Where is Australia's UAV strategy headed? A roadmap and a new defence department UAV office should lay down directions for the military and industry
Australia is to establish of a unmanned air vehicle office to co-ordinate its entire spectrum of defence UAV activities. The Australian Defence Organisation's new office will support increased national co-ordination of unmanned systems-related research and development through a new technology strategy group and a UAV R&D plan. This is expected to have a major impact on future research activities of Australia's Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO) as well as shape Australian academic and industrial research priorities in the UAV sector. An Australian UAV ‘virtual' battlelab will also be established within DSTO.
The co-ordination arrangements will form the centrepiece of a new version of the Australian Defence Organisation's "defence UAV roadmap", now in the final stages of preparation. The concept of a co-ordination office has been under exploration for at least six months. "Effective and proactive management and co-ordination of UAV expertise, policy development and operation and support activities is required to fully realise the potential benefits of UAVs", says the last publicly released version of the roadmap, dated June 2004 but only recently circulated.
Australia operates a ‘two-track' approach to co-ordination and development of its unmanned systems sector. The defence UAV roadmap was first issued in April last year, and intended to be updated biennially, but release of the third edition is now imminent. A separate national industrial initiative was launched in March 2004 to co-ordinate development of Australian aerospace and information-technology capabilities relevant to the global UAV market, with particular emphasis on the civil sector. While both tracks focus on development of industry capabilities relevant to the UAV sector, the defence roadmap is recognised as the dominant policy influence.
The Australian national industrial initiative is co-ordinated by the Australian Federal Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR) and is focused on development of a third-generation UAV technology demonstrator based around an air vehicle in the 100-150kg (220-330lb) class. The initiative has been heavily influenced by the perceived success of the DITR-sponsored development of an Australian automotive industry "concept car" as a tool for opening up new export opportunities for companies in that sector.
Head of the UAV initiative is Aerosonde chairman Peter Smith. Other participants include BAE Systems Australia, Codarra Advanced Systems, CAE Australia, the Australian Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation and Queensland University of Technology. The initial design phase for the new UAV was completed late in 2004 with development planned to be completed in 2007, provided industry and government funding can be secured.
Fragmented
The June 2004 second version of the defence roadmap, meanwhile, warns that "research and development in UAV-related technologies for the Australian Defence Organisation is somewhat fragmented, and undertaken in the absence of clear strategic direction or co-ordination". No methodology has been developed to plan, prioritise and co-ordinate R&D in technology areas related to UAVs, it says, adding: "Australia has world leading capabilities in some areas, and the Australian Defence Organisation should position itself to fully take advantage of this". The roadmap says co-ordinated research and development, within the DSTO, industry and academia, and with overseas organisations, "is vital in developing technologies required to meet Australian-unique requirements and providing the Australian Defence Organisation with a capability".
The roadmap identifies networking and UAV swarming, mission automation, data processing and automatic target recognition, data fusion and communications technologies as strong candidates for future work under a new R&D planning framework.
The actual criteria for selection of technologies for research and development, the roadmap argues, should be guided by:
* the criticality of the technology to Australian defence needs;
* the maturity and proliferation of the technology for UAV usage;
* the sensitivity of the technology and level of likely access for defence uses;
* the need for Australian self-reliance in the technology;
* potential benefits from international collaboration;
* the impact of Australian-unique military requirements;
* current and planned Australian industry involvement in technology development;
* export and commercialisation potential emerging from the R&D activity.
DSTO already sponsors a number of UAV-based concept technology demonstration programmes, with these including the Jandu high-speed penetrating UAV; the Cybird UAV guidance system demonstrator, which is exploring the use of guidance algorithms derived from insects; and the Future UAV for Reconnaissance and Interdiction (Furi) autonomous guidance and control demonstrator.
Similar airframe
ADI is prime contractor for the Jandu and Cybird programmes, with both air vehicles based around similar airframe and powerplant types. The company is also proposing new concept demonstrator activities with DSTO based on evolving the Jandu airframe into an air-launched loitering missile or a high speed sea-skimming target, with funding decisions due this year.
BAE Systems Australia is prime contractor for the Furi programme, an evolution of the earlier Nervanna demonstration – a A$2.4 million (US$2 million) effort exploring the use of groups of co-operative autonomous UAVs to support close-in electronic-warfare jamming techniques and extended target-tracking operations.
