training of operations teams, said Sumner.
We have proved their integration onto the
LTPA ranges.
nn CONTRACTING ARRANGEMENTS
The relationship between QinetiQ and ASV was
cemented in July 2014 when they formalised a
partnering arrangement which sees the latter
company assuming preferred supplier status.
What this new contracting arrangement does is
solidify our relationship with ASV for the supply
and operational support of autonomous surface
target vessels, added Sumner. This new Marine
Surface Target Service is designed to rapidly and
effectively meet customer needs for trials and
training against appropriate targets, and
complements our existing aerial and
underwater target services.
The first QinetiQ-owned vessel to deliver this
service is an ASV-built C-Target 13, which has
already seen service in support of a number of
contracts at MoD Aberporth in Wales for both
www.UVonline.com
towing and direct fire engagements. According

to Sumner, targets can be deployed anywhere
in the UK (integrated with the MoD air and
maritime ranges for firing engagements) or
worldwide, either in support of single
campaigns or as a long-term managed service.
He continued: The targets provided to us by
ASV are fast, highly manoeuvrable and very
versatile, being suitable for both manned and
unmanned operations. In unmanned mode,
targets can be operated at distances of up to
45km. At the same time, positional accuracy
is maintained within 20m, allowing for a very
high level of repeatability in trials serials.
ASVs own pedigree goes back to 1998.
For the first 12 years of its existence, the
company operated as a small UMV
concept development, prototyping and
experimentation house. In June 2010, the
business was acquired by Global Fusion, a

privately owned international marine services
group based in Lafayette, Louisiana.
nn HIGHER VOLUMES
This was the catalyst to change. While ASV
has certainly not turned its back on the
experimental and esoteric its novel C-Enduro
ultra-long endurance USV is proof of that the
Portchester-based company has over the past
four years grown the volume end of its business.
The C-Target family of high-speed targets has
underpinned that shift.
Back in 2011, the Defence Science and
Technology Laboratory (DSTL) contracted
ASV for a range of remotely controlled
FIAC-representative target craft for use in
support of sensor and weapon system trials,
and wider threat assessment studies. This
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26/09/2014 13:23:40
22
UMVs
managed service arrangement also

encompassed the operation, storage and
support of the craft, and the provision of both
manned and unmanned target presentations
(including a capability for multiple simultaneous
operations).
Alongside DSTL, the C-Target line has been
exported to Singapore and South Korea. ASV
has also done good business with QinetiQ,
supplying four C-6 and seven C-13 craft to date.
The requirement for surface targets has
grown significantly over the last two years, and
QinetiQ represents an important part of our
business, said Vince Dobbin, head of business
development at ASV. Over the last 18 months,
we have supplied them with nine target craft for
use on MoD ranges. What this new contracting
arrangement does is to enable ASV to support
320
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The requirement for surface

targets has grown significantly
over the last two years.
Aluminium construction gives us the

flexibility to build in different sizes. Also, we have
to be very aware of environmental impacts, as a
lot of ranges have strict regulations on amounts
of material or residue in the water. Aluminium
has the benefit that it will rip and curl as the
result of an impact, but still stay together.
nn TARGET FAMILY
QinetiQ and their customers through a simple
and effective contracting mechanism.
All variants of the C-Target line are constructed
from aluminium and designed for repair. Using
a foam-filled repairable aluminium hull, and
hardened steel protection for the engine and
electronics enclosures, they are robust and can
be easily patched up and re-used, Dan Hook,
ASVs managing director, told UV.
ASV initially developed smaller targets in the

3.5-6m range, these being widely used for
close-in small arms training, But over time
we saw more requirements for bigger targets
offering higher performance and more realistic
threat representation to support more complex
weapons testing and trials, explained Hook.
This led to our C-9 [9m] and C-13 [13m]
designs. And we are now seeing requirements
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26/09/2014 13:23:41
23
UMVs
Target craft can be equipped with mock weapons the C-13 shown
here features a dummy cannon and missile canisters. (Photo: MBDA)
for both smaller targets representative of a

two-man craft, and larger designs around the
15m mark.
C-Target craft can be fitted with miss distance
indication equipment to provide accurate
scoring. Precision tracking using GPS is available
(either recorded on board or transmitted off the
boat), and high-speed cameras can be set up for
close-up footage (on the target craft or from a
barge stationed nearby).
Target craft can be equipped with a
wide range of radar, thermal and visual
enhancements (including mock rocket
launchers, machine guns, cannon and missile
canisters) so as to be representative of specific
threat sets. Various types of towed targets can
also be provided.
QinetiQ has already made extensive use of
ASV target craft in support of the MoD and
industry, noted Sumner. During 2013, we used
manned C-6 and C-13 targets at Aberporth for
seeker data gathering, and enabled a salvo
surface-to-surface missile firing demonstration
against an unmanned moving C-13 at the MoD
West Freugh range.
The latter, conducted in late May 2013, saw
QinetiQs weapons business contracted by
MBDA to establish and manage demonstration
testing of its new Brimstone Sea Spear surface
www.UVonline.com
attack guided weapon. The MoD West Freugh

range was identified as the only suitable site
where the missile could be fired against a group
of target vessels. However, the trial additionally
required the sourcing and modification of an
offshore launch platform, transportation of live
weapons, and capturing the full flight of each
missile fired.
nn TEST RESULTS
In the trial itself, three Brimstone missiles were
ripple-fired against a simulated attack formation
of five representative FIACs, the centre vessel of
which was moving at around 20kt. The three
missiles independently acquired and engaged
their respective targets at a distance between 4
and 5km (constrained by range safety) direct
hits resulted in extensive structural damage to
the three leading vessels.
Sumner continued: Already this year we have
supported air-to-surface missile firings against
unmanned moving C-6 and C-13 craft at MoD
Aberporth, and against a catamaran target
towed by a C-13. Other trials included combat
lasing against an unmanned C-13, and
helicopter gun firing against a dory target
towed by a C-13.
These live firings have included further
anti-FIAC weapon testing for MBDA, this time
conducted at Aberporth to demonstrate

