PeterLaFranchi/CANBERRA
Australian acquisition of strategic unmanned air vehicles may raise the stakes in South-East Asia, but could help develop military transparency in the region if surveillance data is shared
A new study of how unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) might fit into the Australian Defence Force structure cautions that strategic systems such as the Global Hawk could draw political opposition from nations within South-East Asia.
The study, Virtual Air Power, warns that Australia must be highly sensitive to regional perceptions of the intended use of such high-level surveillance, particularly in view of previous reactions by South-East Asian nations, including Indonesia, to Australia's 1993 purchase of additional General Dynamics F-111G strike aircraft.
The study, however - prepared by the Royal Australian Air Force's Air Power Studies Centre - also says strategic UAV systems could become a powerful tool in developing regional military transparency, particularly if Australia is prepared to share data with its neighbours.
The study has been released as the Australian Department of Defence prepares for an intensive series of trials of the Teledyne Ryan Global Hawk long-endurance UAV over northern Australia during early 2001.
Defence minister John Moore announced at the end of February that Australia would contribute A$30 million ($18.7 million) to the Global Hawk development programme. The funding will support the Australian trials programme and secure a role for Australian defence scientists in developing the UAV's sensor payload to carry out maritime surveillance tasks.
The Australian Defence Force is about to announce the preferred bidder for its required short-term lease of a tactical UAV under Joint Project 129, for the development of an airborne surveillance system for its land forces.
Virtual Air Power says tactical UAVs are accepted as part of regional ground forces, with some systems in service or being developed by the defence forces of South Korea, Pakistan, India, Thailand and Singapore.
Capability shift
The acceptance of UAVs is largely due to the limited range, payload and endurance capabilities of other tactical systems, the study suggests. But the acceptance of UAVs with strategic applications "is a little more difficult to gauge".
"This is complicated for UAVs fitted with hardpoints [for carrying external stores] by the potential to utilise these for lethal payloads, thereby representing a system with capabilities similar to long-range cruise missiles."
The study says that the acquisition of any advanced-capability UAV by Australia, particularly UAVs "considered as offensive or intrusive systems", is likely to "attract some level of adverse reaction by other nations within the region." It adds: "For Australia, the costs of any reaction, which may range from negative public comment to weapons proliferation, must be squarely weighed against the perceived benefits of the system. The key to regional acceptance of any UAV acquisitions will invariably lie in the ability of the [Australian] Government to justify the capability in terms of the requirement for the defence of Australia.
"An increased emphasis on peacetime operations provides further justification for assets which provide a continuous capability in contributing to the protection of Australian national interests. Regional acceptance of Australia's ownership of UAV technology will also largely depend on the understanding and experiences other nations have of the operational capabilities of such platforms. This can be achieved through exposure to UAV operations and their products."
Opportunities for such exposure, the study says, could include combined exercises, peacekeeping activities, and participation in non-defence-related surveillance such as fisheries monitoring. Direct military surveillance activities could also be used to assist regional acceptance of strategic UAV capabilities.
"Information collected from UAV surveillance operations in international airspace could be provided [to regional nations] to enhance transparency and contribute to regional security," says the study. It points out that national sensitivities to any form of military surveillance could mean that "the greatest potential for this activity lies with the less intrusive forms of maritime surveillance".
RAAF P-3C maritime patrol aircraft already conduct missions in the northern Indian Ocean and the South China Sea as far north as the Spratly Islands, from Royal Malaysian Air Force bases under a long-standing arrangement known as Operation Gateway.
According to the study, "within predefined parameters, UAV operations could possibly complement the surveillance activities". But it also says manned aircraft "represent" the most flexible option for maritime surveillance roles.
The employment of UAVs in this role has been limited to date, says the study. Although their ability to operate electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar sensors enables them to detect most types of surface vessel, their limited payload and power capacity means they are not ideal for detecting and tracking submarines.
The study says manned aircraft "currently represent the most flexible [maritime surveillance platform]-and are likely to dominate Australian Defence Force surveillance operations in the medium term".
The maritime use of UAVs "is optimised where they are utilised as systems which are responsive to other surveillance systems, such as the Jindalee Operational Radar Network [JORN] and satellites, which act as 'trip wires' for activity", it states.
Peacekeeping role
The trip wire concept would also allow strategic UAVs to support air surveillance missions, says the study, particularly with slow-moving aircraft. One scenario outlined by the study envisages using Global Hawk-type platforms in conjunction with the JORN and the RAAF's planned airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to co-ordinate fighter operations against airborne and surface targets detected in Australian waters.
The employment of UAVs in peacekeeping roles, the study says, "will become more common after the success of the Predator system in Bosnia." It also notes that those same deployments showed Predator "to be significantly constrained by adverse weather conditions including moderate to heavy precipitation".
The study outlines peacekeeping scenarios for strategic UAVs operated by Australia. In one, a Global Hawk deployed from Darwin would be able to provide more than 20h on station over Cambodia, some 5,550km (3,000nm) away, before being required to return.
Similarly, a single Global Hawk, operating from RAAF Scherger on the tip of the Cape York peninsula, could deploy to Bougainville, New Guinea, in 3.3h and monitor the entire island in swathes of 275 x 90km for 26h. If three Global Hawks were used for this mission, the staggering of swathe intervals could see any point on the island revisited every 1h 40min.
Australian forces have been deployed to Bougainville to support the current peace process for over a year. In joint peacekeeping operations, says the study, efforts by Australia to ensure participating nations are familiar with advanced UAV systems could "even be extended to 'handing over control' of the platform for a given time and space".
According to the study, the future use of UAVs within the Australian Defence Force structure is likely to include both strategic and tactical roles, with all three services actively exploring possible applications.
But the study cautions that any Australian UAV purchase may have little in common with the approach taken by other nations because of significant differences in the operational environment. "The vast expanse of the [Australian] continent and the length of the coastline provide a daunting defence task, exacerbated by the sparse population of the region and its limited civil infrastructure.
"While UAV operations have proved extremely successful in the Middle East and Bosnia, their applicability to Australian conditions must be considered in the context of this operational environment. The use of tactical UAVs in central Europe and the Middle East is optimised for operations in this region given the proximity of national borders to defence positions and an emphasis by those nations for ongoing border patrols.
"Australia has no such land border with other nations. In addition, the use of UAVs in desert warfare and for traditional European land battles does not translate into a combat scenario on Australian soil. A land battle across the north of Australia could be fought over a much greater area than that of a battle in the Middle East."
The study points out that, although Israel may use tactical UAVs at brigade level, the operational concepts it applies call for an endurance capability of between four and five hours and a range of about 50km.
"In comparison, an Australian Army brigade may be required to cover an area of responsibility of over 300km. This fundamental difference in operating procedures between the two armies would likely result in the consideration of two entirely different systems for what could be defined as the same task."
Long endurance
Australia's need for greater range and endurance when performing continental surveillance tasks could see UAVs prove their worth when used with expeditionary forces.
The study says: "Proponents of UAVs could argue the case of long-endurance, long-range aircraft such as Global Hawk to conduct a range of surveillance tasks while offering the operational flexibility of deployment offshore but launched and controlled from the continent."
But it points out: "Manned aircraft with long range and endurance capabilities, such as JSTARS, P-3Cs and AEW&Cs-attract significant costs in terms of large operating crews. Large aircraft of this type are also less likely to be employed in high threat environments due to their high unit cost and large number of on-board operators.
"While dependent on particular assumptions for threat, range and other requirements, UAVs offer a competitive platform option for a number of Australian Defence Force roles. Their inclusion in the ADF capability considerations is therefore warranted."
Source: Flight International
