Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
THE US NAVY has launched the Joint Semi-Autonomous Air Weapon System (JSAAWS) project to consider uninhabited-combat-air-vehicle (UCAV) concepts, including an "air-arsenal ship" and a potential replacement for the McDonnell Douglas F-18E/F Super Hornet.
The heavily armed UCAV and next-generation pilotless strike aircraft could enter service in the 2015-20 timeframe, says Robert Schwartz, of the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, California.
The UCAVs would cost as little as $10 million for a baseline system, or as much as $50 million for a high-end system for air-to-air and air-to-surface strike missions. They would also perform high-risk tasks such as reconnaissance, close air support and suppression of enemy air-defences.
The UCAV could be between a quarter and half the size of an F-18. Schwartz does not envision vertical-take-off-and-landing UCAVs. "The vehicle we're thinking about is STOL [short take-off and landing]," he says.
The US Navy is considering using the F-18 as the basis of a proof-of-concept demonstrator which could lead to a first-generation operational UCAV. Schwartz says that the concept is an option which could show whether UCAVS can operate safely from aircraft carriers.
"We need operationally useful numbers of whatever would follow the F-18E/F in 2020-The challenge is more cultural and budgetary than technical, if you believe that UCAVs should be integral parts of the evolution in air warfare in the 21st century," Schwartz believes.
Source: Flight International