In 2005, Sweden will test a system designed to turn the battlefield into a cohesive whole
Stewart Penney / Linköping
Information dominance will be paramount in future conflicts. Which side has the best intelligence will be one element, but equally important will be the networking of the data from every sensor on the battlefield - whether they are attached to an infantry soldier, unmanned platforms or warships and aircraft. Providing a combined picture to commanders and those in the field will mean hard-to-attack targets are more likely to be destroyed and collateral damage less likely.
"Battlespace management" or "net-centric" warfare in its simplest form will allow the sensors from several platforms to be linked together into a single picture. The US Navy's Co-operative Engagement programme links aircraft and warship sensors to form a combined picture and will, for instance, allow any element to feed update data to a missile in-flight.
Net-centric warfare provides the joint approach to warfare, says Saab Aerospace systems engineer Andreas Ladell. The air force, army and navy must co-operate to achieve the maximum return from their limited resources.
More efficient forces are also cheaper to maintain. Saab's NetDefence is a web-based network linking the entire fighting force. Internet protocols will allow all elements to be connected and accessed at any time using secure links. Progressing side-by-side with NetDefence's creation is the continuous development of the Saab/BAE Systems JAS39 for the Swedish air force and the export Gripen for international customers. But NetDefence is not simply a "Sweden only" programme, Ladell says, adding that Saab is seeking to develop "products that are exportable".
The JAS39 will be at the centre of the defence network; the air force's combat element will comprise eight squadrons of the multirole fighter within four wings. Of the 204 JAS39s on order, around 100 have been delivered while the first export Gripen, a two-seater for South Africa, will be handed over in 2004. South Africa has an order for nine two-seaters and options for 19 single-seat fighters. Production at Saab's Linköping factory with the current orders will continue until 2012.
Some initial improvements are already underway and being incorporated into Sweden's Batch 3 JAS39, which will be delivered between 2002 and 2007.
These aircraft have much of the enhanced capability of the export Gripen, including colour multifunction displays (MFDs), international standard radios and identification friend-or-foe, in-flight refuelling and flight instrumentation in imperial units.
Some of these capabilities are demanded by the United Nations and NATO as a minimum standard to take part in coalition operations. Export Gripens also have an onboard oxygen generation system, NATO-standard weapons pylons and worldwide environmental clearance.
Development plan
Saab/BAE, the Swedish defence materiel administration (FMV) and the air force have developed the Gripen System Development Plan - a document that outlines the fighter's development for Sweden and the international market for 2010, says Saab/BAE Gripen marketing executive Tony Brown. The document covers three principal areas: operational effectiveness, survivability, and information superiority. Technologies will be "plugged in" as they become available.
These include improved electronic warfare systems, sensors, weapons and man-machine interface (MMI) as well as extended range/endurance. Most of the planned changes will be available by 2010 and all are in some stage of development, some as technology demonstrators. Ericsson is developing an active electronically scanned array radar, with an increased detection range and volume as well as improved tracking performance and greater resistance to jamming. It will also have terrain avoidance/following capabilities and a mapping mode.
An infrared search and track (IRST) system, funded by the Swedish air force, will provide long-range passive multiple target search and track. A prototype is now flying. IRST could be used as a forward looking infrared (FLIR) with the image displayed on the wide-angle head-up display (HUD), or it could be used as a steerable FLIR integrated with a helmet-mounted display. Target identification will also be possible with IRST information provided on an MFD or helmet display.
Saab/BAE is working to provide a range of weapons integrated as standard with the export Gripen. The Swedish air force has selected the multinational, BGT-led, IRIS-T as the JAS39 standard dogfight missile while the MBDA-led Meteor will be the beyond visual range air-to-air missile in the Swedish inventory (Saab is a member of both consortia). In Swedish service, the aircraft is already integrated with the Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM medium range missile and the same company's AIM-9 Sidewinder.
JAS39s are armed with the Saab RBS15 anti-ship missile and Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick and will be integrated with the LFK/Saab KEPD350 stand-off weapon. Planned air-to-surface weapons include the US Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), and the extended range JDAM-ER; the Raytheon AGM-154 JSOW stand-off weapon, while MBDA's anti-armour Brimstone weapon and anti-radiation missiles such as the Raytheon AGM-88 HARM and, if it is developed, the BGT Armiger will also be integrated. Saab is expected to announce at the Paris air show a deal with Rafael to offer the Israeli company's weapons on the Gripen.
As technology matures the electronic warfare system will be upgraded with a laser warning system and missile approach warner, which could be a dual-mode system using ultraviolet and infrared sensors, depending on how quickly the technology develops, says Brown. The new AESA array is also likely to have an EW function, he adds, noting that the large receiver and transmitter could be used to detect and then jam enemy radars. Saab/BAE is also considering towed decoys and is studying their positioning, while an external jamming pod would provide greater "offensive" capabilities than the fighter's internal suite, says Brown.
