DTN News - DRONE NEWS: British 'Superdrone' Robot Plane Could Fly 'Within Weeks'

DTN News - DRONE NEWS: British 'Superdrone' Robot Plane Could Fly 'Within Weeks'

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Timur Moon - International Business Time
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 29, 2013: A unmanned British combat drone could be deployed in the front line of the war on terror in regions such as North Africa and the Middle East, if a forthcoming test flight in Australia is successful.

The performance of the eight-ton Taranis "superdrone" will be monitored by Ministry of Defence officials, after the long-awaited flight was delayed by stringent aviation laws in the UK, and repeated technical setbacks.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: "Taranis is a trailblazing project that reflects the very best of our nation's advanced design and technology skills and is a leading programme on the global stage.

"Forthcoming Taranis trials will provide further information about the potential capabilities of Unmanned Combat Air Systems.

"Unmanned Aerial Vehicles play an important role in operations, helping reduce the risks faced by military personnel."

British armed forces currently operate drones only against suspected Taliban militants in Afghanistan. But advances in US military technology have sparked a global arms race for drones, and the Ministry of Defence is now committed to developing a new generation of pilotless aircraft with a range of more than 2,000 miles.

The Taranis, manufactured by BAE, supersedes US models by incorporating a customised Rolls-Royce jet engine rather than a propeller.

Britain's fleet of armed drones are currently piloted by crews of ground control units. But Taranis will incorporate technology allowing it to use on-board computers to perform airborne manoeuvres, avoid threats and identify targets. Ground crews will only be consulted to gain authorisation for an attack.

Controversy surrounding the use of aerial drones has been highlighted by the UN, which began an investigation last week into deaths caused by drone attacks.

A spokesman for BAE said: "Taranis is a joint BAE-MoD programme and we are not at liberty to confirm any details of the forthcoming flight, including the location, timing or who may be present."

BAE unveiled Taranis in a glossy presentation two years ago. To see it, click on the YouTube video.

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TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2010

DTN News: UK Unveils Taranis Unmanned Combat Jet Prototype

DTN News: UK Unveils Taranis Unmanned Combat Jet Prototype

Source: DTN News - this article / report compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BBC News & BAE Systems

(NSI News Source Info) WARTON/LONDON, U.K. - July 13, 2010: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has unveiled a prototype of its first unmanned combat aircraft. The plane will test the possibility of developing a stealth jet fighter with no pilots.

The MoD says the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) would be able to precisely strike targets at long range and would be controlled by military crews on the ground.

Speaking at its unveiling in Lancashire, minister for international security strategy Gerald Howarth said: "Taranis is a truly trailblazing project."

"The first of its kind in the UK, it reflects the best of our nation's advanced design and technology skills and is a leading programme on the global stage." Flight trials of the prototype unmanned combat aircraft will start next year.

Named after the Celtic god of thunder, the concept demonstrator will test the possibility of developing the first ever autonomous stealthy Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) that would ultimately be capable of precisely striking targets at long range, even in another continent.Should such systems enter into service, they will at all times be under the control of highly trained military crews on the ground.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire, Minister for International Security Strategy Gerald Howarth said: “Taranis is a truly trailblazing project. The first of its kind in the UK, it reflects the best of our nation’s advanced design and technology skills and is a leading programme on the global stage.”

Representing the pinnacle of UK engineering and aeronautical design, Taranis is an informal partnership of the UK MoD and industry talents including BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation.

Speaking on behalf of the industry team, Nigel Whitehead, Group managing director of BAE Systems' Programmes & Support business, said: "Taranis has been three and a half years in the making and is the product of more than a million man-hours. It represents a significant step forward in this country's fast-jet capability. This technology is key to sustaining a strong industrial base and to maintain the UK's leading position as a centre for engineering excellence and innovation."

The Taranis prototype will provide the UK MoD with critical knowledge on the technical and manufacturing challenges and the potential capabilities of Unmanned Combat Air Systems. or further information, please contact: Sqn Ldr Bruno Wood at UK Ministry of Defence Press

Office Tel:             +44 (0) 207 218 1534      ,

Tim Foreman at the DE&S Press

OfficeMob:             +44 (0) 7990 506591      

Adam Morrison, BAE Systems

Tel:             + 44 (0)1772 852714      

Mob:             + 44 (0)7525 390393      

Email: adam.morrison@baesystems.com

Leonie Foster, BAE Systems plc

Tel:             +44 (0) 1252 383777      

Mob:             +44 (0) 7540 630168      

Email: leonie.foster@baesystems.com Issued by: BAE Systems, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6YU, UK

Tel:             +44 (0) 1252 384719       Fax: +44 (0) 1252 38394724

hr media hotline:             + 44 (0) 7801 717739      

http://www.baesystems.com/ Ministry of Defence (MoD) Related News:

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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Timur Moon - International Business Time
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: ASDF Monitoring Senkakus 24 Hours A Day / Radar-Equipped Aircraft Deployed In Bid To Prevent Intrusions By Chinese Planes

DTN News - JAPAN DEFENSE NEWS: ASDF Monitoring Senkakus 24 Hours A Day / Radar-Equipped Aircraft Deployed In Bid To Prevent Intrusions By Chinese Planes

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Daily Yomiuri 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 28, 2013: The Self-Defense Forces have been keeping around-the-clock surveillance over airspace around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, dispatching radar-equipped aircraft in a bid to prevent intrusions by Chinese airplanes.