surface attack software upgrades for the Dual
Mode Brimstone missile. In these trials, an RAF
Tornado GR4 aircraft fired two missiles (one
telemetry round and one operational) at
remotely controlled C-13 targets the telemetry
missile achieved a direct hit on the first C-13s
engines (with the target operating at its
maximum achievable speed in low Sea State 4
conditions); and the operational missile
achieved a direct hit at the rear of the second
C-13s cabin, sinking the craft outright.
Unmanned C2 of C-Target vessels is executed
using ASVs proprietary ASView target controller
system, with commands relayed over a UHF link.
When we started out, we just had man-in-theloop control with head and hold direct,
explained Hook. But we have evolved
functionality so that we now have a fully
programmable autopilot with waypoints and
embedded mission management. Craft are
also equipped with a redundant emergency
stop system.
Targets can be operated individually or
as part of a surrogate swarm. The control
architecture also allows for weaving profiles to
replicate real-life threats.
Today, the current system is set up for one
operator per boat, and we can do pods of up
to four, Hook added. We have had enquiries
about one-to-four, so increasing the total
number of targets to 16. However, this has
not yet been implemented. uv
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26/09/2014 13:24:40
25
SMALL UGVs
The four-wheeled Nerva-LG is

designed to be deployed from a
moving vehicle and carries four
cameras and a microphone.
(Photo: Nexter Robotics)
he past decade in Afghanistan has given

small UGV technology its time to shine.
In an operational theatre characterised by
the IED threat, the deployment of such vehicles
for the detection, assessment and neutralisation
or discharge of bombs has kept warfighters
safer and better equipped than ever before.
As coalition forces dig deep to reset
their capabilities beyond Afghanistan, the
application of UGVs becomes less defined.
This is likely to drive demand for more versatile
and flexible platform capabilities as militaries
look to expand the role of the technology
beyond counter-IED (C-IED) and EOD into new
applications in order to allow users to extract
maximum value from their unmanned fleets.
nn SIZING UP
Nexter Robotics expects the small UGV market
to become more dynamic as shifting demand
drives technology development into new areas.
The Iraq and then Afghanistan conflicts
validated the tremendous add-on value of
small UGVs to improve efficiency and safety of
dangerous operations, especially in asymmetric
warfare, Jol Morillon, CEO of Nexter Robotics,
told Unmanned Vehicles. Robots will take
an increasingly important part in the future
equipment of most ground armies all over
www.UVonline.com
UV_OctNov14_p25-29_Small_UGVs.indd 25
Breaking
tradition
As militaries seek UGV utility beyond the counter-IED
applications of recent times, platform requirements are
being redefined. Claire Apthorp examines how this is
impacting development activity.
the world for dismounted, as well as mounted,

combat operations. The list of addressed
missions will extend as technology progresses
and soldiers increasingly rely on robotic
systems on the field.
The companys Nerva family of robots
addresses defence, security, rescue and
surveillance applications. The Nerva-LG is a
four-wheeled platform designed to be so robust

that it can be thrown from a moving vehicle.
The basic unit is dedicated to observation
and reconnaissance, and is capable of carrying
four onboard cameras and one microphone,
but with the ability to be equipped with
additional optional module. These include: IR
camera; panoramic camera; pan-tilt turret;
26/09/2014 13:37:58
26
SMALL UGVs
More generally speaking, the combination

of autonomous mobility based on a very
accurate localisation system and additional
sensors tremendously increases system
capabilities, reducing constraints and workload
in non-tactical phases of operations, as it makes
it possible for the operator to program the
robot to automatically go to a given point of
return back home.
nn NEW ENTRIES
iRobots 510 PackBot equipped with a

107mm manipulator arm for EOD missions.
(Photo: iRobot)
different CBRN detectors; disruptors for C-IED;

less-than-lethal grenade launcher; payload
depositor; audio intercom; laser mapping; and
intruder detection.
When a module is plugged into the robotic
platform, the system automatically detects
and recognises the type of equipment and
displays the appropriate menu on the
operators console.
nn LOCAL CONNECTIONS
Nervas operating range is more than
1,000m LoS via COFDM radio, with real-time
transmission to the GCS. It is equipped with an
onboard localisation system which combines
GPS/GLONASS satellites, inertial sensors
(gyrometers and accelerometers) and
magnetic compass.
This makes it possible to locate the robot
in real time on any map displayed on the
control station, but, more importantly, to
implement capabilities such as waypoints
navigation or automatic back homing, Morillon
said. If the robotic platform is equipped with
an additional payload, such as any chemical
sensor, the system can be programmed to do
autonomous patrolling and automatically build
a map of the area which will display the level of
chemical contamination.
Operations in the Middle East have shaped

small UGV development in a number of ways,
primarily as military forces sought solutions to
cope with the extreme conditions and terrain
experienced in-theatre.
There have been a couple of key influencers
in Iraq and Afghanistan, one was certainly the
terrain. In Iraq, most systems were able to be
carried in vehicles, but then they went to
Afghanistan and found that they were doing a
lot more dismounted operations, which led to
interest in smaller platforms, explained Mark
Kauchak, manager of marketing operations at
Northrop Grumman Remotec.
The challenge for the military going forward
is that they always need to be prepared to
operate across a very wide spectrum of theatres,
from harsh terrain in Afghanistan to jungle
environments, and they are doing a good job
of applying lessons learned and regrouping.
Remotec launched the 61kg Titus, an
addition to its Andros UGV family of products,
at the end of 2013. The company developed
the system to address a gap in its product line
prior to this, the smallest system in the range sat
at the 140-150kg mark and expand its
footprint into this market space.
We had that gap in our product line which
meant we were not able to compete against
Operations in the Middle East

have shaped small
UGV development in a
number of ways.
the Talons and PackBots of the world, so we