Gripen has often been linked with a new or upgraded engine, which, says Brown, continues to be a longer term possibility. Range and endurance could be improved by using conformal fuel tanks or incorporating a fuselage plug in the aircraft. The latter would be the same length as the two-seater, but the rear cockpit area would be a fuel tank.
The FMV funded a simulator study of the benefits of a next generation infrared guided, short-range air-to-air missile (the IRIS-T), a helmet-mounted display and thrust vector control. The modified Gripen was tested against aircraft with and without thrust vectoring and the trials revealed that a helmet display combined with a new missile improves the chances of a kill, with thrust vectoring often leading to a one-to-one exchange ratio.
Increasing the engine power made limited difference, says Torsten Öhman, Saab director of operational analysis and systems analysis. The ability to target an aircraft that is not in front of the nose with an off-boresight missile engagement, however, produced a significant improvement.
The simulated aircraft was equipped with an uprated version of the JAS39 Gripen's 18,100lb (80.5kN) Volvo RM12 (developed from the General Electric F404) as well as the same engine with thrust vectoring. Although the technology has not produced significant manoeuvrability benefits, it is known to provide improved cruise performance, by eliminating trim drag, and allows the fin to be reduced in area or removed.
Engine options
Saab's flight control system specialists continue to study the technology because of these advantages, says Öhman. Engine options include an uprated RM12, the GE F414 and the Eurojet EJ200. A further powerplant change, which could be introduced with the standard RM12, is a faceted, low-observable nozzle which would reduce the fighter's radar cross-section (RCS). Saab has always stressed the low RCS provided by the JAS39's diminutive size.
The Swedish air force's move away from its Base 90 concept of large, high manpower bases to the Base Battalion 04 plan means that JAS39, and also the export Gripen, will be improved by including a new navigation system (NINS) that will eliminate the need for ground-based navigation aids, says Saab Gripen chief test pilot Ola Rignell.
NINS combines inertial and GPS satellite navigation with a terrain database working with the radar altimeter to improve navigational accuracy and provide terrain avoidance. Part of the system will be a new instrument landing system - NILS. Any 800m (2,600ft) roadstrip can be used as an all-weather airfield, without the need for ground crews to set up and man tactical instrument landing systems, says Rignell. The system is also compatible with commercial airports. NILS takes data from the terrain database and navigation system to guide the fighter to a landing in a similar way to ILS but without external aids.
Flight tests of a helmet-mounted display started in January as part of integrating the Thales Optronics/Cumulus/Kentron Guardian helmet with the Gripen for South Africa. The helmet system will also be integrated with the IRIS-T for the FMV. It provides flight reference information and weapons data, the latter including the ability to aim the missile off-boresight.
Saab/BAE is considering expanding the capability to a binocular helmet, Brown says, although it has not been decided whether this should have an integrated night vision system (such as the Eurofighter system) or if FLIR images from the IRST should be projected on to the helmet visor.
Flight simulators
MMI improvements are first tested on desktop computers before the systems are fitted in the development flight simulators at Linköping, says Saab/BAE technical sales manager Daniel Boestad. The simulator is equipped with the new Ericcson-Saab Avionics colour displays, which will equip export Gripens and Batch 3 JAS39 for the Swedish air force. Three 150 x 200mm (6 x 8in) MFDs replace an equal number of 130 x 150mm monochrome displays while a new upfront control panel moves the data keypad/display to below the HUD.
A development aircraft is due to start flying with the colour displays before July. Other flight tests of improved MMI equipment will in future be performed in a converted Saab Sk60 side-by-side trainer, with one half of the cockpit modified to accept the new systems. Boestad adds that the FMV-funded programme uses off-the-shelf computers in the aircraft, which is due to make its first flight in August. Boestad says the aircraft will be used as part of the tests of a binocular, larger field-of-view, helmet and for direct voice input (DVI).
The aircraft will also be fitted for three-dimensional audio, which, for instance, allows the output from separate radio channels to appear as if they are coming from different parts of the cockpit. Boestad says DVI will initially be used for systems management such as changing radio channel or requesting fuel state, items that are not available with the top layer of commands controlled through the hands-on-throttle-and-stick system. Voice output is already used to inform the pilot of aircraft status and a wingman's activities. For instance, the aircraft will tell the pilot when a wingman has launched a missile.
Typically, radar and IRST data are shown on the right hand display and aircraft and systems data on the left-hand unit. On the middle MFD will be the tactical display - a "god's eye view" of the battle - a fused image of radar and IRST information coupled with similar information from wingmen and the ground-based fighter controller passed to the fighter via its datalink.