One spin-off from the project has been the development of a series of ‘workhorse UAVs' by BAE. Originally known as the ‘Brumby', the vehicle is being evolved into a more robust air vehicle designated Kingfisher Mk 3.
The UAV roadmap flags an evolutionary process in engaging Australian industry in helping meet national defence needs. There is "limited benefit to Australia in encouraging industry to develop new UAV systems; there are a large number of existing systems from which to chose, and at present the Australian Defence Organisation does not have any unique requirements that necessitate the development of new systems."
"The requirement to conduct operations in Australia and the immediate region does, however, present specific environmental and operational considerations that industry will be key to addressing," the roadmap argues. These include the need to develop or modify software and hardware to accommodate differences in the environment and any new target types; and the need to integrate different payloads in response to defence requirements.
"In addition, industry support, particularly in the area of simulation applications and expertise, will be required for a range of UAV analyses, including cost-benefit analysis, survivability studies, interoperability etc," it says. This indicates a need "to develop an Australian industry engagement plan to provide a mechanism for ensuring early industry participation in UAV initiatives".
The June 2004 version of the roadmap bluntly describes the development of unmanned systems capability by Australia as "fragmented". It says a "holistic" approach is necessary to maximise benefits, particularly as part of Australia's development of net-centric warfare capabilities. As well as approaching UAV development more coherently, Australia needs to accelerate introduction of unmanned systems into operational service, the roadmap says.
"UAVS will drive the Australian Defence Organisation toward, and underpin, its critical shift to network-centric capabilities. Their presence, persistence and precision combine to provide an unprecedented opportunity for the Australian Defence Organisation to achieve its warfighting objectives across the spectrum of conflict," the roadmap says,
UAV adoption by the Australian military is a "disruptive innovation", the roadmap says, that will demand "innovative process re-engineering, beyond traditional technology insertion, in order to activate their full potential. Introduction of UAVs into the Australian order of battle as a fully joint and networked capability will require the deliberate co-evolution of new doctrine, processes, training and other elements of associated capability with a view to enabling UAVs as network nodes rather than as discrete platforms."
Commonality
The roadmap stresses the need for high levels of commonality in UAV systems across all services, driven by the relatively small size of the defence force. "As an organisation yet to field an operational UAV system, the Australian Defence Organisation has a unique opportunity to optimise commonality across UAV systems, sub-systems and standards through the development of strategies to proactively manage this opportunity," it says.
A four-tier UAV architecture is proposed for the Australian Defence Force, based on high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) platforms, unmanned combat air vehicles, multi-role medium-range UAVs, and mini-UAVs. Currently endorsed operational requirements comprise a maritime-surveillance and signals-intelligence capability based on HALE UAVs; and a tactical surveillance capability based on a medium-range platform. The latter – designated Joint Project 129 Phase 2 – is now a competition, with ADI , BAE and Boeing short-listed for a downselect scheduled for June.
ADI, an Australian subsidiary of Thales, is teamed with Elbit and offering the Israeli company's Hermes 180 and Hermes 450 air vehicles in two separate bids. Boeing is teamed with Israel Aircraft Industries and offering a derivative of its I-View UAV. BAE is teamed with AAI and offering its Shadow 200 in the same baseline configuration as now in service with the US Army.
The HALE requirement, designated Project Air 7000 Phase 1, is predicated on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk, but the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Mariner derivative of the Predator B-ER is also being considered.
The second edition of the roadmap says identified future defence UAV requirements still awaiting endorsement include a land-surveillance and communications-relay capability based on HALE UAVs; a land strike and suppression of enemy air-defence capability based on UCAVs; a shipborne maritime-surveillance capability; and a communications-relay capability based on medium-range UAVs.
Longer term medium-range UAV requirements include a payload delivery system for psychological warfare missions; a signals-intelligence and communications-intelligence capability; and airborne radar surveillance of tactical areas. Potential longer-term requirements for mini-UAVs are focused on meeting sub-tactical surveillance and reconnaissance. "Currently no identified requirement exists for mini-UAVs," the roadmap says. "However, the potential requirement for ISR capabilities in urban environments, and the need to provide sentry and force protection, may be satisfied through this class of UAV." -
* Co-ordinator of the Australian Defence UAV Roadmap, Dr Peter Maguire, is speaking at the AUVSI-Flight International Unmanned Systems Asia Pacific conference in Melbourne, on 10-11 March. See www.unmannedsystems.info
PETER LA FRANCHI / CANBERRA
Source: Flight International