started development of Titus geared toward
quick response capabilities, said Kauchak. We
wanted size and speed to enable users to get
it downrange quickly, but yet still have the
ability to do things, and thats often the tradeoff with small vehicles yes, they are smaller
and lighter, but on the other hand they cant
do a lot.
At 68.5cm long and 40.5cm wide, Titus
has been designed for a variety of EOD and
SWAT missions. It has a manipulator arm, EOD
disrupters and tools, thermal imagers, pan-andtilt camera, integrated 1W radio, Picatinny rails
for sensor and payload attachments, as well
as quick-release articulators for stair climbing
and mobility.
In aiming for a market space currently
dominated by PackBot and Qinetiqs Talon,
Remotec has its work cut out for it in the
military space. Kauchak said that the company
is actively following the US Armys Man
Transportable Robotic System Increment II
(MTRS Inc II) programme, and will respond to
the RfI released in August.
ACC
WH
NEE
nn COMMERCIAL DRIVE
The MTRS Inc II programme aims to acquire
a COTS robotic system for a number of
applications, including CBRN, EOD and combat
engineering, while addressing operational
capability gaps in the armys mixed UGV fleet
acquired under a number of different UORs.
The requirements for the effort have been
evolving as the service refines its need for a
UGV in a single configuration to replace the
current mixed fleet, reducing sustainment
costs. MTRS Inc II will provide protective
manoeuvre for soldiers in all environments,
including asymmetrical, and military operations
in support of conventional war, EOD,
combating terrorism, peace enforcement and
peacekeeping operations.
MTRS Inc II will be highly mobile, with a multimission modular system reconfigurable with the
addition or removal of sensors, manipulator
arms and mission module payloads, and will be
future-proofed, capable of being modernised
with new technologies as available. It must
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:38:00
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9/12/14 13:38:00
11:17 AM
28
SMALL UGVs
also be able to transport C-IED payloads of up

to 20lb.
Currently, the MTRS capability is provided
by an iRobot 510 PackBot-based system, a
modular tactical mobile UGV capable of
carrying a range of payloads and a 107mm
small arm manipulator for use in EOD/IED,
surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It
provides standoff capabilities for the detection,
assessment, classification and neutralisation of
explosive hazards in operational environments.
Around 4,500 510 PackBots have been
delivered to the US military to date, along with
more than 1,000 310 PackBots known in the
US military as the SUGV which provides
dismounted EOD technicians and other
responders with a highly mobile, 13.5kg robot
that climbs stairs, manipulates objects and
speeds downrange at more than 9.6km/h.
nn HAZARD AWARENESS
CBRN is becoming an increasingly important
requirement for small UGVs. In September,
iRobot announced that it had received a $9.6
million contract from the Canadian Department
of National Defence (DND) to supply 20
510 PackBot CBRN Recce Systems, training and

future product life-cycle support.
The iRobot 510 PackBot CBRN Recce System
is a modular expansion to the companys 510
PackBot that meets specific requirements set
forth by the DND. It includes a CBRN suite that
integrates five primary sensors to detect, alert
and report on chemical warfare agents, toxic
industrial chemicals, volatile gases, explosives
and radiation. The robot also features
enhanced mobility through the addition
of rear flippers.
Tom Phelps, director of robotic products,
North America, at iRobot, told UV that the
company has conducted a major overhaul
of the system over the past year to enhance
its CBRN detection capabilities.
In terms of our product line, PackBot is
really leading the evolution for CBRN, and
we are definitely seeing demand signals and
interest from multiple markets in addition to
the Canadian DND, including the US DoD,
international markets and public safety
organisations that are coming to realise
that they need to enhance their capabilities
when it comes to CBRN threats, he said.
ECA Robotics is due to unveil an upgraded

version of its Cameleon UGV by early 2015.
(Photo: ECA Robotics)
Rather than coming to overtake PackBots

traditional EOD and C-IED applications, Phelps
said he expects the two markets to grow in
parallel over the coming decade.
One of the things we have tried to design
into our systems is the concept of the multi-use
platform, he said. The base 510 PackBot can
be configured for EOD or bomb-squad use,
then the same platform can be re-tailored
detection sensors put on, and it becomes a
highly capable robot that can detect CBRN
threats we have some agencies that are
using the platform for both missions.
nn FRENCH TOUCH
ECA Robotics is also focusing on CBRN as a
major area of development for its small UGV
product line. The companys 25kg Cameleon
CBRN robot, equipped with multiple chemical
and radiological sensors, was released in 2012
and has been deployed with a French firefighting force for 12 months as part of work
to refine and mature system capabilities.
We have got a lot of experience from this
deployment and have learned a lot of lessons,
allowing us to improve the platform with new
payloads and systems for the sampling and
analysis module for CBRN, Patrick Peras,
director of land and aerial robotics at ECA
Robotics, told UV. Based on this experimental
phase and feedback from the field, we have
developed a new version of Cameleon CBRN
which will be released late 2014/early 2015.
ECA Robotics work on CBRN is allowing the
company to leverage the technology of the
original Cameleon EOD UGV to access new
market areas outside the military sector.
The military market is not necessarily
growing in the class of robot that Cameleon
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:38:00
29
SMALL UGVs
continue to see demand because at 5kg it is easy

to carry and deploy for light EOD missions.
nn ARMED UGVS
The 61kg Titus includes articulators,

allowing it to climb stairs.
(Photo: Northrop Grumman Remotec)
falls in, said Peras. There are a lot of

manufacturers in this class especially in the
US and they no longer have the sales they
had in the past with the US Army. The nonmilitary side of the market is growing and we
are focused on new applications of this robot
outside its traditional EOD mission we were
the first to develop a CBRN module and now
we are thinking about models for other
dangerous environments to address the
needs of police and civil security users.
Within the military sector, ECA Robotics
sees the most market traction currently at the
smaller end of the spectrum its 5kg Cobra
Mk 2 system, selected as part of the French
Armys FLIN (Fantassin quipement et
Liaisons Intgrs) soldier system, has
completed deployment in Afghanistan and is
expected to be deployed to Mali.
The company also won a contract in February
2013 to deliver 20 Cobra Mk 2 systems to the
Canadian land forces for EOD and IED missions.
That contract was won just after the
withdrawal of Canadian forces from Afghanistan,
so they have not yet deployed the system in the
field, but the French are very involved in external
operations so there will be more theatres, Peras
added. For larger robots that are expensive to
procure, where there is a decrease in external
operations there is a decrease in procurement,
but small inexpensive systems like Cobra
www.UVonline.com
OTO Melara is also working on developments

that will see armed forces deploying small
UGVs in new areas. The company, which is
working extensively with the Italian armed
forces supplying its TRP range of systems, has
been asked to develop a combat version
capable of carrying a machine gun and
grenade launcher for patrolling FOBs. Known as
TRP-2 FOB or TRP-2 Combat, the company has
already delivered two units to the Italian Army
and is preparing delivery for a further six units.
The platform has successfully completed
an operating evaluation and now we are
conducting the qualification process we
have to complete the EMC tests and then
those vehicles will be delivered to the operative
units for testing, Giuliano Franceschi, head
of robotics at OTO Melara, told UV. We have
already carried out the training of more than
40 Italian Army operating personnel.
The service requested the system to carry
two alternative 5.56mm light machine guns
the Beretta ARX-160 or the FN MINIMI and

