Dracstic moves.

European attitude toward hard-driven sales and exports seems to muscle up as evidenced by France's order for the Drac system from Eads and Rheinmetall's alliance with Teledyne Brown across the Atlantic. Northrop Grumman, on the other hand, keeps expanding the capabilities of the Global Hawk while AAI ads a third US Army Shadow order to its scoreboard.

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Following a competitive evaluation that was completed in mid-2004, the French procurement agency DGA awarded the development and production contract of what it terms the Drac to Eads Defence and Communications Systems last January. Drac stands for Drone de Reconnaissance au Contact, which would literally translate as contact-range reconnaissance drone--in other words, very short range. The other contenders were Sagem with the Merlin, EMT Bertin with the Aladin and Thales-Alcore with the Azimut 2.

The contract involves the eventual production and delivery of 160 systems. The first financed tranche, however, covers an initial batch of 25 that are due for delivery by the end of 2006.

Eads is responsible for the ground stations and overall integration. The actual aircraft is under the responsibility of Survey-Copter in Southern France, which, interestingly, is specialised inter alia in data and HF video transmission and all manner of sensors such as gyros, video systems, accelerometers and so forth. A Drac system actually comprises two aircraft and two ruggedised portable computers (one for mission management and the other for data reception and processing).

The tracker is electrically powered and, in terms of payload, carries either an infrared or a day camera and is hand-launched. Its datalink enables it to provide real-time pictures from a range of ten kilometres. Actual flight, which can last for up to two hours, and landing are automated. According to Eads, one of the features that weighed in favour of the Tracker system is the fact that it can be rapidly assembled from components contained in two rucksacks, which makes it eminently suitable for paratroopers to take a quick peek behind a hill.

German-US

Turning to Rheinmetall, the German firm struck an alliance with Teledyne Brown in January with a view to establishing a market base in the United States for 'Americanised' versions of both the KZO and Taifun drones. The purpose of this operation is to bid for the unmanned aerial vehicle part of the American Future Combat System. At time of writing (early January), a Rheinmetall spokesman told the author that the issuing of a formal request for proposals was imminent and that a first shortlisting was expected mid 2005. This would be followed by approximately three years of intermediary selections and tests (known as phases I and II) before a final development contract (phase III) is awarded to the winner (the first Future Combat System Unit of Action is planned to be operational by 2014).

The Future Combat System programme includes Class II and Class III drones. Class II specifies a "multi-function aerial combat support system capable of providing reconnaissance, security/early warning, target acquisition and designation for the Infantry Company and Mounted Combat System". Class III involves a "multi-function aerial combat support system capable of providing reconnaissance, communications relay, security/early warning, target acquisition and designation for precision fires throughout the UA (battalion level) area of influence. The Class III UAV system will be located in the Non Line Of Site (Nlos) battalions and Reconnaissance Troop within the Combat Arms Battalion".

The KZO is a surveillance, reconnaissance and localisation drone able to provide real-time infrared information over a distance of about 100 kilometres. It was developed for harsh environments and thus features a de-icing device, which can prove useful with an aircraft able to fly three and one-half-hour missions at 220 km/h. Six KZO systems (i.e. ten aircraft and two ground stations) have been ordered by the German Army, delivery of which should start in 2005 and be completed by 2007. In the American context, the KZO is known as the Prospector

The Taifun, on the other hand, is a far more complex system as it carries a synthetic aperture radar and a warhead and was renamned the Thunder for this venture. The aircraft downlinks its radar imagery to the ground control station and upon a decision to attack (including moving targets) it dives onto its target. The warhead is triggered at the precise distance for optimal penetration of armoured targets, but it also radially generates shrapnel.

US Matters

In the meantime, Boeing announced that its ScanEagle had logged 1000 flight hours (compounded) in the hands of the US Marine Corps' 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq. Two ScanEagle mobile deployment units were first deployed there in late July 2004, meaning that the score was achieved in a relatively short period of time. The ScanEagle, which made its first ship-launched flight in April of the same year, is unique in its retrieval method, whereby it flies into a vertically deployed cable on the side of a ship, and whichever side of the wing is involved, the cable slides along the leading edge to finally catch a hook on the wingtip causing the aircraft literally to entangle itself around it. Launch is more conventional from a short pneumatic catapult.

In a totally different category the Global Hawk has, for its part, clocked up 5000 flight hours in tests over the United States, of which over 2000 are "attributed to the system's operational life", to quote Northrop Grumman. AF-3 is the designation of the first production RQ-4A which arrived at its home base at Beale Air Force Base late last year. This event materialises the transition from development to true operational status of the system. However, a new designation is now entering the production Global Hawk scene, namely the RQ-4B, which is an improved version that features a larger wingspan (39.9 metres against 35.42--for comparison, the wingspan of the Airbus A320 airliner is 34.10 metres). a longer fuselage (14.5 metres instead of 13.53) and a generator able to produce 150 per cent more power needed to run the additional sigint and elint payloads. Current plans are three Bravo aircraft in 2006 as part of the lot 3 low-rate initial production contract. Last but not least, there is also the N-1. This is the Naval version of the Air Force's Alpha which took to the air last year and will move on to Pax River next summer in preparation for the Navy's demonstration programme.

Finally, AAI has chalked up a third order from the US Army for the Shadow 200 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle. Valued at $ 71.9 million, this award concerns the latest version of the Shadow known as the RQ-7B, which is slightly larger than the original RQ-7. This order for eight systems involves a total of 32 aircraft and 16 ground stations along with associated support equipment, and brings the total of production Shadow 200s so far ordered by the US Army to 25 systems. In addition to airframe improvements the "B" also features a new flight computer that not only compounds a number of previously separated sensors, but also embeds plug-and-play software for automatic recognition of various payloads. The lengthened fuselage also allows accommodating the tactical common data link and additional fuel.

Little information had been release at time of writing but it appears from the title photograph that the new RQ-7B features a new aerofoil with extended chord wing and tail surface, a longer fuse-lage and a larger air intake resulting in a an extra hour of endurance.

Eads Tracker in Figures

Overall length (m)        1.40
Wing span (m)             3.60
Weight (kg)               7.50
Engine                electric
Payload (kg)              1.80
Cruise speed (km/h)         60
Max alt (ft)              6500
Endurence (min)            120
Link range (km)             10