Germany's military requirements are bolstering the nation's role as a major player in Europe's unmanned air vehicle sector
Germany is this year expected to become the first export customer for the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle - designated Eurohawk - in a deal dominating several billion euros of new investment by that nation in a variety of military unmanned systems in the near term.
The acquisitions will transform the German defence forces' UAV capabilities in rapid succession. The German forces currently field two operational UAV types, the EADS CL-289 high speed reconnaissance system, and the Ingenieurgesellschaft (EMT) Luna. Two other systems, the Rheinmetall Defence Electronics KZO and the EMT Aladin, are both in the process of entering operational service with the German army with preproductionversions of the latter system already deployed to Afghanistan.
In the next few weeks the German Military Procurement office - Bundesamt fur Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (BWB) - is expected to launch a competition for a close-range hand-launched tactical UAV which will again be fielded by the army, with this expected to be followed in the near- to medium-term by a second competition for a close range tactical vertical take-off and landing system for use in urban operations.
In the medium-term, requirements are being developed for a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV, possibly as part of a common European or NATO acquisition, and a ship-launched UAV capability. Longer-term requirements are emerging for an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) for the German airforce, with Germany expected to play a key role in any common European UCAV development effort.
Germany has also been a major force behind NATO's decision to develop a combined manned and unmanned wide architecture for its Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) requirement, with the Transatlantic Industrial Proposal solution selected for that programme based on the Airbus A321 and the RQ-4B in mid April. German planning has emphasised the HALE UAV component of the AGS project as a means of meeting its own top end UAV-sourced surveillance imagery requirements in parallel to its stand-alone RQ-4B acquisition for signal intelligence missions.
The broad spectrum of requirements has resulted in an extensive domestic industrial focus on UAV technologies, rankable as a near second in Europe behind France though intimately linked with that nation's own efforts via EADS.
Eurohawk
The German air force's planned RQ-4B Eurohawk acquisition is expected to be given financial approvals late this year by the German parliament with the German Ministry of Defence expected to submit the requisite funding application by the end of May. The industrial organisation supporting the deal is also rapidly nearing consolidation with prime contractors EADS Deutschland and Northrop Grumman currently negotiating shareholding structures for a venture to be called Eurohawk GmbH. The name has been registered with German corporate regulators with an announcement on the joint venture expected by third quarter this year.
The Eurohawk requirement is based on using RQ-4Bs to replace the German air force's ageing Breguet Atlantic SIGINT aircraft from 2008. The current drive to finalise a funding submission for the planned acquisition follows the successful demonstration of an EADS prototype electronic intelligence (ELINT) payload aboard a US Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk from Nordholz Air Force Base in northern Germany in October-November last year.
The Eurohawk system will comprise RQ-4B airframes supplied by Northrop Grumman and fitted with EADS sensors. The prototype sensor flown in the Nordholz demonstrations excluded any communications intelligence (COMINT) capabilities. EADS announced late last year that the fixed antenna array used in the prototype ELINT sensor and covering an arc of 240¼ would be replaced by a more capable system that provided full 360¼coverage.
Flight International has learned that the ELINT architecture will be based on three antennas - a single Omni ELINT antenna located in the aft section of the nose bay and two identical spinning high-band ELINT antennas.
The first of the high-band units would be located in the forward section of the nose bay, while the second would be housed in a new fairing located beneath the UAV tail. The two high-band antennas would be identical, based on a parabolic dish design, and each cover an azimuth of 200¼. EADS says development should be completed by the end of this year.
The COMINT suite would comprise a large fixed circular antenna located at the wing-root inside the RQ-4B radome fairing. A second smaller fixed COMINT array antenna would be located in the nose of the radome. Six smaller COMINT fin antennas would be located along the wings, projecting upwards and downwards from the skin. Four of these would be inboard from midwing while the other two would each be located in the midwing area. The exact location of the wing antennas however, depends on still to be conducted electromagnetic interference studies.
The final element of the COMINT suite would comprise two 1.2m long fixed low frequency interferometer arrays, one each on the port and starboard of the air vehicle nose. EADS has already begun testing these arrays and is working on repacking a prototype for fitting into the gun bay on a German air force Panavia Tornado aircraft. That installation should start flight testing in September and October this year.
The RQ-4B's second pressurised payload bay, located in the rear fuselage, would be used to house cryptographic hardware and an onboard mass data storage system.
Depending on the timeframes associated with negotiating the RQ-4B acquisition from the USA, the first prototype Eurohawk could be flying by late 2005.
Close combat
At the other end of the UAV spectrum, the German army's close range system requirement has emerged as a major focus for the nation's aerospace and defence electronics sector. The system requirement is expected to be based on supply of fully autonomous fixed wing air vehicles and ground control systems small enough for one man to carry in a backpack, launch by hand and operate with minimal supporting equipment.
The imminent tender process will require contenders to participate in a fly-off in June-July this year with the winner of that process being awarded an initial system adaptation contract by the BWB with this followed later by a series production award.
The fixed wing system is expected to be joined later in German army service by a vertical take-off and landing UAV for use in urban areas. However, the timeframes for that separate acquisition remain unclear.
Rheinmetall Defence Electronics plans to compete the fixed wing requirement in conjunction with Mavionics, a business unit of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, with the newly developed Carlo P-50 mini UAV. The conventional form air vehicle has a 490mm (19in) wing and an all-up length of 460mm (18in). Rheinmetall says it is still exploring options for the VTOL close range requirement, but also says that it has been in talks with Singapore Technologies Aerospace regarding a possible adaptation of that firm's Fantail UAV.
