Practical, life-saving vehicles? Unmanned systems are here

The unmanned systems on display range from small, backpack-portable, hand-thrown drones for use by infantrymen, to massive, high-altitude, long-range surveillance aircraft designed for spy flights.

A United 40 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft on display.

Dubai — As defence budgets and personnel numbers shrink, unmanned systems — on air, land and sea — will proliferate in conflict zones around the world at an even faster pace, defence experts and industry insiders say.

The growing importance of unmanned systems is reflected at this year’s International Defence Exhibition and Conference, or Idex, in Abu Dhabi, where, for the first time in the show’s history, there is a separate exhibition area, the Unmanned Systems Exhibition, or Umex, exclusively dedicated to remotely operated platforms.

The unmanned systems on display range from small, backpack-portable, hand-thrown drones for use by infantrymen, to massive, high-altitude, long-range surveillance aircraft designed for spy flights over faraway targets or even blimps that can keep watch over military installations for weeks at a time.

The Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III, for example, is a small, man-portable aircraft that can be carried by ground combat units on the battlefield, where it can be assembled in as little as 10 minutes and can provide real-time intelligence from a distance to units operating on their own in remote areas, as it has for British forces fighting the Taleban in southern Afghanistan.

“It’s battery-powered, it’s safer, it’s smaller and it’s very quiet,” explained Lockheed Martin Ship and Aviation international business development director Jim Murdoch.

On the larger end of the scale is the 15.6-metre wide, 14.4-metre long P.1HH Hammerhead, designed in Italy by Piaggo Aerospace. The Hammerhead can operate at altitude of up to 45,000 feet over distances of up to 4,400 nautical miles, and can remain aloft for up to 24 hours.

“It’s faster than any other UAV,” said Piaggero marketing and sales director Filippo Tritonj. “There are areas and operational scenarios that are risky, and where it would be preferable not to fly a manned aircraft.”

Defence experts at the Idex say unmanned systems provide a cheaper, safer alternative to manned missions, whether they are in the air or on land.  “These systems provide a cost-effective way to provide capability,” Murdoch said. “Maintaining a large force is inherently costly. You always want to operate with fewer people. You do that with automation.”

“It’s a lifesaver,” said Darron Braymiller, general manager of RotorWay helicopter manufacturing company, whose Viper helicopter UAV is on display at the Idex. “Instead of losing a helicopter and a pilot, you’re just losing a helicopter. Technology has evolved enough to make that practical.”

Among the unmanned systems on display on Sunday were a number of Croatian-designed demining vehicles, which eliminate the need for slow, often dangerous demining operations by humans.

“Our motto is ‘don’t send a man to do a machine’s job’,” said Dok-Ing account manager Goran Kokorus. “This is more efficient and needs less people.”

Sello Ntsihele, executive manager of UAVs for South African Denel Dynamics, said that another benefit of unmanned systems is that they can be tailored to meet a country’s specific requirements.

“The Central African Republic, for example, is always humid, cloudy and densely forested, so a drone operating there will carry sensors that can see through foliage,” he said. “This region is different, so UAVs operating here will be configured differently.”

According to many defence experts, the future will see the use of unmanned systems spread. “In the future we may see an Idex where unmanned systems are the majority of the show,” Ntsihele said.

Murdoch said that the proliferation of unmanned technology, combined with the need for smaller forces, means that more countries will begin turning to remotely operated platforms for their military needs.

“In today’s recruiting age, you want to have the best people and the most high-tech systems,” he said. “Many countries are starting to understand how you can safely control unmanned systems.”

Peter Muhlrad of GuardBot, the creators of an amphibious surveillance system, said the way forward is clear. “This is the future. One day there may not be humans involved.”

— bernd@khaleejtimes.com