40mm grenade launcher. OTO Melara has also
built in the capacity for different light machine
guns to be installed according to requirements.
The system, which can be disassembled into
lightweight independent parts for soldier
transportation in the field, can be remotely
operated by a single soldier via the operator
control unit a modular system comprising a
joy pad, communication box and ruggedised
personal computer and which receives feed
from the four onboard cameras.
The future of the small UGV market will
see military users deploying systems for an
increasing number of operational tasks
outside their traditional reconnaissance and
C-IED roles.
To enhance versatility, systems will interface
with a wider range of operational modules, able
to operate various tools, sensors and weapons
to increase soldier safety and effect mission
success. Outside the military user base, there is
potential for large-scale introduction of UGVs
dedicated to police and security applications
something that is already being seen across the
market and is likely to continue to increase. uv
26/09/2014 13:38:02
SAS299-14_SAS16_TradeAd2_DNA_205x273mm_R5_FAP.pdf
23/6/14
11:14 pm
26/09/2014 13:38:58
31
PROPULSION
Future ScanEagle UAVs will use a
new two-stroke engine from Orbital.
(Photo: Insitu)
Core
workout
With good power-to-weight ratios, smooth operation
and fuel-efficient performance, the two-stroke engine is
attractive to small UAV developers. Peter Donaldson
talks to industry about recent advances in the technology.
chieving the best combination of

performance, reliability and affordability
is a particular challenge for developers of
small UAVs and their powerplants. Airframers
need to form close relationships with engine
suppliers to ready such vehicles for longer
missions, while carrying increasingly
sophisticated and costly payloads.
This was certainly a high priority for Insitu
when it chose Orbital to develop the
powerplant for its next generation of birds
from the nest that hatched the ScanEagle and
Integrator. Propulsion modules are absolutely
vital to the reliability of our aircraft, Don
Williamson, director of the ScanEagle product
line for Insitu, told Unmanned Vehicles.
The Orbital engine is to go into ScanEagle
Block 2, with Williamson describing it as an
evolutionary development of the original,
which has accumulated more than 800,000
operational flying hours. We will take the
www.UVonline.com
UV_OctNov14_p31-35_Propulsion.indd 31
lessons we have learned from the ScanEagle

platform and the emerging technologies from
the rest of our product lines and merge them,
he said.
nn NEW FEATURES
ScanEagle Block 2 will have new avionics and
GPS modules, as well as a ground support
infrastructure that is common with that for the
larger Integrator, and includes the launcher,
SkyHook recovery system, GCS, software and
user interface suite.
What that does for our customers is allow
them to make a single investment in the
infrastructure and, perhaps as important, a
single investment in their operator training,
added Williamson.
The single-cylinder, two-stroke Orbital
engine will be designed to have a maximum
power rating of 2kW, an increase of 0.5kW over
the current ScanEagle engine, although it will
run at approximately the same maximum

continuous power setting as before, giving it an
easier life, according to Kevin Beloy, the
platforms propulsion manager and technical
lead for Insitus work with Orbital. It will also
provide significantly more electrical power.
Williamson described progress on the
propulsion system front as phenomenal.
We have really enjoyed our relationship with
Orbital. We find them to be a world-class
partner, and the plan that we embarked
upon two years ago is on schedule.
nn FIRST FLIGHT
The first engine arrived at the companys
premises in Bingen, Washington, in August. We
are in the process of getting that engine set up
on our test stand, he told UV at the time. Over
the next couple of weeks, we will commence
the bench testing here at Insitu, which will really
be an extension of all the work that Orbital
26/09/2014 13:45:47
32
PROPULSION
has done this engine development already

has over 1,000 hours on the bench.
Mating of the engine with the airframe will
take place over the next couple of months,
with flight testing scheduled to begin shortly
afterwards. We fully expect to have our first
Orbital flight in a test environment in this
calendar year, and expect the engine to be
released in 2015 and fielded no later than 2016,
continued Williamson.
Integrating the engine with the airframe is
critical to reliability. It is not always immediately
obvious how complex this is, he added. When
people think about engine reliability they
often focus on the engine itself, and, really, its
much more than that. Everything from fuel
management and fuel delivery, the oil and
lubrication system, lubrication schedule, the
RO
Orbital so that we have a fully reliable

propulsion system in all operating
environments.
nn DESIGNING FOR TURBULENCE
Hirths S1215 UAV engine is an air-cooled,

fuel-injected, two-stroke, horizontally
opposed boxer powerplant. (Photos: Hirth)
ignition system, the metering of the fuel and

air into the engine all of that is being
considered as part of our partnership with
Extremes of heat and cold, dust and, at

high altitude, thin air are all aspects of the
environment that can stress the propulsion
system, as is turbulence.
In turbulent conditions, something that
can be overlooked is the fact that you have
to pick up fuel from a fuel tank or lubrication
oil from an oil tank being able to manage
that so it is always available for the delivery
systems is a very important job to consider,
said Beloy.
There is even more to worry about in
bumpy air. There are things like wiring,
ORBITAL
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www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:45:47
33
PROPULSION
vulnerable wires and lines that are routed

through the airframe and you really dont
want them to rub or chafe.
Geoff Cathcart, chief technology officer
and director of engineering at Orbital Australia,
also emphasised the importance of a systems
approach. It is not the engine technology
that results in the improvement, it is the
development and integration of the complete
propulsion system, he told UV.
Orbitals research has highlighted the need
for bespoke fuel and oil supply systems, and
the company has designed custom delivery
modules for the Insitu application.
The design of these systems is not trivial and,
again, requires an integrated approach to the
design and development of the propulsion
system, he continued. By engaging with Insitu
www.UVonline.com
integration in the ScanEagle, which has resulted

in a design that incorporates features to handle
the complete operating envelope of the UAV
in a robust package, as well as unprecedented
redundancy and onboard monitoring.
Insitu confirmed that it will be making use of
the new engines multi-fuel capability, accessible
by loading the appropriate maps onto the Flex
Argon ECU. It is a very simple process to install
that firmware, explained Beloy.
The single-cylinder F33 is a 28hp two-stroke
with advanced management, an integrated
throttle servo and a 3kW starter generator.
at such an early stage of the programme

