At the center was the Phantom Ray stealth UCAV, a technology demonstrator of the a four-tailed, six-engine flying platform built by QinetiQ, designed to experiment the flight rules to be used with the future Solar Eagle, a 400 foot span aerial vehicle proposed by Boeing for DARPA's Vulture 2 program.

For the first time at an international airshow Boeing dedicated a special display for its newly established UVS unit. At the center was the Phantom Ray stealth UCAV, a technology demonstrator of the a four-tailed, six-engine flying platform built by QinetiQ, designed to experiment the flight rules to be used with the future Solar Eagle, a 400 foot span aerial vehicle proposed by Boeing for DARPA’s Vulture 2 program. Boeing’s Solar Eagle could fly by 2014, carrying payloads up to 400 pounds to a cruising altitude of 60,000 ft, where it will remain on station for up to 80 days. DARPA would like an operational vehicle to remain in station up to five years…

The Solar Eagle will be capable of flying missions of unlimited duration, powered by multiple electrical motors that will provide the thrust for propulsion and steering, by using differential thrust of different motors. These motors will run on electrical energy generated by fuel cells and solar arrays. The energy stored on board will be sufficient to carry the Solar Eagle to its operating altitude, where the air is calm and plenty of solar energy can be stored during daytime, for use by the motors and systems on board overnight. The full-scale Solar Eagle will be configured as a tail-less flying wing fitted with eight motors, with payloads and energy storage carried in a boom-shaped canister. Boeing has recently completed the assembly of the Hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye that will also be capable of flying long endurance, high altitude missions.

Boeing also displayed three models of the long endurance A-160T Hummingbird, configured for three missions: persistent area surveillance, persistent area dominance, a weaponized configuration equipped with EO/IR payload and six Hellfire missiles and a tactical transport version, carrying cargo internally or as sling load.

Another UAV shown here for the first time is the H-6U - the. Unmanned Little Bird (ULB).

The air-launched ScanEagleCompressed Carriage was also displayed here, along with other small tactical UAVs from Boeing and InSitu - the Integrator and ScanEagle. Boeing is also working on the ‘Magnetic Eagle Compressed Carriage’ (MECC), designed for aerial anti-submarine warfare. Platforms such as the CCSE and NECC could be deployed from airborne platforms (a video shown by Boeing depicted one system dropped from a ramp of a V-22 in flight). A MECC equipped with a booster could be launched from a submarine.

MBDA team Concept Vision leader and a user representative show the new concept weapons at Farnborough 2010. Photo: Tamir Eshel

MBDA has embarked on an innovative evolution of next generation weapon systems designed to empower future infantry and dismounted warfighters with advanced, yet unavailable capabilities. Ideas for the new concepts were received from MBDA employees Throughout the world, and from military users and veterans. According to Michael Mew, Lead ENgineer for the Concept Visions program, the new weapons could be developed based partly on technologies already available, and could be demonstrated through the upcoming years. ‘This program sets our goals and could challenge our design teams for years to come’ Mew told Defense Update.

This Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image showing an extinct volcano crater in Southern California, was taken by the new MP-RTIP radar operating in SAR mode. The sensor being integrated into the Global Hawk will be able to pick moving targets simultaneously to the SAR operation. Photo: USAF Electronic Systems Center

Work on the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) is progressing, with the sensor and first software baseline delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for integration on a Global Hawk unmanned aircraft. Forthcoming flight testing conducted up to this point has been performed in Mojave, Calif., on a scaled composites test bed aircraft, known as “Proteus.” A total of 259 test flights were completed, with 1,062 hours of radar “on” time.

MP-RTIP capability was operationally demonstrated for the Army during a recent ground exercise at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, where the MP-RTIP sensor was flown to demonstrate its unique capabilities in an operationally relevant environment. “Several members of the Operations Group at the NTC were pretty happy with what they saw” said Col. Jim Shaw, MP-RTIP program director.

Shaw said the systems tests confirmed ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) dedicated modes, where each of the modes operated separately and serially. The tests on the Global Hawk will employ the two modes concurrently and simultaneously. The Proteus will continue test flying the MP-RTIP on nine flights, assessing improved performance of concurrent radar modes. Colonel Shaw said that operating the radar in this concurrent (SAR+GMTI) has been a technical challenge, since operation of the two modes in most SAR/GMTI radars has sofar been limited to serial operation. Providing the two modes simultaneously ensure that warfighters can collect SAR data without interrupting GMTI tracks. Northrop Grumman is also developing maritime surveillance and maritime imaging modes for the MP-RTIP radar.

After the concurrent mode testing is completed, the MP-RTIP team at the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) will move into a support role, as the Global Hawk Program Office at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, will have the lead as the new sensor is integrated into the RQ-4B Block 40 aircraft. 16 new Global Hawk aircraft scheduled for delivery beginning in 2011 will be equipped with the new radar. These aircraft are scheduled for fielding in Grand Forks air force base in North Dakota.

Read more on the RQ-4B, its planned production model blocks and sensors on Defense-Update.com

Proteus operating as MP-RTIP RQ-4 Surrogate platform

AW101 helicopter shown in a proposed Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC) configuration for the Royal Navy. Photo: AgustaWestland

AugustaWestland and Thales presented the conceptual design of an AW101 ‘Merlin’ based Airborne Surveillance and Control (ASaC), positioned to replace the Sea King Mk7 ASaC currently operated by the Royal Navy. Operating from the deck of helicopter and aircraft carriers, Sea King Mk 7 helicopters are carrying the Searchwater 2000 radar and Cerberus mission system to provide airborne early warning at sea for the Royal Navy naval surface fleet.

