Paris Air Show In Depth: Global Unmanned Systems Trends
Ahead of the 2017 International Paris Air Show, Textron Systems Unmanned Systems Senior Vice President and General Manager Bill Irby discusses the latest in unmanned technologies.
Q: The Paris Air Show is well known for its array of impressive manned aviation platforms and demonstrations. How do unmanned systems fit into the larger event?
A: During each exhibition, I see greater integration between manned and unmanned platforms. This trend is consistent with how many of the world’s largest militaries are using manned/unmanned teams to accomplish complex mission sets. I anticipate that the emergence of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for civil and commercial applications around the world will similarly impact what we see at the Paris Air Show in years to come.
Q: Leading into this European event, customers in the region have a range of military strength and corresponding buying power. Are there any unmanned systems trends that you are seeing fairly universally?
A: As with our potential customers in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions, we are seeing great emphasis among European nations on moving toward smaller, expeditionary UAS that retain many of the same mission capabilities as their larger counterparts. UAS in Groups 4 and 5, while highly capable and mature, are vastly more expensive than smaller Group 3 systems to purchase, operate and maintain. Further, their massive footprint and logistics create additional cost streams versus Group 3, or tactical, UAS.
Q: Can tactical UAS really accomplish comparable mission sets to larger systems?
A: Absolutely; for example, Textron Systems has conducted demonstrations of its Shadow® aircraft with its small, precision-guided weapon, Fury®. Apart from its core intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) role, the Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (TUAS) is used by the U.S. Army for communications relay, tactical targeting and as part of a manned/unmanned aerial scouting team with the Army’s primary assault helicopter.
We have believed for some time that the global UAS market is ripe for this kind of innovation. At this year’s Paris Air Show, we will have some exciting news on our Group 4 disruptor, a mature TUAS which brings a tremendous capability in a smaller, more affordable Group 3 footprint.
Q: You mentioned ISR as one of the core mission sets for TUAS. Can you expand upon this operational concept and the demand for it by global militaries?
A: The current global climate is a never-before-seen mix of threats from both known and reemerging actors, as well as peer and asymmetric warfare. Consistent across all of these is the need for persistent ISR as part of a reliable, comprehensive operational picture. The demand signal for aerial ISR is only increasing, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon.
Systems like our Shadow TUAS and its Group 2 counterpart Aerosonde® Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) are optimized for multi-sensor operations in a single flight. Rather than just full-motion video, these systems are delivering a tremendous amount of intelligence data of all kinds in real time.
We also are innovating in how we deliver on customer ISR requirements. For our military, civil and commercial customers, the requirement is often just real-time data – not the time, investment and logistics of UAS ownership. We have operated our Shadow TUAS on a government-owned, contractor-operated basis for the U.S. Army for many years as a critical staff augmentation function. We also operate our Aerosonde SUAS for several customers on a contractor-owned, contractor-operated basis. Under this contracting method, we send our systems, operators and maintainers to customer sites to deliver data by the hour and manage all of the complex logistics so the customer can concentrate on the mission at hand.
Q: How is the European unmanned systems market unique?
A: European nations are setting rigorous safety and airworthiness requirements that have established a high bar for UAS quality. As a result, while many global markets are seeing the emergence of ultra-low-cost UAS of questionable reliability and maturity, the processes in place in Italy, Sweden and other nations have established the highest standards for UAS in their airspace systems.
Many European nations are embracing unmanned technologies across domains as well; for example, we are seeing growing interest in maritime UAS, as well as in subsurface and surface systems such as our Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV™).
Q: To wrap up, what unmanned technology trends should people expect to see at this year’s Paris Air Show?
A: I anticipate continued emphasis on UAS propulsion. As system complexity grows, so does the need for the highest levels of engine maturity and reliability for UAS of all sizes. As a systems integrator, we continuously evaluate the latest propulsion technologies and believe demand will continue to be high.
© 2017 AAI Corporation and Textron Systems Corporation. Shadow and Aerosonde are registered trademarks of AAI Corporation in the United States, and trademarks or registered trademarks in other countries. CUSV is a trademark of AAI Corporation in the United States. Fury is a registered trademark of Textron Systems Corporation in the United States, and a trademark or registered trademark in other countries.