Öhman says navigation waypoints and target data - as well as EW information - can also be displayed on the tactical picture, which has automatic and manual declutter modes. As NetDefence develops, the god's eye view will display a greater depth of information from land and naval forces as well as other fighters.
Display information
Öhman says simulator evaluations have shown that the colour makes it easier for the pilot to absorb the display information and improves categorisation of threats. For instance, although all enemy fighters may be given the same symbol, this can change colour as it becomes within range of the JAS39's missiles, or the Gripen falls within range of the enemy aircraft's weapons.
Datalinks are central to any electronic battlespace; they are the key to passing information between the players and central command. The JAS39 Gripen datalink allows the flight leader to pass orders to other aircraft, setting priorities and distributing targets while the wingmen can pass information back to the flight leader. Aircraft and weapons status is automatically sent to all flight members while the ground-based fighter controller is also datalinked into the package.
Öhman says the fighter's datalink will not need developing until post-2010 as it already provides the necessary capabilities for the initial stages of the NetDefence concept. The datalink has already transmitted sensor images, from onboard systems and missiles during exercises.
NATO compatibility
Links into the army and navy are planned, and the integration of NATO's Link 16 has been studied for the Czech Republic and other European nations. NATO compatibility has been demonstrated during exercises with Swedish JAS39s operating with UK Royal Air Force Boeing Sentry AEW1 Airborne Warning And Command Systems.
Beyond 2010, the datalink will be modified. By 2020, any player in the network should be able to control any sensor. Other changes will include further MMI improvments. Ladell suggests this would include changing symbology so it is easier to tell, for instance, whether a target is seen by a wingman's or a ship's sensor.
The datalink also provides better situation awareness, Ladell says, and as it is an automatic real-time system "there is almost no pilot administration," which allows them to concentrate on fighting the battle rather than controlling the aircraft. In future, he says, the datalink will be an integral part of the net-centric battlefield and a developed two-seater, the JAS39D, could be used as an on-site battle manager.
With the volume of information available to the flight leader it will be advantageous to have an airborne tactician able to concentrate solely on controlling the battle and communicating with land and sea commanders. The two-seater could also be used to suppress, or destroy, enemy air defences as well as an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) controller.
In Batch 3, 14 aircraft will be two-seaters, equipped with the colour displays and other improvements. Rignell says these will probably be interchangeable between trainers and combat two-seaters - the differences between the 'variants' resting within the software and altered at the flick of a switch.
As part of its NetDefence development proposals Saab is building a simulator that will run for the first time in mid-June. It will be used to evaluate today's systems and new technologies as part of a net-centric system. It will also contribute to operational requirements and help develop operational analysis, including the mix of JAS39 with high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), UCAVs and unmanned reconnaissance air vehicles (URAVs).
Limited funding
Within the concept studies, unmanned platforms can simply be sensor carriers or sensor and weapons carriers. Ladell says Saab is "playing the options"; it has received limited FMV UAV funding, but is using company money for such work.
HALE UAVs can remain on station for extended periods gathering surveillance data and potential target locations. The information can be fed to JAS39s, UCAVs or a mixed UCAV/JAS39 force. Having attacked a target, the JAS39 could leave behind a URAV to conduct battle damage assessment. Flight trials using a JAS39 to deploy UAVs have taken place
Net-centric warfare provides jointness, says Ladell, as the air force must communicate with the army and navy. Saab has received some study money and is discussing with the FMV funding for the demonstration and a more limited exercise planned for next year. Ericsson is also participating in the industry team. Key aims are to demonstrate the network of many sensors in the air, on the sea and ground, and to prove network security.
Ladell says the 2005 demonstration is likely to centre on an air/sea exercise on the Island of Gottland off Sweden's east coast and involve air force, army and navy assets. It will aim to demonstrate data sharing between systems and present it at "decision stations", essentially the joint headquarters.
Initially the decision station will be a series of large two-dimensional displays that "we are building now so we are using available technologies," he says. Developed decision stations could include three-dimensional immersive reality tables displaying all elements - friend-or-foe - relative to other players.
Saab is proposing the use of emerging technologies once they have matured, rather than developing its own systems. "We are an integrator," says Ladell. Technologies that will be at the heart of the next generation (G3) of mobile telephones could provide the basis for some of the NetDefence capabilities." Leading mobile telephone providers include Ericsson, a Saab sister company within the Investor group, and Finland's Nokia.
The 2005 demonstration is likely to include UAVs, says Ladell, although it has not been determined how many or what type will participate. The Swedish air force's Saab/Ericsson Erieye airborne early warning aircraft is also likely to participate.
NetDefence will be tested in 2005 by Saab, the FMV and the Swedish air force. Using emerging technologies will promote cost-effective development and ease the future upgrade path. NetDefence, Ladell says, is a way to "rebuild the armed forces as more efficient structures", its aim "to provide more capability for less money and with less equipment".
Source: Flight International
