Turkey Has Plans For A Unmanned Attack Helicopter

Mockup of  a unmanned and "full electric"  T629 attack helicopter of Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc.

Iran unveiled Homegrown Kaman-22 Armed Drone

Iran unveiled its homegrown Kaman-22 armed drone. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an upgrade of the Kaman-12 drone, which was first introduced in September last year. The improved aircraft will be able to carry 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of munitions and various payload on external hard points with over 3000km range. Also ECM pod is installed on UCAV.

First prototype of Kaman 22 UCAV

HAL CATS Warrior displayed at Aero India 2021

 The Loyal Wingman from India.

The HAL Warrior UAV, part of the CATS program (Combat Air Teaming System), displayed at Aero India 2021.

A full scale replica of India's first-ever semi-stealth drone, now under development, is being showcased at Aero India, the mega air-show which kicks off in Bengaluru later this week.

The drone, called Warrior, is part of an indigenous programme called CATS or Combat Air Teaming System, described as "a composite amalgamation of manned and unmanned platforms which work together to penetrate heavily defended enemy airspace." In simple terms, the Warrior drone is being designed to operate with an Indian-made Tejas combat aircraft flown by an Indian Air Force pilot, which it will defend and fight with as they go into combat together.

The first Warrior prototypes are expected to fly within three to five years and is being funded by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).

"Multiple Warriors will be commanded by a single Tejas," said a source close to the project. The idea is to maximise the effectiveness of every mission while reducing the potential of losing the lives of precious pilots since they would be accompanied by the drones which would protect them. "The Warrior is being armed with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles," which would be used to hit targets on the ground or in the air.

The Warrior, while not an out-and-out stealth platform, which would allow it to evade being picked up by radar, is classified 'low observable', which makes its detection challenging for contemporary systems.

Iranian UAVs from 80s

 Early models of Iranian UAVs during Iran-Iraq war  (via M.S.A.I)

Harwar Tomahawk H16-V12 UAV/UCAV in PLA service

Harwar Tomahawk H16-V12 UAV/UCAV in PLA service

Previously the Harwar Tomahawk H16-V12 UAV have been spotted in 75th Army Corps of Peoples Liberation Army.

The Harwar Tomahawk H16-V12 UAV was spotted in PLA Army service within a Recon Regimen of the 75th Army Corps. Equipped with two 38mm stun grenade launchers (effective range 200m) it can also carry a max. weight of 25 kg of cargo.

Iran have released more info about Shahed-161, 171 and 191 UCAV

 On the 9th anniversary the US RQ-170 fall in Iran, some new information has emerged about Iranian "copies" and derivatives - Shahed 161, 171 and 191.

Translated data

U.S. Department of State authorizes a Sales for UAE for up to 18 MQ-9B UAV at $2.97 billion