development, we have been able to take an
uncompromising approach to the system
nn MAKING COMPROMISES
Cathcart outlined what he sees as the most
important technologies that go into an
efficient and reliable multi-fuel engine. For
SUAS applications with high endurance
requirements, in the 3-15hp range, I think
the small, spark-ignited two-stroke engine is
26/09/2014 13:45:48
34
PROPULSION
hard to beat for the best compromise [in]

power-to-weight ratio, fuel efficiency, cost
and reliability.
For a multi-fuel engine, however, there
needs to be an effective method to control
combustion phasing for different fuels. The
octane rating or effective cetane rating [the
propensity of the fuel to self-ignite and
combust] of the various gasoline blends
to different forms of kerosene differs
significantly, and therefore trying to control
the combustion with a passive system I
believe is not possible.
He continued: An electronically controlled
direct injection system is the only way to
accomplish efficient, safe and reliable operation
for the varying fuel properties under all
conditions. In addition, you need to have
the best atomisation possible of the fuel so
that the fuel injection timing is optimised
around what the combustion control requires.
He also emphasised that a highly atomised
fuel charge is vital for cold starting with the less
volatile heavy fuels, such as JP5 and JP8, as well
as reliable running throughout the engines
operating temperature range.
Small engines that power long-endurance UAVs must work reliably and autonomously over a
wide range of conditions, including extremes of temperature and turbulence. (Photo: Insitu)
nn TWO STROKE
Direct injection (straight into the cylinder,
rather than via the air inlet tract) is also needed
on two-stroke engines, explained Cathcart, to
improve fuel efficiency at low power settings
and particularly in the cruise. We typically see
an improvement of 30-50% in fuel economy in
these operating conditions over a wide range
of propeller speeds.
Minimising the deposits left by combustion
by-products is also important for reliability,
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particularly in two-strokes because they have

to mix lubricating oil with their fuel. Cathcart
pointed out that many engines in the field
suffer from excessive deposit build-up,
reducing performance and even leading to
engine failures a problem that the use of
heavy fuels can exacerbate.
To combat this, not only do you need a clean
burning combustion system, but also some
technology in the lubrication system, including
special oil formulations and lubrication circuits,
he said. Finally, all of this needs to be coupled
with a sophisticated engine management
system which not only adjusts the calibration
to allow the engine to operate on the different
fuels, but also has self-compensation for the
range of operating conditions, including
altitude, ambient temperature, cylinder head
temperature, generator output, etc. This type
of technology is more likely found on todays
highly complex automotive engines than
traditional general aviation engines.
Cathcart noted that specific fuel
consumption (SFC) figures in the order of
0.5-0.55lb/hp/hr can be achieved over a wide
range of typical propeller curves for engines
producing between 3 and 15hp.
Cars with diesel engines enjoy much
greater fuel economy than their gasolinepowered counterparts, and inevitable design
compromises in multi-fuel engines mean that
no great differences in either economy or
power are apparent between gasoline, JP5
and JP8.
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:45:49
35
PROPULSION
nn MULTI-FUEL COMPROMISES
When we design a multi-fuel engine, we
need to design for the heaviest fuel to be
used, as we only change the calibration, and
no hardware, for the range of fuels the engine
operates on, he told UV. There is a small
reduction in fuel consumption when operating
on gasoline due to the ability to achieve best
calibration for fuel economy due to the higher
octane rating of the fuel, and this is typically in
the range of 3-5% improvement compared
with the heavy-fuel calibration. The results on
JP5 and JP8 are basically identical.
Moving up the power scale, Austrian engine
house Gbler-Hirth Motoren produces UAV
two-stroke engines ranging in output from 8
to 100hp for fixed-wing and VTOL applications.
The 8hp 4102 and 15hp S1212 engines serve
the SUAS market, while the 28hp F33 and
50hp S1215 power fixed-wing machines,
whether runway- or catapult-launched. The
latter and the 60hp heavy-fuel HF3503 are
found in a growing range of VTOL vehicles
including the Saab Skeldar, the Sistemi
Dinamici/AgustaWestland SD-150 Hero
and the Indra Pelicano.
Hirth propulsion engineer Dietrich Kehe
reports a growing market, particularly in civil
applications where endurance levels need a
step-change improvement from electric
motor-driven solutions, he told UV. It is two
years since the company announced that it was
developing a new family of engines based on
its 8hp model 4012 horizontally opposed (the
boxer configuration) air-cooled two-cylinder
engine, emphasising advanced control systems
and improvements in resistance to
electromagnetic interference (EMI) and to
protect electronic systems from enginegenerated interference, a property known as
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).
We have been focused on upgrading our
100cc boxer [the 4102] with an advanced
engine management system with closed-loop
engine control and a CAN bus interface with
the vehicle flight computer, said Kehe. This
new engine [the 4103] also has an advanced
ignition system, shielded harness and shielded
ECU for EMI/EMC.
www.UVonline.com
Hirths family of small engines, he continued,

will use common engine management
systems and be compatible with Hirths
iPower technology to enable them to run
on heavy fuels.
While the primary focus has been on the 8hp
and 15hp engine, Hirth is also looking at a 25hp
four-cylinder boxer engine to minimise engine
vibration levels to improved camera stability on
UAVs that currently use a 25hp twin-cylinder
boxer engine, he told UV.
SFC varies across applications, engine sizes,
fuel types and type of fuel system used, such as
electronic fuel injection usually assumed to
mean an indirect system or direct injection.
It can vary from up to 480g/kWh for an EFI
engine at WOT [wide open throttle] down to
320g/kWh in the best cruise point on a direct
injected engine.
nn CONTROLS AND MATERIALS

