To Counter China, India Urged For Predator XP and Armed Avenger UAV’s to U.S.

With an objective to bolster its arsenal amid recurring incidents of incursions by Chinese troops, India has sought the latest versions of unmanned aerial vehicles, both the armed and surveillance ones from US. Industry sources familiar with New Delhi’s interest and ongoing talks between the two governments, said that India is looking for about 100 such drones worth USD $2 billion.

Predator XP UAV.

India had requested for the latest Avenger drones, which is basically an unmanned combat air vehicle, and is mainly being sought after with an eye on China. It has also sought Predator XP category which is a surveillance version for internal security issues and terrorist threats. However, while talks in this regard have accelerated in the past few months, the United States has not made any formal commitment or given a public indication pending India’s application to joining Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

Italy, which is upset with New Delhi’s treatment of its marines, appears to have currently blocked India becoming a member of MTCR. However, both Indian and US officials are confident that they would be able to get through the last hurdle in the next few months, thus making them possible to take the defence trade which would include armed drones to the next level. “Yes, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc is aware of India’s interest in Predator-series Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA),” Vivek Lall, chief executive of the US and International Strategic Development of General Atomics told PTI.

Predator-C Avenger-5 stealth capable UCAV, which one General Atomics Aeronautical Systems offering to Pentagon.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems produces Predator series of remotely piloted aircraft. “Due to US export laws, the US government has to approve the export of a Predator-series RPA to the Indian government. GA-ASI remains very encouraged by the recent India-US bilateral engagements at the highest levels and we are hopeful that we can play an important supporting role in these discussions,” he said.

“Predator-series RPA could provide a world-class Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability for India which would include both high-definition radar and Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) coverage along India’s borders,” Lall said in response to a question. Additionally, the RPA can perform humanitarian aid/disaster relief surveillance over both land and sea, said Lall, who had previously played a key role in US sale of high tech military assets to India during his stint at Boeing.

US DoD Being Requested To Rethink Electronic Warfare

In a world where long-range guided missiles and sophisticated radars are the norm, analysts and lawmakers are urging the Pentagon to rethink the way it operates in the electromagnetic spectrum to gain new advantages over near-peer competitors, such as Russia and China.

An E-6B Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System takes to the skies, Aug. 18, 2007.

Over the past few decades, competitors’ advancements in sensor and missile technology have forced the US military to operate farther and farther away from its intended targets, according to a report released this week by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA). The Pentagon must shift toward using low-power countermeasures to defeat enemy sensors, as well as low-power sensors and communications.

During a Dec. 2 event on Capitol Hill to release the report, the report's co-authors and CSBA senior fellows Mark Gunzinger and Bryan Clark said the military must invest in technology to avoid detection and confuse enemy air defenses — for instance stealth aircraft, electronic jammers and decoys. Cheap, expendable unmanned vehicles, in the air or undersea, are crucial to this approach, they said.

Much of this technology is already fielded, but the Pentagon is not using it to its full potential, Clark stressed. Advancements like electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, the Navy’s Next-Generation Jammer and the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program — an upgrade of the SLQ-32 shipboard electronic warfare (EW) system — are a good start. But the military could do much more with these systems, Clark said.

“So these new systems are coming out with these new technologies, but they are not necessarily being used in a way that exploits those new technologies — they are going to be used in a way that simply mimics how the predecessor system was used,” Clark said. “New operational concepts are necessary to leverage the technologies we’re already fielding.”

The Pentagon must invest in improving networking between the individual systems, agility in frequency and power, multi-functionality and miniaturization, Clark said. For example, operators could take a sophisticated jammer, currently deployed on an existing aircraft, and install it on a low-cost, expendable UAV that could penetrate farther into enemy territory.

Gunzinger blamed a “stove-piped” acquisition process, both within and between the armed services, for slowing progress in developing new concepts of operations in electronic warfare.

“That kind of a structure doesn’t really facilitate — it’s not conducive to the development of multifunction capabilities, such as an array that can act as a radar or a jammer or [do] cyber, and perhaps other missions, all in one package,” Gunzinger said. “Who is going to be the guru who is the champion for developing a new capability across the DoD?”

Reps. Randy Forbes, R-Va., Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and Jim Langevin, D-R.I., also spoke at the event.

One major program the Pentagon could rethink is the Air Force’s much-delayed effort to recapitalize its Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) fleet, Gunzinger told Defense News before to the official report release. In a highly networked, contested environment, it does not make sense to use a non-stealthy business jet for battlefield management, he said.

Although the Air Force has used JSTARS to great effect in the Middle East over the past few decades, the operational concept of the plane is “already untenable,” Clark said.

“JSTARS is getting flown really hard in places like the Middle East where there’s no threat, and even that is starting to be constrained because there’s places that it can’t fly anymore because of the air threat in Syria and from Iran and the air threat from Russia,” Clark said.

Some offices in the Pentagon are examining whether the military needs a dedicated, manned aircraft to conduct both battle management and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), Gunzinger said. US forces might do better to disaggregate the ISR and battle management missions, he suggested. UAVs can conduct ISR undetected in enemy territory by using passive or low-power sensors, while ground or sea forces can do battle management from outside the immediate engagement area.

“When you start to think that the air environment in particular is becoming increasingly contested, certainly in the Pacific, certainly in Europe, certainly in the Persian Gulf region … you have to ask, well, how are you going to use this in the future in those environments, and is it worth it, frankly?” Gunzinger said.