WASHINGTON, November 10, 2020 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the United Arab Emirates of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.97 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested to buy up to eighteen (18) Weapons-Ready MQ-9B, Remotely Piloted Aircraft; twenty-five (25) Raytheon Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems-D (MTS-D) EO/IR Sensors; nineteen (19) Lynx AN/APY-8 Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) with Ground Moving Target Indicator (GTMI); eighteen (18) RIOTM Communication Intelligence Systems; sixty-six (66) Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Modules (SAASMs); five hundred fifteen (515) AGM-114R Hellfire Missiles; twelve (12) KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) Tail Kits for 500LB Bombs; four (4) MXU-650 Airfoil Groups for 500LB Paveway II GBU-12; seven (7) MXU-1006 Airfoil Groups for 250LB Paveway II GBU-58; eleven (11) MAU-169 or MAU-209 Computer Control Groups (CCGs) for 250LB/500LB Paveway II GBU-58/GBU-12; six (6) FMU-139 Fuse Systems; twelve (12) MK-82 General Purpose 500LB Inert Bombs; and four (4) GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) Guided Test Vehicle (GTV) Inert Practice Munitions (T-1) with Fuse. Also included are Honeywell TPE-331 turboprop engines; Certifiable Ground Control Stations (CGCS); mobile Satellite Communication Ground Data Terminals (SGDTs); Link-16 KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminals; Automatic Information System (AIS); Rohde & Schwartz UHF/VHF radios; AN/DPX-7 IFF Transponders; Satellite Communication (SATCOM) antennas and modems with USG encryption; Secure SATCOM systems; SeaSpray 7500 maritime radars; SAGE 750 Electronic Surveillance Measures System; KY-100M security voice terminals; KIV-77 Mode 5 IFF cryptographic appliques; U.S. Government Certified Encryption Solution; Rover 6i compatible systems; MQ-9B training simulator; Due Regard Radars (DRR); Electronic Warfare (EW) in-country threat library programming capability; BRU-71A bomb racks; BRU-78/A bomb racks; Hellfire missile rail kits; AN/AWM-103/B Station Stores Test Sets; Common Munitions Built-in-Test Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE) Plus Block II; Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) mission kits, receivers, and acoustic processors; AN/SSQ-36B thermometric sonobuoys; AN/SSQ-53G passive sonobuoys; AN-SSQ-62F active sonobuoys; ASW acoustic operator workstations; weapons loading equipment; initial spare and repair parts; hard points, power, and data connections for weapons integration; DSU-38 Laser Illuminated Target Detector for GBU-54; AN/PYQ-10C Simple Key Loaders; Electronic Intelligence System; weapons integration; support and test equipment; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support. The overall total estimated value is $2.97 billion.

The proposed sale will improve the UAE’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing timely Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), target acquisition, locate submarines and counter-land and counter-surface sea capabilities for its security and defense. The capability is a deterrent to regional threats and strengthens its self-defense. The UAE has demonstrated a commitment to modernizing its military and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles into its armed forces.

The principal contractors will be General Atomic Aeronautical Systems, San Diego, CA; Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, MD; Raytheon, Waltham, MA; L3Harris, Inc., Melbourne, FL; and Leonardo SpA, Rome, Italy. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. However, the purchaser typically requests offsets. Any offset agreements will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor(s).

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives outside the United States.

The ground attack version of the Cloud Shadow drone and his weapons on Nanchang-2020 AirShow

 

The ground attack version of the Cloud Shadow drone is currently on display at the Nanchang 2020 Airshow. It equipet the 1t thrust ZF850 turbojet developed by ZFTX Aeroengine.

 It called Wing Loong-10 (翼龙-10 / Pterodactyl 10)

Guided missiles and bombs of the Wing Long-10 UACV

The first unmanned complex "Orion" of the Russian Ministry of Defense

The first unmanned complex "Orion" of the Russian Ministry of Defense (two command and control vehicles and three UAV)

The Russian Defense Ministry signed an acceptance act for the first Orion drone of Kronshtadt Company in the spring of 2020. The complex of three drones is supplied to the troops for test operation.

Orion has a normal aerodynamic scheme with a 16-meter wing in the middle and V-shaped tail fins. Maximum takeoff weight is 1200 kg. The drone and mechanisms are made of carbon plastic composite materials to decrease the glider weight. Vacuum infusion technology was introduced. The drone has an electric impulse anti-icing system for operation in low temperatures.

A piston engine is in the tail to rotate and push a two-blade propeller. APD-115T engine was designed by Itlan Company and is likely an analogue of the Austrian Rotax 914 of 115 HP used in various drones, including US heavy Predator.

AV-115 adjustable pitch propeller was designed by the Russian Aerosila Company. It is the first in the family of highly effective drone propellers.

Orion can fly 24 hours at altitudes of 7500 meters. Its communication system was designed by Luch Bureau in Rybinsk. The range is 250 km. The drone takes off and lands automatically as an airplane with three retractable wheels.

It can carry a 200-kg payload, including the multichannel MOES stabilized electronic monitoring system. It was designed by Precision Instrument-Manufacturing System Corporation to detect and track targets day and night and provide guidance for weapons.

