Page 17 - ADT SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

itime ISR, target tracking and battle damage assessment missions, Vessels (OPV).
among others. The proposed ULUAV will be launched from a 533mm
torpedo tube using an expendable launch canister, from depths U.S. AND CHINA IN THE LEAD  MARITIME
of up to 50m and underwater vehicle speeds of up to 6 knots. The
drones will have a 25km line of sight range, and travel at speeds The U.S. and China have sped ahead of other
greater than 30 knots. militaries when it comes to inducting shipborne
drones. The U.S. is working on the Tactically
Airbus Helicopters and South Korea’s Korean Air are partnering to Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) ini-
develop an unmanned surveillance military helicopter that can be tiative, developed by the Defence Advanced
used by Korean warships to monitor the maritime border in the Yellow Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to use
Sea. According to the MoU signed by the two companies., Korean smaller ships as mobile launch and recovery
Air will use technology acquired through its strategic partnership locations for MALE UAVs. The U.S. Navy currently
with Airbus Helicopters to become a major player in the unmanned has shipborne drones in its fleet, including the
helicopter market. Airbus Helicopters’ VSR700 unmanned recon- RQ-21 Black Jack small tactical unmanned
naissance helicopter, which is under development, is designed to aerial system (STUAS), the MQ-8C Fire Scout,
operate alongside other shipborne naval assets. and bigger drones such as the X-47B UCAV that

is meant for carrier operations.
Meanwhile, the French military has qualified a new miniature are cat- Perhaps the U.S. Navy’s most keenly watched
apult-launched unmanned aerial system called Aliaca and received development project is Boeing’s MQ-25 Stingray
three systems for use aboard the Navy’s patrol vessels and surveil- drone programme. The MQ-25, which will fly

autonomously and not be remotely piloted
like the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, is
expected to achieve initial operational capa-
bility in 2025, with full operating capability
expected in the 2030s. The induction of the
MQ-25 will allow the F/A-18 Super Hornets to
focus on fighter missions, leaving tanking duties
to the Stingray. Refueling with the MQ-25 will
extend the range of fighter jets to about 1,000
miles.

The U.S. Navy plans to buy more than 70 aircraft
as part of the programme of record. Boeing,
which received a US$805 million contract in 2018
to build the drone, is optimistic about orders
from international customers. Lockheed Martin
is developing the MQ-25 ground control station.

The MQ-25, which as a range of 1,500 nautical
miles, will be the first large, fixed-wing drone that
lance frigates. The fixed-wing UAS has been built by Survey Copter, will operate from a ship and support manned
an Airbus subsidiary. The French navy intends to acquire 11 systems. planes. While the drone’s primary and secondary
totaling 22 aircraft, in its maritime variant, called SMDM. Each SMDM roles will be as a tanker and as an intelligence,
system comprises two Aliaca drones, which weigh 16 kg (35 pounds) surveillance, and reconnaissance platform, the
and can operate autonomously for three hours in a 50 kilometers (27 navy is also likely to consider arming the aircraft
mile) range. The drones will be used aboard the French Navy’s high carrier-based tanker with offensive weapons. In
sea patrol vessels, overseas patrol vessels, and surveillance frigates. June last year, the first MQ-25 test aircraft, the T1,
conducted the first ever air-to-air refueling with
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has selected Schiebel’s S-100 an unmanned tanker when it refueled an F/A-18
Camcopter drone from among five contenders for “Block One” of Super Hornet fighter jet, while both aircraft were
the Sea129 Phase 5 maritime unmanned aircraft systems (MUAS) flying at “operationally relevant speeds and
programme. The contract is worth US$ 930 million. altitudes.” Two months later, the T1 refueled

an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye battle manage-
The S-100 has a maximum speed of 130 knots (240 kilometers/149 ment aircraft. Another milestone followed in
miles per hour) and a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles). Its endur- September, with the test aircraft refueling an
ance is six hours. The service, which has been operating the S-100 F-35C joint strike fighter. In December, T1 suc-
since 2018, is looking to acquire up to 40 drones, reports say. Block cessfully completed an initial unmanned carrier
one will run from 2023-2028 and provide MUAS capability for RAN’s aviation demonstration onboard the flight deck
eight Anzac-class frigates and 12 Arafura-class Offshore Patrol of the USS George H.W. Bush.
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