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SA seeks global unmanned-air-vehicle niche as rivalry intensifies

EXPORT ORDER The Seeker 400

Photo by Denel

ATTRACTING VERY SERIOUS INTEREST A Seeker 200 takes off

Photo by Denel Dynamics

AFFORDABLE: A Hungwe comes in to land

Photo by Denel Dynamics

COMMERCIAL MARKET: A Hungwe small UAV

Photo by Denel Dynamics

IN SERVICE WITH THE SA ARTILLERY The Vulture unmanned air vehicle

Photo by Paramount Group

SOLD IN ASIA: The Kiwit mini-UAV

Photo by Paramount Group

MAN-IN-THE-LOOP Inside a Seeker 200 ground control station

Photo by Denel Dynamics

7th March 2014

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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There can be little doubt that the unmanned air vehicle (UAV) sector is one of the most dynamic in today’s global aerospace industry. Over the last decade, a growing number of countries and companies have seen UAVs as a means to break into the aerospace sector and international markets. In parallel, an almost bewildering variety of UAVs have been developed and a wide range have been operationally deployed. Some 25 years ago, South Africa was one of the leaders in the global UAV sector.

However, there then followed two decades of limited investment, which allowed the country to keep the expertise it had acquired but hampered the development of new systems. But now the local industry is staging a comeback.

First, some definitions are required. UAVs, obviously, are aircraft that do not have onboard pilots. Their popular designation, drones, strictly speaking applies to UAVs that provide targets for ground to air and air to air firing training. Usually, the drone tows the target and is not actually the target itself. In those cases where the drone is the target, they are either very simple and cheap UAVs or are converted obsolete missiles or fighters that would otherwise just be scrapped. Drones usually fly preprogrammed courses.

The term Unmanned Air System (UAS) is also often used – this refers to the UAV itself plus its ground-based control and support (and where applicable, launch and recovery systems). And then there is Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS), which duplicates UAS but stresses the fact that the UAVs concerned are actually under human control, although their pilots are on the ground (although technology is being developed to allow RPAS pilots to be airborne – but on other aircraft). Then there are Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs), which carry weapons. UAVs can have a high level of autonomy (that is, can fly themselves) but none (other than simple target drones) have complete autonomy.

UAVs now vary enormously in size. From biggest to smallest, there are high altitude long endurance (Hale) UAVs, medium altitude long endurance (Male) UAVs, tactical UAVs, small UAVs, mini-UAVs, micro-UAVs and nano-UAVs. There are also rotary wing UAVs of various sizes. The biggest currently opera- tional UAV, the Hale Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, which is operated by the US Air Force, can lift a payload of 1 360 kg to a maximum altitude of 18 300 m with an endurance of more than 32 hours, and has a wingspan of 39.9 m (greater than that of a Boeing 757 airliner, which comes in at 38.05 m). At the other size extreme, the Proxdynamics PD-1000 Black Hornet is the world’s first operational nano-UAV, deployed by the British Army in Afghanistan. The little aircraft is about 10 cm long and 2.5 cm high and has a mass of 16 g. Its rotor diameter is 12 cm. The “base station” for the nano-UAV is a hand-held device about 20 cm long, 8.5 cm wide and 5 cm high. When not needed, the nanocopter is stored within the base station (which has a liftable flap). The entire system can fit within a soldier’s combat dress pocket.

Very few UCAVs are currently in service. The best known and most used is the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, operated by the US Air Force and the UK Royal Air Force (the Italian Air Force operates them but without weapons). The US Central Intelligence Agency also operates UCAVs. Israel has developed and deployed its own UCAVs as well. Stealth UCAV technology demonstrators now form the cutting edge of UAV technology. These currently include the Northrop Grumman X-47B in the US, the BAE Systems Taranis in the UK and the French-led Dassault Neuron project in continental Europe. (Stealth UCAVs would be able to operate despite opposing modern air defences, unlike current UCAVs.)

Back in June last year, the Teal Group forecast that global annual spending on UAVs would double from $5.2-billion last year to $11.6-billion by 2023. Over this ten year period, total spending on UAVs would come to $89- billion worldwide. The company identified more than 40 companies involved in designing and producing UAVs around the world. “The UAV market is evolving, it is becoming an increasingly international market as it grows,” noted Teal group corporate analysis director Philip Finnegan when he released the forecast.

South Africa currently has two companies designing and manufacturing UAVs – Denel Dynamics and Paramount Advanced Technolo- gies. Denel Dynamics is part of the State-owned Denel group, while Paramount Advanced Technologies is part of the private-sector Paramount Group. The two companies ope- rate in different segments of the UAV sector.

