Army soldiers, who will operate the newest most technologically advanced unmanned aircraft system (UAS) when it deploys in 2010, this week received a sneak preview of the vehicles they will fly in combat.
The UAS operators toured the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) production facility in Calif., Dec. 2 where the new Extended-Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) UAS is being manufactured, and also had the opportunity to meet the men and women building their vehicles and thank them for their support to soldiers.
“All combat tools have human faces behind them–from the designers to the builders to the users–and it is important for our soldiers to thank the great people who provide the tools they need to fight the unfortunate conflicts we face,” Col. Gregory Gonzalez, Project Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, said.
Gonzalez’ office is responsible for the acquisition and fielding of all Army unmanned aircraft systems.
This class of UAS operators has extensive experience operating UAS in theater, including Warrior-class systems also built by General Atomics, and the Shadow(r) and Hunter tactical UAS. They are deploying two years ahead of schedule to quickly bring this newest technology to areas of conflict.
The rapid deployment is in response to the April 2008 challenge by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to field tools to soldiers faster.
The Army developed the Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) initiative to speed the ER/MP delivery from 2011 to 2009, deploying the QRC-1 that does not carry weapons–also known as Sky Warrior Block 0– in July 2009 in support of Overseas Contingency Operations in Iraq. This new class of operators will deploy with QRC-2–which does carry weapons–with four Helicopter Launcher Laser Guided Fire and Forget (Hellfire) missiles, in late FY ’10. The missile, originally designed for use on Apache helicopters, is modified with a new inertial navigation system and the autopilot modified to accept target location information, allowing for improved high altitude engagements.
“The Army developed the ER/MP UAS program to meet the growing demand from combatant commanders who need real-time information and the capability to conduct long-dwell, wide- area reconnaissance and surveillance, as well as precision strike missions,” Lt. Col. Kevin Messer, ER/MP product manager, said. “Time and time again, unmanned systems save soldiers’ lives by providing the right information at the right time.”
The latest technologies available in the ER/MP unmanned aircraft system include a heavy fuel engine, triple redundant avionics, and redundant flight controls/surfaces, and network connectivity that reduces information cycle time and enhances overall battlespace awareness. It is capable of flying for more than 30 hours, can operate with or without satellite communications data links and, in addition to four HELLFIRE missiles, it will carry a Lynx(r) Block 30 Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI) for immediate situational awareness and target detection. The SAR/GMTI is manufactured by GA-ASI.