A cutaway showing the two consoles of the Cerberus and AEW mission systems, along with the Thales Searchwater shown in the stored position. Once the AW101 ASaC is airborne, the radar is extracted and positioned to cover 360 degrees, unobstructed by the helicopter fuselage or tail. Photo: Agustawestland. a mission, The radar

Under the collaborative ‘enhanced ASaC’ capability, announced last week by the two companies at Royal Navy Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton during the Fleet Air Arm’s annual Air Day, a proposed Merlin AEW platform could be ready to replace the Mk7 as it is retired by teh year 2016. The Royal Navy plans to deploy the new ASaC helicopter with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter on the new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, currently under construction.

According to Ed Lowe, Chief Operating Officer of Thales UK, “Thales and AgustaWestland are working together to develop a proposal to transfer the Cerberus mission system to the AW101 platform. “I am confident this will offer our customer a low cost, low risk method of delivering ASaC well into the future with no capability gap” Lowe said.

The Sea King Mk 7 (ASaC) is scheduled to withdraw from service and retire by the year 2016. Photo: Royal Navy

Unlike the side mounted configuration on the Sea King Mk7, the AW101 will use a palletized Searchwater 2000 radar, deployed through the rear ramp aperture when in operation and stows in the cabin when not in use. This installation will also expand the radar coverage to full 360 degrees, significantly increasing mission range and endurance.

The new configuration will also enable rapid transit between tasking. The mission system will also comprise two modernized mission crew stations to be located at the forward end of the cabin facing aft. These workstations will introduce new man machine interface (MMI) optimized for two man operation. The enhanced ASaC equipment could be role fitted to all AW101 utility variants.

RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: “RADA”) is a recognized world leader in the field of airborne video and data recordings. The company’s INS solutions, based on Fiber Optic Gyros (FOG) or Micro-Electro Mechanical Sensors (MEMS), are highly affordable and are suitable to a wide range of airborne and land military applications . RADA’s Radar technology provides compact and affordable sensors for APS and Perimeter Surveillance.

Based on its product range and extensive engineering experience, the company also offers complete system solutions, primarily in video and data recording and management systems, and avionic upgrade suits for military and aircraft and Mission (ISR) aircraft.

RADA is specializing in sophisticated, military-oriented electronic systems for airborne and land applications. RADA offers complete system solutions in addition to OEM subsystems and products, designed primarily for the aerospace and defense markets.

RADA’s product lines include :

• Data Recording & Management
• Inertial Navigation Systems (INS)
• Avionic Solutions
• Radar Sensors for Force Protection Systems

BAE Systems' ARGUS-IS shown aboard a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter during testing. Photo: BAE Systems via Business Wire

Last week DARPA awarded two contracts funding high-resolution, wide area infra-red persistent surveillance system. The U.S. Air Force awarded BAE Systems about US$50 million to deliver a high resolution sensor for persistent surveillance over a wide area. BAE has been developing such a system under two other programs – DARPA Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) and Army Airborne Wide Area Persistent Surveillance Sensor (AWAPSS) programs. The current system will be designed to enable a joint forces command in theater to constantly monitor critical areas of interest, using infra-red and video imagers, offering high degree of target location accuracy.

Part of the capabilities of WAMI sensors are to automatically track moving targets over a wide area. These images present two methods of presenting moving targets over surveillance images, showing multiple individual tracks and functional areas determined based on densities of movements. Photos: Kitware Inc.

DARPA is also seeking to improve the processing of the vast volumes of imagery data produced by WAMI sensor systems. Last week the agency has awarded Kitware Inc. a US$13.8 million contract for the development of image analysis support for wide area motion imagery systems. Kitware is developing these new workstations as part of the Persistent Motion Imagery Analysis Tool for Exploitation (PerMIATE) program, assisting analysts in discovering and analyzing high-value intelligence content embedded in massive amount of WAMI data, both online and forensically. Leveraging advanced computer vision, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data visualization in an integrated workstation PerMIATE will reveal and highlight the most critical information in a clear and intuitive presentation, enabling video analyst to quickly validate or refute intelligence leads through deep exploration of the underlying evidence, resulting in substantial reductions in analyst workload as well as increasing the quality and accuracy of intelligence yield. DARPA is developing such analytic tools as part of the Persistent Stare Exploitation and Analysis System (PerSEAS) currently underway.

The U.S. Army is planning to field at least 36 Beechcraft 350ER aircraft equipped for persistent surveillance and reconnaissance, under the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System' (EMARSS), Photo: U.S. National Guards

The U.S. Army is embarking on an acquisition program of a new aerial surveillance manned aircraft designated ‘Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System’ (EMARSS), augmenting tactical ground units with persistent surveillance, intelligence gathering and situational understanding, supporting their ‘Overwatch’ capability. The new program of record represents a low-risk approach to field advanced, critical intelligence gathering capabilities based on the field operationally Hawker Beechcraft 350ER (C-12) aircraft.

The EMARSS will be equipped conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition operations in support of ground combat units in overwatch and to maintain a persistent presence over demonstrated at-risk areas. The program calls for the delivery of four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft within 18 months of contract award. The Army will have an option to buy four additional aircraft as part of the low-rate initial production phase. These aircraft will support the Army’s Aerial Exploitation Battalions (AEB), operated under the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).

Proposals for the program were submitted in June 2010. The program calls for the delivery of four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft within 18 months of contract award. The Army will have an option to buy four additional aircraft as part of the low-rate initial production phase. Northrop Grumman, Boeing and L-3 are known to compete for the program as prime contractors. While Boeing and Northrop Grumman are eying the program which surfaced as a major C4ISR program of record, L-3 is well positioned to compete with the experience it gathered through the Liberty MC-12 platform. The C-12 has also been operating successfully on airborne counter-IED missions, supporting Task Force ODIN in its IED hunting activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.