Israel Aircraft Industries' (IAI) Malat unmanned air vehicle division has 25 years of operational battlefield experience with unmanned platforms, says David Schwartz, deputy general manager Malat programmes. The company's UAVs have flown more than 140,000h, he adds. The mainstays of the company's range are the Searcher tactical UAV (TUAV) and medium-altitude, long-endurance Heron. But the company also produces the Hunter, sold to the US Army with TRW (now Northrop Grumman) and has worked with Switzerland's RUAG to develop the Ranger TUAV, while the Heron is also the basis of EADS's Eagle.
Eagle 1 development is progressing, with the first flight in May of the air vehicle fitted with satellite communications for beyond line-of-sight operation. The Eagle 1 also has an autoland system using differential GPS-satellite navigation as the primary sensor. Malat's in-service autoland system - on Swiss Rangers and Belgian Hunters - uses laser guidance, says Schwartz. Another change is the addition of a liquid anti-ice system, similar to that used on business jets such as the Raytheon Hawker 800.
Malat is continuing to develop its own products. The Searcher II has a new wing and engine, giving increased range and speed, as well as future growth potential. The Valiant is a Searcher with a diesel engine. The E-Hunter also has a new wing and a higher payload. Next year the turboprop-powered Heron 2 will arrive, with a wing span of 26m (85.3ft), around 9.5m greater than the existing wing.
Malat has also delivered a Heron as a maritime patrol platform to overseas customers, equipped with the EL/M-2022 maritime patrol radar developed by IAI sister group Elta. This is the first sale anywhere of maritime patrol radar for a UAV, says Peter Gollop, Elta programme manager MPA programmes. The Heron carries the same system as sold for business jets and helicopters, weighing 97kg (215lb), or around 65kg less than the dual-antenna EL/M-2022 fitted to Lockheed Martin P-3 Orions. Elta has a long history of supplying passive intelligence sensors for UAVs while it also offers the EL/M-2055 synthetic aperture/moving target indicator system for unmanned aircraft.
Baruch Reshef, Elta deputy director marketing and sales division, says the company had to fly a prototype before the customer would buy the system. He adds that Elta has a wide variety of technologies to tailor the system to a platform, including miniaturisation capability.
UAV airworthiness is becoming of increasing interest. Although there is no pilot to harm, and the air vehicles are cheap, the sensor packages are expensive. IAI suffered the same airworthiness issues 15-20 years ago, says a senior official, "but not any more - the feedback from customers is extremely good". The introduction of automatic take-offs and landings means no-one has to take control. "Before, we had to train operators, there was a lot of human resources in the operation of UAVs." Control is now via a map displayed on a laptop computer: "The operator is now an intelligence guy."
Schwartz says Malat has a major drive to improve UAV airworthiness as there has been a shift in attitudes towards safety. As well as de-icing systems, Malat is using civil-certificated engines, failsafe avionics and split controls.
Tactical and medium altitude, long-endurance UAVs reside in IAI's portfolio, with the next goal a mini-UAV for use at the platoon level. "You cannot afford $1 million UAVs at the platoon level, so you need real tactical UAVs. We know we need to go to the mini-UAV, at the 1-3kg level," says an official. Malat hints it has some developments in this area.
An IAI source suggests a result of the Iraq war is that UAVs will be considered as a replacement for attack helicopters. Before the conflict, UAVs were considered as possible replacements for fixed-wing manned assets, but "I think it was the last war for attack helicopters. They weren't a great success, mainly striking behind the frontline, and they received relatively high casualties. I think we will see the UAV concept of operations developing to meet army needs to replace attack helicopters." Such machines are expensive and have limited missions, suggests the official, adding that it is unlikely other armed forces, with different attack helicopter concepts of operations "will do any better". The official adds: "I think the US Army is clear that if it doesn't adapt its UAV concept of operations, it will not be relevant anymore. I think others will follow suit."
Eli Yitzhaki, Elbit vice-president business development and marketing UAVs and C4ISR, says wholly owned subsidiary Silver Arrow's family of UAVs share common systems. He says Silver Arrow is the Israeli defence forces' "prime supplier of new generation tactical UAVs, and only supplier of new UAVs in the last 10 years". The Hermes 450 tactical, long-endurance platform is has a 450kg maximum take-off weight, 150kg of which can be dual payloads. Electro-optical options include Elop's Compass stabilised platform with a combined day/night capability through a forward-looking infrared sensor, and black-and-white or colour TV, as well as an optional range finder. Alternatively 3-5µm or 8-12µm night infrared sensors are available, as is a daylight-only option. As a vertically integrated company Elbit also owns the powerplant supplier, UK-based UAV Engines. Yitzhaki says avionics are failsafe and based on a "satellite concept".
The smaller Hermes 180 "has the exact same avionics", says Oren. The UAV has a 195kg maximum take-off weight, of which 32kg is payload and 40kg fuel. The 180 can be launched from a catapult and land under a parachute or, like its larger brother, can use a short airstrip. Silver Arrow's largest UAV is the twin-engined Hermes 1500.
Source: Flight International
