Over 60 per cent of all combat flight hours.

As the reader will be able to judge from these lines, unmanned aerial vehicles obviously still hold quite a few surprises in store for us, not only in term of capabilities, but also--and perhaps above all--of modus operandi. Flapping wings, for instance, throws us back to the late 1800's and scratched black-and-white movies, but they just might return!

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Possibly one of the most important developments in the growing unmanned vehicle community in this early part of 2004 is the dramatic evolution of the Euro UVS organisation created by Peter van Blyenburgh. Indeed, during the recent General Assembly of the association the proposal made by the Board of Directors to change the statute, and thereby broaden the reach of the organisation, received a massive approval from corporate members. As a result the association has changed name and is now known as UVS International. By giving itself a worldwide reach, the association now grants a voting right to all corporate members wherever their headquarters are located or their activities deployed. While the address remains unchanged (86 rue Michel Ange, 75016 Paris, France), the association's website already reflects the new status and is now http://www.uvs-international.org.

Italy, through the Meteor Mirach series of target drones, has been present in the world of unmanned aerial vehicles for quite a few years. While Alenia announced its intention to enter this segment of the aeronautical industry at the last Paris Air Show (see report in Armada International 5/2003), Galileo, which recently took over the Meteor company, has decided to create a high subsonic reconnaissance drone demonstrator based on a well-proven platform--the Mirach 100/5--as part of a contract issued by the Italian Ministry Of Defence. Named after the kite (the bird of prey in Italian), the Nibbio is expected to perform its maiden flight, test and qualification flights by the end of 2005 in order to be ready for production by mid-2006. Being powered by a turbojet engine, the Nibbio is aimed at meeting a requirement for deep penetration and fast reconnaissance missions over strongly protected high value targets. While the Nibbio is being developed as a ground or sea-launched vehicle with recovery by parachute, interestingly enough, Galileo is also considering aircraft launch options. If the latter really materialises (qualifying the bird on any given aircraft is a challenge in itself), it will obviously help save on-board fuel for longer range operations on the way out and allow the drone to return to its planned recovery area, particularly at sea. The drone is designed as a platform for a wide range of sensors; while electro-optical suites such as infrared line scanners and cameras almost sound like obvious payloads, elint and synthetic aperture radar capabilities announced by the manufacturer contribute to turn it into a very sophisticated system. Data is transmitted as soon as the aircraft is able to establish a line-of-sight contact with a surface station. Being a high value platform, the Nibbio would also be equipped with a self-protection suite consisting of chaff and flare launchers triggered by a threat warning system.

Turning to a lighter aspect of things, the drone increasingly appears to turn itself into an academic discipline. The University of Bath is currently studying the various alternatives that could be developed into a viable method of propulsion/lift for micro air vehicles. Interestingly enough, one of the approaches is very reminiscent of that attempted many years ago--and before the Wright Brothers and Clement Ader--namely flapping wings. It will be interesting to see if the method of mimicking birds and insects which failed lamentably with larger 'aircraft' will prove successful when applied to micro drones that are only about 15 centimetres long. The study seems to be taken quite seriously, having received backing from Qinetiq, BAE Systems and the British Ministry of Defence, amongst others.

A rather more established programme has recently hit a significant milestone, as indeed General Atomics rolled out its 100th Predator for the US Air Force. General Atomics delivers by air, and Predator 100 will be no exception: it will be flown on an instrument flight plan in national air space from the company's flight operations facility in California to Indian Springs Air Force Base in Nevada. With intensive use in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, General Atomics has been able to come up with an interesting statistic: since 1995 Predators have logged "over 60 per cent of all flight hours in combat".

A few months ago, a Predator was submitted to the rigours of rough climates in support of US Coast Guard operations in Alaska. Now it is the turn of the Altair, but with the eastern coast of Canada as the backdrop. The contract was awarded by the Canadian Forces to deploy the Altair, which will be equipped with a multi-mode maritime radar as well as an electro-optical, infrared camera for littoral and maritime surveillance.

Little publicised on the other hand is the launch method of the DRS Neptune, a tactical drone already described in Armada. With obvious naval applications, the system is transported wrapped in a container, which also acts as the launcher. After removal of the lid and reassembly of the wings, the Neptune readily sits on a cradle under which is located an air powered tube that literally shoves the 60 kilogram aircraft out of the 'box' and into the air. Recovery is effected by simply allowing the aircraft to belly land on the water. Unfortunately, and in spite of the author's repeated efforts, it was impossible to obtain a clear statement on the development status of the Neptune system from its manufacturer.

Nibbio Main Characteristics

Length [metres]                     4.10
Wingspan [metres1                   2.30
Height [metres]                     0.90
Fuselage diameter [metres]          0.40
Max. gross weight [kg]               330
Max. payload weight [kg]              70
Max. mission range [km]              380
Max. airspeed [Mach]                0.85
Altitude envelope [metres]   5 to 12,500