Kehe includes advanced fuel injection
systems that both improve fuel efficiency and
enable spark ignition engines to run on
everything from automotive gasoline to jet
fuel among the most important
developments in two-stroke engine

technology of recent years.
He also pointed to advanced engine
management systems and the CAN bus, a data
bus standard with its origins in the automotive
industry that enables the flight computer to
monitor engine parameters such as cylinder
head temperature, exhaust gas temperature
and fuel consumption as well as more precise
control of engine speed via an electronic
throttle. He also cited integrated starter
generators and reduction drive systems.
Advanced materials are increasingly used
to save weight throughout the propulsion
system, with Kehe picking out such examples
as carbon-fibre propellers and engine mounts
and the use of permanent (rare earth) magnets
in generators. He also pointed to coatings that
help minimise the formation of deposits when
spark-igniting heavy fuels.
With good power-to-weight ratios,
smoothness, plus increasing fuel efficiency,
reliability and multi-fuel flexibility, the twostroke engine looks set to remain at the heart
of many small UAV propulsion systems for the
foreseeable future. uv
26/09/2014 13:45:49
LO O K I N G F O R . . .
MARKET INTELLIGENCE?
I N - D E P T H N E W S A N A LY S I S ?
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26/09/2014 13:47:07
37
NAVAL OPERATIONS
New brooms
Hunt-class vessels will in future
deploy a USV-based minesweeping
capability. (Photo: UK MoD)
small piece of history was made on

12 October 2005 when the Hunt-class
mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs)
HMS Ledbury and HMS Middleton, exercising
south of the Isle of Wight, undertook what was
in all likelihood the final deployment of sweep
gear from a manned RN vessel. The Combined
Influence Sweep (producing both acoustic
and magnetic influences) and Mk 8 Oropesa
mechanical wire sweep (deploying cutters
to sever mine moorings) were subsequently
removed from the eight Hunt-class ships,
bringing to an end more than a hundred years
of conventional minesweeping in the RN.
The demise of minesweeping in the service
was not because the capability was no longer
seen as relevant. Rather, it reflected the fact that
existing equipment was old, cumbersome to
deploy and had become largely obsolete. And
above all, it required the host platform and its
crew to sail straight into the minefield ahead
of the deployed sweeps.
Accordingly, there was an acknowledgement
that any future sweep capability would instead
www.UVonline.com
UV_OctNov14_p37-43_MCM.indd 37
be deployed from a USV at stand-off range,

coherent with a wider policy objective of
removing the man from the minefield. Plans
for a replacement Remote Influence
Minesweeping System (RIMS) had in fact
germinated within the MoD during the late
1990s. Concept studies outlined a notional
system, operating in mine setting, target setting
and mine neutralisation modes, comprising up
to four independent minesweeping drones
controlled from a Hunt-class MCMV.
MoD equipment planning tied a funding
line of around 150 million to RIMS, with the
capability intended to enter service towards
the end of 2007. However, the programme
was abruptly cancelled in April 2002 to free
up funds for other MCM priorities.
nn SWIMS SUCCESS
Ironically, the development of an unmanned
minesweeping solution came back onto the
agenda just a few months later as planning
began for what became Operation Telic, the
UKs contribution to overthrow the Iraqi
A little over a decade

after it rushed unmanned
minesweeping equipment
into service for shallowwater operations in the
opening phase of Operation
Telic, the Royal Navy is back
in the market for a newgeneration capability,
Richard Scott reports.
regime of Saddam Hussein. Well before
combat operations commenced, it was
agreed that the RN would take the lead for
mine clearance operations in the Khawr Abd
Allah (KAA) waterway leading to Umm Qasr,
Iraqs only deepwater port. However, it was
well understood that within this extreme
littoral environment there would be significant
risks to coalition mine clearance forces.
The KAA waterway is a very shallow estuarine
environment with a 200m wide dredged
26/09/2014 13:47:41
38
NAVAL OPERATIONS
Intelligence on the potential Iraqi

mine threat was largely based on
weapons found and recovered
during the conflict of 1991.
shipping channel starting in the northern
Arabian Gulf and winding approximately 80km
up to Umm Qasr. During the previous Gulf,
conflict this waterway had been mined to
prevent open-sea access to the Iraqi mainland.
Intelligence on the potential Iraqi mine
threat was largely based on weapons found
and recovered during the conflict of 1991. This
consisted of a range of influence and moored
mines that could be deployed effectively in
shallow water, so posing a significant risk to
amphibious and accompanying maritime
support vessels.
Thus, in planning the mine clearance
operation, the RN was confronted with a
series of challenges: the shallow depth of
the waterway (precluding use of the existing
Combined Influence Sweep equipment); the
soft muddy seabed (allowing mine burial); fast
tidal streams (restricting the manoeuvrability of
MCMVs and impacting the operability of divers
and mine disposal systems); and water turbidity
(further hampering mine identification and
neutralisation).
Based on this information, it was quickly
established that nothing within the RNs existing
Swept away a Hunt-class MCMV seen deploying its Combined Influence Sweep. This
capability was removed from service in 2005. (Photo: author)
MCM inventory was able to provide a capability

for multi-influence minesweeping in river and
estuarine waters where depth and manoeuvring
space was so severely limited. As a result, a UOR
was raised for the provision of a Shallow Water
Influence Minesweeping System (SWIMS) and a
team assembled with personnel from the RN,
the MoD, QinetiQ and the Defence Science and
Technology Laboratory to scope and source
a suitable technical solution based on COTS
systems and equipment readily available from
the worldwide supplier base.
nn TEMPORARY CAPABILITY
The answer to the UOR came in the form of an
unmanned sweep system, developed in just six
weeks, which married existing RTK Marine-built
Atlas Elektronik UK has supplied its ARCIMS sweep system to an undisclosed Middle East navy.
(Photo: Atlas Elektronik UK)
Combat Support Boat platforms, adapted by

