British Military Aviation And Updates
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Britain’s Royal Air Force chief says drone swarms ready to crack enemy defenses
The conundrum of overcoming enemy air defenses is currently on display in Ukraine, where Ukrainian and Russian air-defense capabilities are effectively canceling out the other side's air power arsenal.
www.defensenews.com
BAE Systems unveils new unmanned concepts at RIAT
BAE Systems has unveiled a pair of new unmanned air system concepts as it eyes an opportunity to produce such assets to form part of the UK's Future Combat Air System capability.
www.flightglobal.com
BAE Systems has unveiled a pair of new unmanned air system (UAS) concepts as it eyes an opportunity to produce such assets to form part of the UK’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS) capability.
On display at the chalet row entrance during the 15-17 July Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the designs are the result of concept studies conducted by the UK company.
Source: Craig Hoyle/FlightGlobal
With a 3.5t maximum take-off weight, UAS 2 would be an ’attritable’ asset
Sized as a ‘loyal wingman’-type airframe and with a maximum take-off weight of around 3.5t, the larger ‘UAS 2’ platform would carry 500kg (1,100lb) of weapons within internal bays, such as two MBDA Meteor air-to-air missiles or four MBDA Spear 3-series air-to-surface missiles.
The “attritable” concept would be capable of performing more than 100 sorties, BAE says, either substituting or augmenting manned assets. Operating performance would be around Mach 0.75 at up to 40,000ft, with a projected endurance of 5h.
Dubbed ‘UAS 1’, the smaller vehicle is aimed at performing tasks such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic- or ground-attack, with a 40kg (88lb) sensor or weapons payload. Deployed using a rail launcher, it could be equipped with a parachute recovery system if intended for reuse, and employed as a single vehicle or as part of a swarm.
With a 4h endurance, the design would fly at up to 30,000ft and M0.5.
Source: Craig Hoyle/FlightGlobal
Rail-launched UAS 1 concept could perform surveillance, strike or electronic attack tasks
Both systems would be containerised, and potentially also suitable for deployment from maritime platforms.
Simon Reeves, head of future systems at BAE Systems Air, says such assets will draw on artificial intelligence technologies, noting: “Autonomy will play a part in the force mix.”
BAE believes such a capability could be fielded much earlier than the 2035-plus period being targeted for a future manned combat aircraft via the UK’s Team Tempest endeavour.
“We know this is something that our customers want and need,” Reeves says of such a family of UAS. “We see a need much closer than the 2030s.”
BAE’s concept study work has been conducted outside of its involvement in the Team Tempest/FCAS industry grouping, which also includes Leonardo UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce.
The airframer has extensive experience in the development and testing of advanced unmanned systems, including types such as Herti, Mantis and Taranis, and via activities such as the UK’s Astraea airspace integration effort.
The emergence of its loyal wingman concept at RIAT came just weeks after the UK Ministry of Defence cancelled its Project Mosquito effort, which saw Spirit AeroSystems Belfast and Northrop Grumman researching the feasibility of producing a low-cost loyal wingman-type vehicle.
ASRAAM Block 6 enters service on Typhoon
ASRAAM Block 6 standard has new and updated sub-systems, built-in cooling and a new British-built seeker. As it uses no US-made components, it can be exported without ITAR restrictions.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk
This is now the most advanced IIR seeker on any AAM!
France, UK To Deliver Future Cruise Missile By 2030 | Aviation Week Network
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak committed to the advancement of the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) program.
aviationweek.com
British report describes purchase of E-7 Wedgetail early warning aircraft as "absolute madness
In 2021, the Royal Air Force [RAF] will withdraw its last four E-3D AWACS from service, thereby depriving itself of an early warning capability that is essential for the surveillance of British airspace. The plan was to replace these aircraft with five E-7 "Wedgetail", ordered from the American manufacturer Boeing... but from 2023.
