AMR-June-July-2013

REGIONAL
U A V D I R E C T O R Y
The small, low-cost, long-endurance Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle built by Insitu, a Boeing
subsidiary, is widely employed by the Australian
armed forces. It provides tactical aerial
reconnaissance support to land forces ©
Commonwealth of Australia
powered 22kg UAV first flew in 2010.
Spoonbill, National Cheng Kung
University; Flew 92km in 52 minutes over
water in 2009.
THAILAND
Fielded
Cyber Eye, Sapura; Three systems acquired
from Malaysia in 2009.
Aerostar; Aeronautics Defence Systems
design; One system, ordered in late 2010.
Raven, AeroVironment; Successive contracts
with Aeronautics since 2008.
Searcher I&II, IAI; One system comprising
four UAVs and GCS and RVT, since retired.
Trials and development
G-STAR, Innocon/G-Force Composites;
based on MiniFalcon 2, RTAF has bought
one system for TUAV evaluation.
RQ-8A Fire Scout, Northrop Grumman;
Company believes there is interest.
NOTES: Thai Air Force is leading efforts on
UAV strategy with plans outlined in 2009 to
equip a squadron and calling for a three
systems with 15km, 30km and 100km range
aimed at acquiring capability and building
a domestic research and production base.
VIETNAM
Trials and Development
R&D UAV/Irkut-200 Variant; Irkut
Engineering; deal announced in March
2012.
NOTES: The Vietnam Aerospace
Association has signed a deal with Irkut
Engineering for a 100kg UAV system to
develop UAV competency and experience
in the country. This will initially be done for
civilian purposes, and evolved later for military
applications.
ACQUIRING THE DRONE: RQ-4 Block 10
Global Hawk (Northrop Grumman); - Being
one of the most reliable and well-known
UAVs, the Northrop Grumman RQ-4
Global Hawk has roused the interest in
many Asia-Pacific countries, with some
showing a strong interest in developing
similar technology.
Hermes 450 (Elbit Systems) - The Republic
of Singapore Air Force added the Hermes
450 to its UAV fleet in 2007. The drone,
manufactured by Israel’s Elbit Systems, and
has an endurance of over 20 hours.
RAAF Heron (Commonwealth of Australia)
- IAI Heron MALE UAV, operated by the
Australian armed forces is based on leading-edge
technology with fully-automatic
take-off and landing features. It provides
deep-penetration reconnaissance, widearea
and real-time intelligence.
ScanEagle (Commonwealth of Australia) –
The small, low-cost, long-endurance
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle built by Insitu, a
Boeing subsidiary, is widely employed by
the Australian armed forces. It provides tactical
aerial reconnaissance support to land
forces.
Skylark I LE (Elbit Systems) - The Elbit
Skylark I miniature UAV. Launched by
hand, it is capable of sending real-time
video to a portable ground station. Skylark
is in operation with the Australian armed
forces.
US Navy’s First Triton Unmanned Aircraft
(Northrop Grumman) - The Northrop
Grumman MQ-4C Triton is being developed
to provide continuous maritime surveillance
and is expected to enter service
around 2015. The Australian government
and the Indian Navy have expressed their
interest in acquiring the drone.
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l ASIAN MILITARY REVIEW
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