PETER LA FRANCHI / CANBERRA
But joint project architecture will integrate RAAF Wedgetail and army Tiger operations
The Australian Army will not pursue the arming of its planned tactical unmanned air vehicle fleet with precision strike weapons as part of its Joint Project 129 UAV requirement.
Chief of the Australian Army, Lt Gen Peter Leahy, says armed UAVs are an attractive option, but "with regard to JP129, I wish it would have that capability but it won't".
The army regards JP129 as an integral element of an emerging airborne support capability for land operations, and believes it will provide the service with "a significant force multiplier", he adds.
Leahy says the developing architecture would seek to integrate the Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing 737 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft with the army's Eurocopter Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters.
The result, according to Leahy, would be a "heady mix. What we are looking for is something that will serve both the tactical and operational commanders.
"I think for a long time we have talked about, inside the army, being able to see what is over the next side of the hill - and right now we really don't have those capabilities."
The architecture would be networked to allow sharing of information between airborne platforms and land forces. Leahy says he wants the Tigers to be "capable of sharing its picture with both airborne early-warning platform and ground commander."
He adds: "The airborne early-warning platform will be primarily designed to deal with the air threat, but I have been saying for some time that I want army personnel in the back of that aircraft because it will be helping us conduct our helicopter operations, and it will also have the capability to detect any enemy movement."
The overarching concept is still being "fleshed out," Leahy adds, but would represent a "remarkable innovation" for the army once it was implemented.
A JP129 request for tenders is scheduled for release late next year.
AVM Norman Gray, head of airborne surveillance projects in the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation, will detail the JP129 requirement at Flight International's UAV Australia 2003 conference in Melbourne on 6-7 February 2003.Source: Flight International