Air Self-Defense Force aircraft were dispatched to Okinawa Prefecture after a Chinese airplane intruded into Japanese airspace on Dec. 13, when the ASDF failed to promptly scramble fighters as a ground radar in the area was unable to detect the low-flying plane.

On Jan. 15, the ASDF scrambled fighters to the Senkaku Islands after a propeller-driven airplane belonging to China's State Oceanic Administration flew about 120 kilometers north of Kubajima, one of the islets.

If the airplane had flown at 300 kph, it would have taken just 20 minutes or so to intrude into Japanese airspace at a distance of 22 kilometers from the island.

The Jan. 15 scramble was one of seven ordered by the ASDF since the airplane belonging to the Chinese agency intruded into Japanese airspace on Dec. 13. The other six occurred on Dec. 22, 24, 25 and 26, and on Jan. 5 and 11. Each time, Chinese aircraft came close to 100 kilometers of entering Japanese airspace.

The ASDF has scrambled fighters against Chinese aircraft in the East China Sea and its surrounding areas 160 times from April to December last year, already surpassing the 156 times recorded in fiscal 2011.

During such operations, China's airborne early warning planes and other kinds of military aircraft were often spotted, according to ASDF officials.

The ASDF deploys F-15 fighters from Naha Air Base, about 400 kilometers from the Senkaku Islands. The fighters first transmit a warning to Chinese aircraft in English to change course before swinging their main wings as a warning against entering Japanese airspace.

In the past, ASDF aircraft fired warning shots when a Soviet Union military plane flew over Okinawa Island in 1987. "We'll carefully examine" whether to take similar actions against Chinese aircraft, a senior Defense Ministry official said.

So far, the Chinese aircraft have always flown in from northwest of the Senkaku Islands before heading east and ultimately returning to the Chinese mainland.

"China is saying that it regularly patrols its own airspace [by dispatching its aircraft near the Senkaku Islands]," a senior ASDF official said. "To protect our airspace, it's necessary for us to detect approaching Chinese aircraft as quickly as possible."

===

Monitoring could strain crews

The radar facility closest to the Senkaku Islands is about 200 kilometers away on Miyakojima island, Okinawa Prefecture. However, the facility has difficulty detecting aircraft flying at low altitudes of several hundred meters due to the curvature of the Earth.

By contrast, there is no such blind spot around Hokkaido as it has six radar facilities on its coast that were originally built to prepare for any intrusion by Soviet aircraft.

In an attempt to prevent further intrusions by Chinese aircraft, the ASDF has decided to monitor the area around the Senkaku Islands around-the-clock by deploying four Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) planes from its Hamamatsu Air Base in Shizuoka Prefecture. Thirteen E2C early-warning surveillance airplanes from its Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture have also been deployed.

However, dispatching surveillance airplanes alone is not enough if the ASDF wants to continually monitor the area, according to a former ASDF pilot.

"Aircraft monitoring missions require crew members to face the same strains drivers feel when they keep driving on frozen roads," he said.

Therefore, in the long run, it is necessary to improve the surveillance system for the Nansei Islands, which include the Senkaku Islands.

The Defense Ministry has been considering developing a new type of radar that can detect small aircraft at a distance, as well as sending F-15 fighters to Shimojishima Airport, about 200 kilometers from the Senkaku Islands.

"We'll do whatever we can," the senior Defense Ministry official said. He added that his colleague have also come up with an idea to examine a method developed in the United States that involves the use of a huge balloon equipped with a radar to monitor the situation from a high altitude.

===

ASDF becomes involved

Some Defense Ministry officials have expressed concerns that the dispute over the Senkaku Islands is now involving the ASDF.

Since Japan's nationalization of the islets in September, Haijian ships and other vessels belonging to China's State Oceanic Administration have repeatedly intruded into Japanese waters.

Japan Coast Guard patrol ships responded to the vessels, while Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers monitored waters from a distance rather than near the islets, in an effort not to incite conflict.

However, the ASDF is the only organization equipped with aircraft that can respond if Chinese aircraft intrude into Japanese airspace.

"Tensions have escalated as the ASDF has become involved [for surveillance over the Senkakus]," a senior Defense Ministry official said

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Daily Yomiuri  
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News 
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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