Two parallel invitations to tender (ITT) for the risk reduction phase of the Spectator unmanned air vehicle (UAV) requirement have been issued by the UK Ministry of Defence.
The two ITTs cover "potential programmes" for the supply of an aircraft to emulate a UAV and a radar to "provide numerical data of a realistically achievable performance" of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and a ground moving target indicator (G/MTI). Companies were required to register an interest by 7 January and to submit tenders by late February.
The programmes form part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) Spectator risk reduction work. DERA Malvern Spectator SAR/GMTI risk-reduction project manager Peter Thompson says the UK's Defence Procurement Agency (DPA)has not cleared funding for either programme. DERA will present its preferred choices to DPA at the end of March, after which a funding decision will be taken.
Racal will offer two SAR/MTI bids, one based on its podded SAR work (Flight International, 11-17 August, 1999) and another centred on work done by its Wells Research division on mini-modular radars.
Israeli radar specialist Elta was expected to bid. It has an SAR/MTI mounted in a pod for use with fighters and a similar UAV-dedicated system.
BAE Systems' radar business (formerly Marconi) has also bid. It has added SAR/GMTI capability to its Seaspray radar family.
As the air vehicle will be required to emulate a UAV, the winner could be a manned platform. Industry sources suggest the General Atomics Predator is a front runner, but the requirement for the airframe to be certificated in the UK and begin an eight-month flight test programme next January means a manned aircraft already in service in the UK is a more likely choice.
Spectator is a brigade-level asset with a 150km range which would provide target acquisition and recognition, with service entry planned for around 2008. Other roles will include electronic warfare, communications relay, nuclear, biological and chemical agent detection and remote minefield detection. The MoD is also considering a technology survey as part of the risk reduction.
Source: Flight International