EADS plans to complete the fixed wing requirement with its 420mm-span, pusher propeller DO-MAV system. That system is now routinely flying at distances of up to 3.5km from the operator in fully autonomous mode, with an autopilot that EADS claims is the world's smallest. The UAV has an endurance of up to 30min. The company is yet to flag its approach for the longer term VTOL requirement.
EMT plans to bid on the fixed wing programme with its MIKADO mini-air vehicle. The initial design of this system, which first flew early last year, was based on a swept-wing configuration with sensors located in a detachable pod located beneath the air vehicle fuselage. The version to be offered for the close-range competitions, however, is a flying wing with three tailplanes. Two of these project beneath the air vehicle trailing edge and are used to protect the sensor blister located centrally between them. The upper tail is located on the centreline.
The tail arrangement also allows the air vehicle to be placed nose-up on the ground for vertical take-off. EMT says that the second-generation version has been flying since late 2003 and has demonstrated an endurance of more than 20min.
For the VTOL close-range requirement, EMT last year commenced development of its own ducted fan system designated FanCopter. The company says that several different configurations of this system have been explored, but a basic open-duct version has demonstrated flight in both outdoor and indoor conditions over recent months.
Airborne target
EMT's initial involvement in UAV development came in the mid-90s after a brief but unsuccessful period of attempting to set up a mini target drone product line as an extension of its successful airborne targets business.
In 1996 the company won a BWB competition to develop a short range tactical UAV for the German army. That competition saw EMT, which is based in Penzberg in far south-eastern Germany and employs around 70 staff, defeat at least seven other bidders for the right to negotiate a two year development contract. The specification called for a system with an all up weight of no more than 20kg (44lb), perform reconnaissance operations over a radius of 20nm (for at least 2h).
By 1999, the army was sufficiently impressed with the overall performance of the UAV - by then designated LunaX-2000 - that it placed orders for a system to be deployed for three months in support of its forces engaged in NATO-led operations in Kosovo. That system was delivered in March 2000 and deployed after just four weeks of operator training. Nearly four years on, the system remains a part of Germany's contribution to the Kosovo peacekeeping force with more than 700 recorded missions to date.
In 2001, EMT and the army negotiated another contract for the delivery of three production systems, each comprising 10 air vehicles. Two of those systems were assigned to German army mechanical brigades while the third was set up as a rapid deployment unit transported by Sikorsky CH-53G helicopter. The production Luna systems formally entered operational service in April last year, and the following month the rapid deployment system was sent to Afghanistan as part of army security units attached to the United Nations-led rebuilding mission. That system has since recorded more than 200 missions with no air vehicle losses, though the army acknowledges five "incidents".
EMT re-used a variety of Luna systems for its July 2000 win of the army's requirement for a two man short range tactical UAV system designated Aladin. As with Luna, EMT found itself supporting a fast-track fielding of this air vehicle with six production systems ordered by the BWB in July 2002 for deployment to Afghanistan.
Those Aladin systems entered operational service with the German Army in April 2003 and were deployed to Afghanistan the following month. The Germany army says that it had experienced five Aladin crashes up until February this year due to problems causedby heat, dust intrusion, and wind shear in the high altitude operational environment. An enhancement programme was launched earlier this year with a more capable "pre-series production" version now under construction based on those operational lessons.
The army's long-running KZO artillery reconnaissance UAV system is currently transitioning into full scale production. Prime contractor Rheinmetall flew thefirst operational configuration version on 13-14 March while the delivery of the first operational system is to occur by December. The remaining five systems, each comprising 10 air vehicles, two new generation ground control stations, two launcher vehicles and two communications vehicles, will be delivered at six monthly intervals out to mid-2007.
Naval support
Despite the long lead times and periodic controversy surrounding the German acquisition, Rheinmetall says that it is actively exploring growth options for the system, These include development of a shipborne data terminal which would allow ground-launched and recovered army UAVs to support naval operations in littoral waters. Another option being explored is the fitting of additional data links to the air vehicle to feed hand-held remote viewing terminals carried by soldiers in the battlefield or be fitted into other platforms, including army helicopters.
Work is also being carried out on a miniaturised mobile ground station that would allow complete control of the air vehicle from a small 4x4 vehicle. The current KZO ground station - which has undergone extensive redevelopment over the past two years to meet revised army requirements - is container mounted on a 5t truck.
The combat version of KZO, designated Taifun, continues to undergo development despite extensive re-evaluation of that requirement over the past decade. Conceived as an anti-armour weapon with a large explosive payload integrated into the UAV airframe and an active microwave seeker, the system was originally intended to counter the threat of Russian tank attacks into Western Europe.
Rheinmetall and the BWB last August negotiated the halting of the existing contract to enable a new research and development programme to be undertaken to enhance the seeker head to provide man in the loop capability. This will see a pencil beam infra-red sensor slaved to the microwave seeker with this expected to be completed by mid-2005, followed by system demonstrations running until the end of 2006. Troop trials will take place in 2007 and depending outcome, serial production would start in 2008 for an initial operational service target of 2009.
PETER LA FRANCHI / BREMEN, PENZBERG, ULM AND FREIDRICHSHAFEN
Source: Flight International