JSTARS is particularly vulnerable to proliferating threats like Russia’s S-400 air defense system that can easily detect the aircraft’s high-power radar, Clark said.

Gunzinger and Clark’s comments on JSTARS echo concerns voiced recently by outgoing Air Force acquisition chief William LaPlante. The Pentagon may scrap the existing recapitalization program and go back to the drawing board, LaPlante said Nov. 24.

“There’s still debate in the building, outside the Air Force, on whether you do this or you do other things,” he said, explaining that some people want to trade JSTARS for unmanned platforms like Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk remotely piloted surveillance aircraft.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh framed the debate over JSTARS differently, arguing that combatant commanders want the capability, but budget reality may force the Pentagon to postpone the program.

“The question is where does it fit in the priorities of things? To the combatant commanders it’s high on the priority list, but so are a lot of other things,” Welsh said Dec. 1 at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council. “If there are people in the department that think there’s a different way to provide this capability for less money, we should have a debate about that.”

The Air Force will continue to “push hard” to fund the JSTARS recapitalization program in the fiscal 2017 budget, but nothing is certain, Welsh said.

UAE Buys 2 French Surveillance Satellites

The United Arab Emirates ordered two military surveillance satellites from France on Monday in a deal worth more than 700 million euros (US $913.2 million).

The Falcon Eye deal, signed in Abu Dhabi over competition from Lockheed Martin of the United States, includes the supply and launch of two high-resolution Helios surveillance satellites, a control station and training for 20 UAE engineers.

The two satellites will be built by Astrium, the space division of EADS, and Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between French Thales and Italian Finmeccanica.

They share in half the contract of “a little over 700 million euros,” according to Astrium’s chief executive officer, Francois Auque.

The deal comes with an annex agreement between the two governments stating that French military personnel will help their Emirati counterparts in interpreting images and sharing received intelligence, said a member of the team of French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

1st Boeing P-8I Maritie Patrol Aircraft Arrives In India

Indian Navy to receive 2 more P-8Is by end of 2013  

SEATTLE, May 15, 2013 – The first Boeing [NYSE: BA] P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft arrived today, on schedule, at India Naval Station Rajali. The P-8I is one of eight aircraft Boeing is building for India as part of a contract awarded in 2009.   

“Boeing is proud to deliver this advanced aircraft to meet the Indian Navy’s unique maritime patrol requirements,” said Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft. “The P-8I team, which includes our customer and Indian suppliers, has done a fantastic job working together, and we’re on track to deliver the next two P-8I aircraft later this year."

Based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane, the P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy. The P-8I incorporates not only India-unique design features, but also India-built subsystems that are tailored to the country’s maritime patrol requirements.

Boeing P-8A Poseidon_Long-range Anti-submarine Aarfare, Anti-surface Warfare, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft

The P-8A Poseidon is a long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. It possesses an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the future battle space. Capable of broad-area maritime, and littoral operations, the P-8A will influence how the U.S. Navy's maritime patrol and reconnaissance forces train, operate and deploy.

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide

The P-8A Poseidon is a true multi-mission platform. On board P-8A, all sensors contribute to a single fused tactical situation display, which is then shared over both military standard and internet protocol data links, allowing for seamless delivery of information amongst U.S. and coalition forces. As an armed platform, P-8A independently closes the kill chain, while simultaneously providing data to everyone on the network.

In-line Production

The P-8A is the latest military derivative aircraft to benefit from a culture of technical innovation and the One Boeing approach to manufacturing. The P-8A is a derivative of the highly successful and reliable Next-Generation 737. The P-8A has the fuselage of a 737-800 and the wings of a 737-900. Modifications to the baseline commercial aircraft are incorporated into the aircraft in-line. In the past, commercial aircraft were sent to modification centers where they were taken apart and rebuilt to meet military specifications. The P-8A is Boeing's first military derivative aircraft to incorporate structural modifications to the aircraft as it moves through the commercial line.

Customers

Boeing's team is developing the P-8A Poseidon for the U.S. Navy, which plans to purchase 117 aircraft. As part of the flight test program, the Navy will have three P-8As at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., in 2010. Initial operational capability is scheduled for 2013. In January 2009 Boeing was selected to provide eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft to the Indian navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8. Boeing believes there are numerous other opportunities for international sales to countries currently operating P-3s or similar maritime patrol aircraft. Interest has been expressed by many countries including Australia and Italy.

The Poseidon Industry Team

The P-8A is being developed by a Boeing-led team that consists of CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, GE Aviation and Spirit AeroSystems.

An industry leader in large-scale systems integration, Boeing provides unrivaled expertise in customizing military and commercial products for maritime forces. Boeing is completing final assembly of the P-8A in Renton, Wash., taking advantage of the proven efficiencies, manufacturing processes and performance of the existing Next-Generation 737 production system.

CFM International supplies the CFM56-7 engine that powers the P-8A.

Northrop Grumman provides the directional infrared countermeasures system and the electronic support measures system.

Raytheon provides the upgraded AN/APY-10 maritime surveillance radar and signals intelligence solutions.

GE Aviation supplies flight-management and stores-management systems.

Spirit AeroSystems builds the 737 aircraft's fuselage and airframe tail sections and struts.

Milestones

• Since the System Development and Demonstration contract was awarded to Boeing in 2004, the P-8A Poseidon program has been a model acquisition program.
• First flight -- 2009
• First flight test aircraft to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. -- 2010