“The UAV market is growing, both military and commercial requirements are increasing. There are more applications being identified for unmanned systems,” points out Denel Dynamics CEO Tsepo Monaheng. “Competi- tion is growing, drastically. There are new entrants at the lower end of the UAV market, many of them with low costs of operation and low overheads. But at the high end of UAVs, there are still only a few players. Our view is: if we want to be competitive as a South African industry, we have to work together. We, Denel Dynamics, are not going to build all UAVs and subsystems on our own. We’re going to need local companies to produce subsystems. We believe South African success will be based on our companies complementing each other. We have a base in this country. We have the skills. We can compete.”

However, developing the local UAV industry to its fullest potential will not merely be a matter of designing and flying the aircraft. There is the need to be able to operate them in South African airspace as well, to be able to make the most of the potential local market and so achieve a strong domestic base. This will require the cooperation of the agencies responsible for airspace management and aviation safety in South Africa.

Dynamic Developments

“For Denel Dynamics to compete, we need to go into a very narrow band, competing with small and tactical fixed wing UAVs,” he affirms. “We strongly believe that the future of UAVs/UAS is very bright. We believe that the UAV market could be worth hundreds of millions of rands for our company.” A project to develop a Male UAV – Bateleur – has been suspended indefinitely because of high devel- opment costs. Monaheng defines tactical UAVs as having a range of about 200 km to 250 km. Beyond that, and the aircraft is becoming a strategic asset. Small UAVs are defined as having a range of about 50 km and requiring a launch system (not hand-launched).

This year will see no fewer than three new Denel Dynamics UAVs move from development to market-ready status. These are the Seeker 400, the Seeker 200 and the Hungwe. All three will be on display at African Aerospace and Defence 2014 in September, although they are unlikely to be flown at the show.

The Seeker 400 is at the upper end of the tactical UAV category. A new design, under development for several years, it has already been ordered, by another African country. The order is currently for one system, which includes three UAVs. In addition to the actual aircraft, a system includes a mission control unit, a tracking and communications unit, the payloads for the UAVs, field support equipment and an optional tactical ground station.

A Seeker 400 has a radius of operation (using direct line of sight communications) of 250 km, a maximum altitude of about 6 000 m, an endurance of 16 hours and a payload of up to 100 kg. It can be fitted with a colour day camera with zoom lens, a day colour or monochrome spotter camera, an infrared thermal imager with step fields of view, a night spotter camera, a laser rangefinder and a laser illuminator. It can also be fitted with an electronic intelligence/electronic support measures payload, to detect and locate radar emitters.

The first flight test programme for the Seeker 400 was completed at the beginning of February. Funded entirely by the company, development of the new UAV should be completed in the next few months. The system is now expected to attract serious enquiries from other potential export customers.

A UCAV version of the Seeker 400, armed with Denel Dynamics’ own Mokopa missiles, has been suggested and a mock-up of such a version has been displayed. “The first Seeker 400 client is interested in only a surveillance and reconnaissance system,” he explains. “The next stage would be to complete the development of an armed version. But that development would be driven by market requirements.”

Development of the smaller but still tactical Seeker 200 has been completed. Again, the project was funded entirely from the company’s own resources. The Seeker 200 is a development of the Seeker II UAV, which was successfully exported and remains in service abroad. (Only the original Seeker I was operated by South Africa and it was retired years ago.)

The Seeker 200 also has a radius of up to 250 km with line of sight communications, but is smaller than the Seeker 400 and has an endurance of up to ten hours (five hours at 250 km) and a payload of up to 40 kg. Its maximum altitude is also about 6 000 m. It can carry a day/night electro-optical/infra- red payload incorporating a laser rangefinder and a laser illuminator. It can also be fitted with an electronic intelligence/electronic support measures payload.

“In comparison to the Seeker II, the Seeker 200 has improved payload capability, improved propulsion and modernised avionics,” he reports. “We have no orders yet, but there is very serious interest from potential customers, mostly foreign.”

The Hungwe is a small UAV, that would be launched by a mechanism, most usually mounted on the back of a vehicle. It would land using a fixed wheeled undercarriage. It is designed to have a radius of 100 km, a maximum altitude of some 4 000 m, an endurance of six hours and a payload of 5 kg. The payload is a high definition day camera and an infrared imager.

“We have started the development flight tests of the Hungwe,” says Monaheng. “They’re going very well. It will be affordable for most of the potential commercial users, because of its price range. We hope to complete development before the middle of this year. The target market is commercial, mostly in Africa, for non-defence department requirements, such as police, security, immigration, wildlife monitoring, agriculture, mining, power line inspection, railway line monitoring. It is also being offered to South African State-owned enterprises.”