QinetiQ for remote control, with magnetic and
acoustic sources acquired from ADI in Australia.
The latter comprised mini-Dyads (generating a
magnetic influence) and water-driven pipe
noisemakers (as acoustic generators).
SWIMS was in the vanguard of MCM
operations in the KAA waterway in late March
2003. A pair of systems was sent ahead of the
main mine hunting force, clearing a swept
channel for following vessels. Operational
ranges in excess of the lead MCMV were
regularly achieved, with the rate of progress
of the sweeping operation being significantly
faster than that of the following minehunters.
As a UOR, the SWIMS capability was
mission-specific and not subsequently
maintained. But, shortly after the Combined
Influence Sweep had been retired, the MoD in
2006 established fresh plans to evaluate and
de-risk new minesweeping technologies as a
precursor to the acquisition of an unmanned
influence sweep system for the RN. So was born
a technology readiness demonstrator (TRD),
known as Flexible Agile Sweeping Technology
(FAST), intended to demonstrate the technical
maturity of a projected new USV-based
influence minesweeping capability that could
be hosted aboard the Hunt-class as part of the
then projected Future Mine Counter Measures
Capability (FMCMC).
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:47:42
www.seouladex.com
Oct. 20-25, 2015 / Seoul Airport
26/09/2014 13:47:42
40
NAVAL OPERATIONS
The FAST demonstrator programme ran

between 2007 and 2010. (Photo: Atlas
Elektronik UK)
The 4.3 million ($6.9 million) FAST

demonstrator contract was subsequently
placed with the Atlas-QED consortium in May
2007. Headed up by Atlas Elektronik UK, the
industry team also included EDO and QinetiQ.
FAST trials, based on an RTK Marine Logistics
Support Boat platform, successfully de-risked
the USV minesweeping concept. The TRD
phase was completed in 2010.
nn ROUND THE BUOY

Informed by the FAST demonstrator, in
2012 the MoD instigated a follow-on Sweep
Demonstrator programme under the umbrella
of its Mine Countermeasure, Hydrographic,
Patrol Capability (MHPC) project successor
to FMCMC - with the objective of laying
the ground for a USV-based influence
minesweeping capability to be deployed
from the Hunt class.
Outline requirements promulgated in May
2012 called for a system remotely operable at a
range of up to 12 nautical miles (22km) from the
control position, and fitted with highly versatile
electric, magnetic and acoustic influence sweep
systems, providing target setting, mine setting
and mine jamming modes. As for the USV itself, it
is required to be suitably shock protected or

hardened, and capable of occasional operation
in a manned role.
In October 2012, the MoD downselected Atlas
Elektronik UK, Thales UK and Ultra Electronics
Sonar Systems to bid for the programme. All
three companies submitted bids, but in April
2013 the MHPC Sweep Demonstrator was
shelved for lack of in-year budget.
However, earlier this year the RN and
the MoD revived plans to reinstate a multiinfluence minesweeping capability on the
Hunt-class MCMVs, outlining an accelerated
demonstration and acquisition programme
based on the adoption of USV-based offboard
sweep technology. This effort, against a
specification largely similar to the MHPC
Sweep Demonstrator, is being pursued under
the banner of the Mine Countermeasures and
Hydrographic Capability (MHC) programme
the change from MHPC to MHC reflects the
fact that the patrol element has now been
de-coupled from the project.
Outlining its fast-track programme in an
RfI released on 19 May, the MoDs Defence
Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation
said the re-cast UK Sweep Capability project
DE&S outlined its requirement

for a highly versatile multiinfluence sweep system, capable
of dealing with all types of static
underwater threats.
would initially seek to procure a single USV and
sweep system for demonstration from a Huntclass vessel. Option prices will also be sought for
additional sweep systems and support.
In its new RFI, DE&S outlined its requirement
for a highly versatile multi-influence sweep
system, capable of dealing with all types of
static underwater threats in mine setting, target
setting and mine jamming modes. Other key
deliverables include a USV sweep delivery
vehicle, able to work autonomously at range
from the systems C3I location, a sweep
evaluation tool for sweep system analysis,
planning and post-mission analysis operator
aids, and integration of the entire sweep system
onto a Hunt-class platform.
An updated contract notice was published
by DE&S on 27 June. This laid out the
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:47:43
26/09/2014 13:47:43
26/09/2014 13:47:45
43
NAVAL OPERATIONS
Thales UK has worked with unmanned marine craft specialist ASV on

the design and build of the USV demonstrator craft Halcyon. (Photo: ASV)
Atlas Elektronik UK, Thales UK and

Ultra Electronics have all stated
their intention to compete for the
new requirement.
requirement for a prime contractor to develop,
manufacture, demonstrate and support a
USV-based minesweeping capability to be
deployed from the Hunt class (including
launch and recovery arrangements), and the
provision of a Reconnaissance Unmanned
Underwater Vehicle Hangar (RUUVH) on
selected vessels.
DE&S plans for the Sweep Capability
acquisition programme to be split into three
blocks (the later blocks to be invoked through
contract options). Block 1 foresees the design
and build of a prototype sweep system,
followed by full acceptance and demonstration
in portable mode. It will also incorporate
preparations for Block 2 this envisages the
integration of the prototype sweep system into
a Hunt-class MCMV, followed by full acceptance
testing and demonstration of the based system.
The provision of an RUUVH on the same vessel
is also required.
Block 3 encompasses the supply of follow-on
systems to the same design (incorporating any
changes necessary to achieve full acceptance
of the prototype). Current planning assumes
options for the manufacture of up to four USVbased minesweeping systems and RUUVHs.
According to published plans, DE&S aims to
award a prime contract for the MHC Sweep
Capability Block 1 in Q1 of 2015. Atlas Elektronik
www.UVonline.com
UK, Thales UK and Ultra Electronics, previously

shortlisted for the MHPC Sweep Demonstrator
project, have all stated their intention to
compete for the new requirement.
nn TEST VEHICLES
Both Atlas and Thales have already invested
in the build and test of demonstrator USVs.
In fact, the former has gone on to sell two
production examples of its USV-based ARCIMS
(Atlas Remote Capability Integrated Mission
Suite) remote minesweeping system to an
undisclosed Middle Eastern navy.
Developed as a private venture by Atlas
Elektronik UK, and leveraging earlier SWIMS
and FAST experience, ARCIMS comprises an
optionally manned surface vehicle configured

to accept alternative MCM mission modules.
The ARCIMS platform, using a tunnel hull
design, is an 11m glass-reinforced plastic (GRP)
craft manufactured by ICE Marine. Powered by
two marine diesels driving waterjet propulsors,
the boat is able to achieve a maximum speed in
excess of 40kt in transit mode.
Towing speed is typically 8kt. The sweep
mission module payload set comprises a power
generation module, and towed sweeps for
acoustic, electric and magnetic influences.
Thales UK, meanwhile, has worked with
unmanned marine craft specialist ASV on the
design and build of a reconfigurable multi-role
USV. A variant of ASVs generic C-Sweep semiplaning platform, the demonstrator craft
named Halcyon is an optionally manned
11.5m craft constructed from GRP to optimise
signature characteristics. Other particulars
include twin Yanmar 6LY-ETP diesel engines
driving two 0.6m diameter propellers (for a
maximum speed of about 30kt), a flexible
well deck area behind the wheelhouse and a
working deck aft able to accept a range of
MCM mission packages. uv
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26/09/2014 13:47:47
44
INTERVIEW
An even
playing field
Matthew Baldwin, the European Commissions director of
aviation, explains to Andrew White how the continents RPAS
community must steer away from its current patchwork legislation
if it is to have a positive effect on the global unmanned market.
peaking to Unmanned Vehicles at UAS

