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Pakistan UAVs: This article is Rupee News-RIR (RN-Research in Progress) and will be updated periodically

This is picture of Pakistan high speed drone which is under wraps.

When the war on terror began, Pakistan request predator drones for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) so that the Pakistanis could monitor the 2500 kilometer long Durand Line. The request was refused. Pakistan also request helicopters, and asked the USA to launch a satellite for Pakistan. The requests fell on deaf ears. Pakistan also requested 80,000 M-16s or Klashnikovs for the Frontier Corps who are still using WW2 vintage rifles. The guns have still not arrived. However Pakistan was asked to “Do More.”

The latest Uqaab is one in a series of Unmanned Aircraft being deveopled by Pakistan. Pakistan has been working very closesly with the Turks who have had access to Israeli technology on UAV development.

March 24, 2008: Pakistan announced the successful completion of flight tests of a new UAV, the Uqaab. The design looks very similar to models offered by a Pakistani firm, Integrated Dynamics, which has been producing smaller (under 500 pounds) UAVs for the government and commercial market since 1997. The Uqaab also appears similar to the U.S. Army RQ-7B Shadow 200. Each Shadow 200 UAV platoon has 22 troops and operates 3-4 UAVs, plus the ground control equipment. Typically, each combat brigade has one Shadow UAV platoon. Each 350 pound Shadow 200 UAV cost $500,000, and can stay in the air 5.5 hours per sortie. A day camera and night vision camera is carried on each aircraft. Able to fly as high as 15,000 feet, the Shadow can thus go into hostile territory and stay high enough (over 10,000 feet) to be safe from hostile rifle and machine-gun fire.

The Integrated Dynamics UAVs appear to operate in a manner similar to the Shadow 200, which is not high tech, just good engineering and quality manufacturing. Integrated Dynamics has many export customers, including some in the United States.

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Our new ‘Civilian UAV’ systems are designed for electronic news gathering, police surveillance, border and coastal patrol requiring no more than two crew members to operate.

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Export restrictions apply. The sale of certain products is subject to an end-user certification and approval by the Government of Pakistan and DEPO (Defence Export Promotion Organization).

AAI RQ-7 Shadow 200
The Shadow 200 short-range TUAV (Tactical UAV) was developed by AAI Corp. in the 1990s. When the RQ-6 Outrider TUAV ran into continued troubles in the 1997/98 time frame, the U.S. Army decided to conduct a competitive evaluation between the Outrider and Shadow 200 TUAV systems in 1999. The latter was declared winner of this competition, and AAI subsequently received a first LRIP (Low-Rate Initial Production) contract to provide Shadow 200 systems for further testing and evaluation. The UAV itself was officially designated RQ-7A. Between April 2001 and late 2002, the IOT&E (Initial Operational Test & Evaluation) phase of the program was conducted successfully, and in October 2002 the Shadow 200 was approved for full-rate production.
Photo: AAI RQ-7A

The RQ-7A is of the same twin-boom pusher layout as several other battlefield UAVs, like e.g. the RQ-2 Pioneer and the RQ-5 Hunter. It is powered by a UEL AR-741 rotary engine, and has a non-retractable tricycle landing gear for conventional wheeled take-off and landing. The RQ-7A can also be launched from a catapult and has a tailhook to catch arresting cables for a shorter landing run. A Shadow 200 system consists of four RQ-7A air vehicles and the associated equipment. The latter includes two GCSs (Ground Control Stations), from where the operators have full control over the UAVs and their sensors. Both LOS (Line-Of-Sight) and non-LOS datalinks are provided for command uplink and sensor data downlink. The Shadow 200 UAV can be equipped with a GPS-based navigation system for fully autonomous operations. The UAV’s tasks include day/night reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and BDA (Bomb Damage Assessment). The primary mission payload for the initial (Block 1) RQ-7A production vehicles is an IAI Tamam POP (Plug-In Optronic Payload) IR/EO (Infrared/Electro-Optical) sensor turret, but Block 2 vehicles are planned to use an improved Wescam EO/IR sensor. Other payloads are also under consideration, including a SAR/MTI (Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator) unit.
Photo: U.S. Army
RQ-7A

By March 2004, the U.S. Army has ordered 33 Shadow 200 systems (4 aircraft each) plus a number of additional air vehicles as attrition replacements. 20 systems have been delivered, and current procurement plans call for a total of up to 88 systems.

In August 2004, the improved RQ-7B air vehicle began to roll off from AAI’s production line. The RQ-7B has larger wings with a more efficient airfoil and increased fuel capacity, allowing an endurance of up to 7 hours. Additionally, the vehicle has an enlarged tail, upgraded avionics (including an improved flight controller with an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and increased computing power), and new payload options. The RQ-7B will also be fitted with the Army’s Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL).

Specifications
Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for RQ-7A/B:

RQ-7A RQ-7B
Length 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
Wingspan 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in) 4.27 m (14 ft)
Height 0.91 m (3 ft 0 in)
Weight max: 149 kg (328 lb); empty: 75 kg (165 lb) max: 170 kg (375 lb)
Speed max: 204 km/h (110 knots); loiter: 130 km/h (70 knots) max: 194 km/h (105 knots); loiter: 111 km/h (60 knots)
Ceiling 4270 m (14000 ft) 4570 m (15000 ft)
Range 125 km (67 nm)
Endurance 5 h 7 h
Propulsion UEL AR-741 rotary engine; 28.3 kW (38 hp)

Main Sources
[1] Kenneth Munson (ed.): “Jane’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets, Issue 15″, Jane’s, 2000
[2] Tom Kaminski: “The Future is Here”, article in Combat Aircraft Vol. 4, No. 6, 2003
[3] AAI Corp. Website
[4] PR Newswire Story, 4 August 2004
[5] “Unmanned Aircraft Systems Roadmap, 2005-2030″, Office of the Secretary of Defense, August 2005

Shadow 200 RQ-7 - Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System, USA
Shadow 200 is the smallest of the Shadow family of unmanned aircraft systems developed by AAI. It is in operational service with the US Army and US Marine Corps.