For completeness, it should be noted that Denel Dynamics has also developed and successfully marketed a high speed target drone, the Skua. Customers for this include South Africa and Brazil. The Skua flies preprogrammed courses and tows targets behind it.


Paramount Quartet

South Africa’s other UAS manufacturer, Paramount Advanced Technologies, was until 2013 Advanced Technologies & Engineering (ATE). The company currently offers four UAV designs to the market. These are the Vulture, the Sentinel-LE, the Kiwit and the Roadrunner. The Vulture has the distinction of being the only UAV currently operated by the South African National Defence Force, while the Kiwit was bought by an undisclosed Asian country in 2009 to equip its special forces.

The Vulture was developed by ATE for the South African Artillery, to aid its self- propelled and towed gun/howitzers. The UAV serves to acquire targets, observe the fall of shot and correct artillery fire. Its secure digital datalink has been certified at a range of 200 km. It has an endurance of more than three hours and can carry a payload of just under 30 kg. It has a maximum altitude of 6 000 m. It is equipped with an optical day sight, an infrared night sight and has a gas detection capability.

The Vulture is fully automated, so it does not need dedicated pilots, but its flight plan can be reprogrammed while it is the air. The mission is still controlled by human navigators and observers in the ground control station. The UAV is launched by a vehicle-mounted atmospheric catapult and it is retrieved using a deployable net and airbag system. All elements of the UAS are mounted on offroad trucks. The Vulture can also be employed for missions such as border security or coastal patrol.

The Sentinel-LE is a development of the Vulture. Unlike the Vulture, the Sentinel is equipped with a wheeled undercarriage, allowing it to take off and land from airstrips. It can be equipped with electro-optical sensors. The ground segments of the system can be installed in existing facilities or mounted in transportable containers. It is designed to perform battlefield surveillance, target location (including the calculation of coordinates), artillery fire correction, border patrol, coastal surveillance, surveillance of designated areas, and emergency situation monitoring.

The Kiwit is a mini-UAV with a range of 5 km at an altitude of 150 m above ground level. It has an endurance of between 45 minutes and 60 minutes. It can be assembled by a single person in five minutes. The UAV has an autopilot and takeoff, flight and landing are fully automated. It has a datalink and can carry either a day optical camera or a night optical camera. Control is by a personal computer-based ground control unit, which also receives, displays and records the video images sent by the Kiwit.

The Roadrunner is also a mini-UAV, with a rhomboid wing design and a mass of less than 10 kg. Intended for both civil and military missions, it also has a range of 5 km and an endurance of 45 minutes to 60 minutes. It has a payload of 2 kg and can be prepared for launch in five minutes.

Datalinks and Development

The UAV sector does not, how- ever, provide opportunities only for complete system manufacturers. There is also an international market for UAV systems and subsystems. Cape Town-based Tellumat launched its newest video/datalink radio system, the DL-5000 in January. This is optimised for use by UAVs. The DL-5000 has high video bandwidth, of up to 16 Mbps, is able to provide high-definition video streaming, is enclosed in a rugged enclosure, yet, at 3 kg, is light in weight.

“The DL-5000 mass saving means users can add a few extra litres of fuel instead, with the benefit of longer missions without comprising video bandwidth or range,” reports Tellumat Data Link product manager Shareef Hoosain. “This makes the DL-5000 very attractive to the market.”

An Internet Protocol-based radio, it allows beyond-line-of-sight networked range extensions and remote operations. “The market ideal for extended range operations is through satellite communication,” he points out. “However, the reality is that satellites are not easily accessible to users without significant rental costs for bandwidth.” As long as there is a ground-based communications infrastructure, the DL-5000 will provide beyond-line-of-sight coverage of large areas.

The company can also provide point-to-point link systems. These include combina- tions of antennas and antenna trackers, capable of meeting specified operational requirements, including range and mobility.

Nor must research and development (R&D) be forgotten. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) aeronautics competence area has undertaken a number of UAV R&D projects over the years. Other areas of the CSIR Defence, Peace, Safety and Security unit have developed UAV systems and payloads. CSIR UAV projects include the Indiza, the Sekwa and the Modular research UAV. Four Modular UAVs were built and, in addition to those operated by the CSIR itself, examples have been supplied to Stellenbosch University and the University of Johannesburg. In addition, the CSIR has a UAV flight simulator. South African universities are also involved in UAV research.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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