2014 at Twickenham Stadium, London,
on 9 September, Baldwin described
how 15 of 28 member states in the European
Commission (EC) currently have their own
national UAV legislation. However, only eight
have taken the first steps to allow common
RPAS activities across the continent.
But by no means is this harmonised across
Europe, he said. No one denies that RPAS
are a global business. We risk missing out in
Europe and must use this as a stepping stone
into the global market.
Describing discrepancies in regulatory
frameworks for RPAS across Europe, Baldwin
highlighted how small UAVs were classified as
less than 5kg in Austria; 7kg in Denmark; 2kg
in France; and 20kg in the UK.
We dont have the basis for business to
generate a European-wide framework. How
do we address this rapidly, and put business
in the best position to promote RPAS activity
[globally]?
nn THREE-POINT PLAN
Baldwin illustrated a three-point plan to
assist in the generation of a Europe-wide
strategy, including: promotion of a level
playing field across the continent; focused
R&D efforts on the integration of RPAS and
treating them as normal airspace users;
as well as unlimited support to small and
medium enterprises.
The global market needs global rules and

Europe needs consistent rules which dont
conflict with international rules. We need
a regulatory burden as low as possible for
industry and the EC, he continued.
As part of this effort, the commission will
introduce an EC RPAS proposal in the first
part of 2015.
We will be proposing to the next European
Commissioner that [RPAS] should be a
priority, in particular with noise, security, data
protection, privacy and legislation, and not
setting rules for the sake of it.
nn REGULATORY WORK
Baldwin urged that regulatory work would
be required on three levels, including:
the commission proposal next year with
agreement of the European Parliament
and Council; principles for RPAS rules; and
amending of basic safety regulation.
Furthermore, he asked industry to keep
up efforts to develop the right standards and
keep focused on the international market. We
UV_OctNov14_p44_backpage.indd 44
We dont have the basis

for business to generate a
Europe-wide framework.
must play globally, he stressed, describing

how the RPAS working programme must be
integrated into the ECs 2020 master plan.
nn ON ITS WAY
Referring to swarms of drones concepts
originally envisaged during World War II, Baldwin
said: It is now happening, certainly in the military
sphere. This is similar in terms of speed and spinoff generations in mobile phone or even Internet
technology in the 1990s.
RPAS are now wide-ranging in size,
performance, with utility for wind turbine
[inspection]; completing satellite coverage
in disadvantaged areas; and increasing
pollination by bees. Extraordinary things are
happening and now in Europe, Israel, US and
every park in the UK where machines are
being run off iPads.
As a regulator, how do we promote these
activities and drive them forward, with a right
framework that ensures safety and privacy
concerns?
We are developing work programmes to
enable integration of RPAS into the air traffic
management master plan, with the Clean Sky
team, European Space Agency and European
Defence Agency all playing valuable roles
there is a rich menu of things under way, he
concluded. uv
www.UVonline.com
26/09/2014 13:51:03
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Unmanned Vehicles Vol19 #5

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Volume 19 Number 5

4 Taiwan boosts UAS capabilities

In the first of a series of articles putting the spotlight

15 Hopes and fears

A review of some of the latest developments

8 Knowing the drill

With the rise of UAV leisure users, Editor Andrew

After a decade of accelerated UAS development

With the rising threat of fast inshore attack craft,

A little over a decade after it rushed unmanned

44 An even playing field

With good power-to-weight ratios, smooth operation

As militaries seek UGV utility beyond the counter-IED

Matthew Baldwin, the European Commissions

The Shephard Press Ltd, 2014.

Print Williams Press, Maidenhead,

The Shephard Press Ltd,

Published bi-monthly or quarterly, each is respected and renowned for covering

Subscribe today via: shop.shephardmedia.com or +44 (0)1753 727010

Volume 19 Number 5 | October/November 2014 | UNMANNED Vehicles

Improved Gray Eagle

EXTENDING THE EDGE

Increased capacity for missionized payloads:

2014 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Leading The Situational Awareness Revolution

It has been a long, hot summer in the UK and

these leisure users have contacted the

Volume 19 Number 5 | October/November 2014 | UNMANNED Vehicles

Taiwan boosts UAS capabilities

China Army (RoCA) service for three years.

fall under regional commanders. The MND

Zephyr HAPS breezes to new heights

acquired the programme from QinetiQ in 2013,

UNMANNED Vehicles | October/November 2014 | Volume 19 Number 5

Airworthiness Authority (TAA) and the

Israel details Gaza UAV ops

DRDC works on over-thehorizon UUV operations

Volume 19 Number 5 | October/November 2014 | UNMANNED Vehicles

EuroHawk still alive, claims Northrop

Photo: Northrop Grumman

HALE platform was right to deliver that

with EuroHawk reaching operational capability

Unmanned K-Max ends Afghan deployment

The K-Max VTOL cargo UAV has returned to

George Barton, Lockheed Martins business

UNMANNED Vehicles | October/November 2014 | Volume 19 Number 5

The Extending the Reach of the

Insitus ScanEagle UAS is being utilised by

In the first of a series of

uch emphasis and focus has been

First is a tie-up between Insitu and oil giant

The Puma AE, as used in operations in

year. This is a commercial operation and the

concerned about oil exploration impact and

continues to thwart industry efforts to integrate

UAVs can be used to inspect drilling rigs for

Volume 19 Number 5 | October/November 2014 | UNMANNED Vehicles

ConocoPhillipss Polar Adventure tanker,

Alaskan airspace is devoid of things we can

models of roads, paths and pipelines, and

UNMANNED Vehicles | October/November 2014 | Volume 19 Number 5

kept very level so vehicles can traverse them

Lepton Thermal Camera Core

See What Lepton Can Do!