However, the Strategic Defence Review published by London in March 2021 modified this plan, reducing the number of E-7 Wedgetail aircraft destined for the RAF to three. Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, then at the head of the RAF, half-heartedly criticised this decision at a parliamentary hearing, saying that he hoped the initial target would be "gradually" restored over the coming years...
In the meantime, while the Strategic Review is being updated, the House of Commons has just published a report [.pdf] in which it criticises the way in which the E-7 Wedgetail programme is being run, describing it as "absolute madness, not only in financial terms but also in operational terms".
The report notes that the savings to be generated by the reduction in the initial order are marginal. The five E-7 "Wedgetail" aircraft were expected to cost £2.1 billion, whereas the British Ministry of Defence [MoD] will have to spend £1.89 billion for just three examples. And this for contractual reasons.
The MoD has agreed to pay for five MESA [Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array] radars supplied by Northrop Grumman. And as this is the Wedgetail's main system, reducing the order by two units doesn't really change anything... Especially as the three aircraft on order are second-hand Boeing B737NGs to be converted by STS Aviation.
Furthermore, the initial operational capability [IOC] of the first Wedgetail will probably not be declared in 2023, as expected... but at best in 2024, or even 2025. This is due to a delay in contract negotiations between Defence Equipment & Support [DE&S] and Boeing.
"DE&S is still negotiating an FBC [Full Business Case] and associated in-service support contract with Boeing, which should have been successfully finalised a long time ago," the parliamentary report laments.
And it points out that the current situation has been made more delicate by "the fact that the E-3 Sentries, which the Wedgetails are intended to replace, were withdrawn from service shortly after the publication of the 2021 Strategic Review". This, the text continues, has "created a significant capability shortfall, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine".
In 2021, the Royal Air Force [RAF] will withdraw its last four E-3D AWACS from service, thereby depriving itself of an early warning capability that is essential for the surveillance of British airspace. The plan was to replace these aircraft with five E-7 "Wedgetail", ordered from the American manufacturer Boeing... but from 2023.
However, the Strategic Defence Review published by London in March 2021 modified this plan, reducing the number of E-7 Wedgetail aircraft destined for the RAF to three. Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, then at the head of the RAF, half-heartedly criticised this decision at a parliamentary hearing, saying that he hoped the initial target would be "gradually" restored over the coming years...
In the meantime, while the Strategic Review is being updated, the House of Commons has just published a report [.pdf] in which it criticises the way in which the E-7 Wedgetail programme is being run, describing it as "absolute madness, not only in financial terms but also in operational terms".
The report notes that the savings to be generated by the reduction in the initial order are marginal. The five E-7 "Wedgetail" aircraft were expected to cost £2.1 billion, whereas the British Ministry of Defence [MoD] will have to spend £1.89 billion for just three examples. And this for contractual reasons.
The MoD has agreed to pay for five MESA [Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array] radars supplied by Northrop Grumman. And as this is the Wedgetail's main system, reducing the order by two units doesn't really change anything... Especially as the three aircraft on order are second-hand Boeing B737NGs to be converted by STS Aviation.
Furthermore, the initial operational capability [IOC] of the first Wedgetail will probably not be declared in 2023, as expected... but at best in 2024, or even 2025. This is due to a delay in contract negotiations between Defence Equipment & Support [DE&S] and Boeing.
"DE&S is still negotiating an FBC [Full Business Case] and associated in-service support contract with Boeing, which should have been successfully finalised a long time ago," the parliamentary report laments.
And it points out that the current situation has been made more delicate by "the fact that the E-3 Sentries, which the Wedgetails are intended to replace, were withdrawn from service shortly after the publication of the 2021 Strategic Review". This, the text continues, has "created a significant capability shortfall, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine".
BAE Systems Advances Uncrewed Collaborative Platform Design | Aviation Week Network
BAE Systems has lifted the lid on a new configuration for its attritable collaborative platform at World Defense Show in Riyadh.
aviationweek.com
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