“Shadow 200 is the smallest of the Shadow family of unmanned aircraft systems developed by AAI.”Shadow 200 is used to locate, recognise and identify targets up to 125km from a brigade tactical operations centre. The system recognises tactical vehicles by day and night from an altitude of 8,000ft and at a slant range of 3.5km.

Imagery and telemetry data is transmitted in near-real time from the Shadow ground control station to joint stars common ground station, all-sources analysis system and to the army field artillery targeting and direction system.

Shadow is in operational service in Afghanistan and in Iraq. By the end of December 2007, it had amassed more than 234,000 flight hours and flown in more than 55,000 missions.

The Shadow family of unmanned aircraft systems is produced at AAI’s facilities in Hunt Valley, Maryland. AAI Corporation is a subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation.

TUAS PROGRAMME

The AAI Shadow TUAS team is led by the prime contractor AAI Corporation with major team members CDL Systems Ltd, Chandler May Inc, Sierra Nevada Corporation, IAI-TAMAM and UAV Engines Ltd. The programme is managed by the US army unmanned aircraft systems project manager’s office in Huntsville, Alabama.

In 1999 the United States Army awarded AAI Corporation a Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract to develop the Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (TUAS). The Shadow TUAS carries the US Army designations RQ-7A and RQ-7B, although all RQ- 7A model aircraft have now been retired and replaced by the RQ-7B model. The system provides brigade commanders with improved capability in target acquisition, battle damage assessment and battle management.

“The Shadow family of unmanned aircraft systems is produced at AAI’s facilities in Hunt Valley, Maryland.”At the beginning of 2001, AAI delivered the first four Shadow TUAV systems ordered by the US Army and built under the LRIP phase of the programme.

The United States Government conducted a series of demonstration trials under the Operational Tempo (OPTEMPO) programme at Fort Huachucaa, Arizona during 2001. The Shadow systems were then transferred to Fort Hood in Texas for the US Army to carry out Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOTE) trials.

In March 2002, AAI received a contract valued at $22.3m to extend TUAS production, bringing the value of the TUAV program to $135m. The contract covered the production of five additional Shadow systems. The first full-rate system was delivered to the US Army in September 2003. Shadow was deployed to Iraq in January 2004.

In the first quarter of 2004, the US Army ordered 33 Shadow systems with over 140 air vehicles and delivery of the longer-range RQ-7B was started by August 2004.

By June 2007, the US Army had ordered 74 Shadow 200 systems (including 296 air vehicles and 148 ground control systems) for system deliveries through January 2009. A further 14 were ordered in December 2007. 61 systems have been delivered.

Also in June 2007, it was announced that Shadow 200 will replace the Pioneer UAV in US Marine Corps service by the end of the year. Two systems have been ordered for the USMC.

SHADOW SYSTEM

A typical block1 Shadow system includes three air vehicles (plus one spare air vehicle) with payloads, two ground control stations, portable ground control station, air vehicle transport truck, launch and recovery equipment and personnel carrier. The complete system can be transported to and within a battlefield in two C-130 aircraft.

“Shadow 200 is used to locate, recognise and identify targets up to 125km from a brigade tactical operations centre.”TUAS AIR VEHICLE

The air vehicle system can be transported by two military wheeled vehicles and can be operated round-the-clock from unprepared sites by the 22-soldier crew. The Shadow TUAS can carry payloads up to 27kg (60lb) including sensors and electronic warfare systems.

Larger variants of other Shadow aircraft with a larger fuselage and wingspan are capable of carrying payloads up to 45.4kg (100lb) with minimal impact on cost or performance.

The air vehicle is of composite structure. Its compact size and small engine produce a very low radar and infrared signature, making it very difficult to detect.

The original RQ-7A air vehicle has a wingspan of 3.89m and carries a maximum payload of 25.3kg. The maximum endurance is five hours 30 minutes. The RQ-7B is a longer-endurance version, with increased wingspan of 4.27m and larger tail unit, payload up to 27.2kg and endurance of six to seven hours, depending on mission profile.

ENGINE

The air vehicle is powered by a UEL AR 741 rotary engine developing 28.3kW and driving a two-bladed pusher propeller. Fire and explosion-resistant fuel cells are installed in the wings. The RQ-7A and the longer-endurance RQ-7B models have a fuel capacity of 40l and 57l.

PAYLOADS

The payloads are selected according to the mission requirements and include advanced electro-optical and infrared systems, planned synthetic aperture radar and moving target indicator, hyperspectral imagery, lightweight communications relay package, marker / illuminator, laser range finder and target designator.

“The compact size and small engine produce a very low radar and infrared signature.”The US Army Shadow 200 is fitted with the POP-200 or POP-300 lightweight electro-optical system supplied by IAI Tamam.

The system is two-axis gyro-stabilised and fitted with Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) and CCD TV sensor array. It can be fitted with a laser rangefinder and target designator and is capable of correlative automatic target tracking.

BAE Systems has supplied five Aurora Generation IV remote sensing systems to the US Army for use on the Shadow 200. The systems