The drone can carry a radar or a photo survey unit, as well as reconnaissance and electronic warfare means. The equipment is accommodated in a compartment un

 

British Army Warfighting Experiment (2019-2020)

British Army new strategy places focus on cutting edge science and technology. Ground-breaking innovation will be at the heart of defence activity for generations, thanks to a bold new Science and Technology Strategy unveiled today by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

The Army Warfighting Experiment gives personnel the opportunity to test new and improved technologies for the next-generation of warfare.

The strategy was launched with Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Dame Angela McLean, against a backdrop of futuristic autonomous military kit: from UAVs that can fit in the palm of a hand to crewless all-terrain surveillance vehicles commanded remotely from a Challenger II tank and the new AJAX vehicle demonstrating ‘human machine teaming’ with an unmanned all terrain buggy.

Building on the UK’s rich heritage in science and technology, this new strategy will focus on finding and funding the breakthroughs that will shape the future, and ensure the armed forces are equipped to meet tomorrow’s threats.

It will also have a renewed focus on data, including capture and curation, which will underpin research to identify threat trends and deliver generation-after-next military hardware.

In recent weeks, we’ve successfully demonstrated our Manned Unmanned-Teaming (MUM-T) solution using ATHENA (an AJAX Family Variant), our 6x6 MUTT Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and an optionally-tethered Unmanned Air System (UAS) on Salisbury Plain… #AWE19 @BritishAWE @dstlmod pic.twitter.com/yTBWRtpmPJ

— General Dynamics UK (@gduknews) October 20, 2020

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

We are in a very real race with our adversaries for technological advantage. What we do today will lay the groundwork for decades to come. Proliferation of new technologies demands our science and technology is threat driven and better aligned to our needs in the future.

The pair visited Salisbury Plain ahead of the Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE), which this week will showcase some of the latest British-built military technologies.

Professor Dame Angela McLean said:

We need a clear focus on what we want science and technology to achieve. I will champion a challenge-led approach, based on trends across science, technology and the military, to set out what we need to be able to do in the future and how we can build towards it through our S&T activity.

Minister for Science Research and Innovation Amanda Solloway said:

Placing science and research at the heart of the UK’s defence activity will unleash a new wave of innovation for our brilliant armed forces, equipping them to meet our greatest challenges. By backing our best and brightest scientific minds in every corner of the UK, we will ensure we bolster the security of our nation now and for decades to come.

The Army Warfighting Experiment series allows the British Army to push the boundaries of technology and military technology, testing a range of prototype systems by putting them in the hands of the user while giving invaluable feedback to suppliers. This is all done to ensure that British troops maintain a continuous advantage over adversaries on the battlefield of today and tomorrow.

This complements the ongoing Integrated Review of foreign, defence, development and security policy. The Strategy & Technology will also be central to the government’s ambition for the UK to cement its status as a world leading science superpower, set out in its ambitious Research & Development Roadmap in July this year.

The latest strategy launch comes weeks after the MoD rolled out a new integrated operational concept to shape how Britain adapts its future military effort to the changing security threat posed by the likes of China and Russia.

Future military development would focus on five emerging technology areas that have posed the most significant enduring capability challenge, according to the new S&T strategy document. Technology areas listed are:

• Pervasive, full-spectrum, multidomain intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

• Multidomain command and control, communications, and computers.

• Improvement of the U.K.’s ability to compete against adversaries below the threshold of conventional conflict while addressing vulnerabilities, especially in the information environment.

• Develop systems to target adversaries in new ways across all domains.

• Generate affordable, survivable capabilities that can rapidly address evolving threats and can operate within a denied electromagnetic environment.

• “They have been recognized as the key drivers for science and technology and research and development within the MoD," the document read. "The Department will continue to have an enduring requirement to maintain investment in science and technology capabilities and programs beyond these.”

Via GOV.UK

Photo credit Defence Photography