PAUL LEWIS / TUCSON
Raytheon studying use of weapons that may lead to wide-range of missions for UAVs
The USA is planning to demonstrate use of the Raytheon Stinger air-to-air missile (AAM) on the General Atomics RQ-1A Predator in a move that may open the door to expanded missions and capabilities for armed unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The manufacturer is also looking to equip smaller UAVs with its Javelin anti-armour missile and laser guided Hydra rockets.
Arming UAVs with AAMs presents major challenges, not least in correctly identifying the target and accurately cueing the missile. "We've traditionally had a man in the loop to confirm a target. If the fidelity of information coming through the sensor on the UAV is sufficient to justify an engagement then you could let the missile go," says Steve Ignat, director business development, land warfare.
Stinger would need to interface with Predator's infrared sensor to cue the missile's seeker, correlate the target image and lock on. "All the missile needs is to be cued to a certain angle for the seeker to lock up. The key is confirming the lock and confirming the lock-up is on the right target. That could be done through the UAV's datalink," says Ignat.
Predator should be capable of carrying up to four Stingers. Each launcher carrying two missiles weighs 50kg (112lb), or roughly the equivalent of one of the two Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles currently carried on the UAV. Helicopters could also be armed with Stinger to deal with the UAV threat. The US Army's Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and special operations Sikorsky MH-60L/Ks are the only machines equipped with Stinger, although it has been test fired from the Boeing Apache and is planned to arm Germany's Eurocopter Tiger.
Raytheon interest in armed UAVs extends beyond Stinger and Predator to include fitting the lightweight fire-and-forget Javelin and laser-guided 70mm (2.75in) Hydra rockets to smaller UAVs, such as the AAI Shadow.
"We're looking at a whole range of tactical UAVs. If you've a designator or forward-looking infrared sensor that can drive a seeker or a fire-and-forget solution, we can put any of these fire-and-forget missiles on there," says Ignat.
Source: Flight International
