Predator ACTD

PresentationTo

NDIA IOT&E

Leading the Air Power Revolution 2

Tier 2 ACTD – Highlights

• Program run by Joint Program Office (JPO)

• GOAL: rapid deployment of long endurance medium unmanned ISR platform

• Performance objectives:– Over the horizon satellite data link control

– EO/IR

– Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

– 24 hours on station at 400 nm

• Concept proven by GNAT-750 satellite

demonstration in October 1993

– Aircraft flown from El Mirage, CA

– Controlled from Washington, DC

• Deliverables

– 10 aircraft

– 3 Ground Control Stations (GCS)

HG2327JP02-25-04

Predator

Leading the Air Power Revolution 3

RQ-1 Predator Chosen for ACTD

• Size / weight– Length – 27 feet– Wingspan – 48.7 feet– GTOW – 1850 lb.– Fuel capacity – 625 lb.– Payload capacity – 450 lb.

• Performance– 82 HP Rotax 912 engine– 25,000 ft. altitude– 40 hour endurance– 120 kias max – 75 kias loiter

• Ground control– Pilot and payload operator workstations– Data exploitation workstations– SAR workstations

• Data link– C-band LOS (redundant)– UHF Satcom– Ku-band Satcom

HG2327JP02-25-04

Predator

Leading the Air Power Revolution 4

Rapid Timelines

• 40 days: RFP to contract award including– Initial proposal

– Demonstration

– BAFO

• 6 months: contract award to first flight

• 9 months: contract award to first deployment

• 6 in-CONUS deployments– Fort Huachuca

Initial training

Customs demonstration

Follow-on training

– Fort Sumner, NM – Roving Sands

– San Clemente Island – CARGRU 1 exercise

– Key West, FL – Special Ops exercise

• 18 months: contract award to combat

deployment in the Balkans

Predator

Leading the Air Power Revolution 5

Program Development

• Phase A– EO/IR – Wescam Model 14TS

– UHF Satcom -

• Phase B– Ku-band Satcom – L3 Communications

– SAR – Northrop Grumman TESAR

• System upgrades resulting from ACTD lessons learned

– Turbo-charged engine

– De-ice system

– ATC Voice Radio

Predator

Leading the Air Power Revolution 6

Payload ― Day TV Video

Leading the Air Power Revolution 7

Transition to Air Force

• ACTD ended September 1996– Two additional aircraft delivered

• Air Force stands up squadrons at Indian Springs

– 11th Reconnaissance Squadron - July 1995

– 15th Reconnaissance Squadron – Aug 1997

– 17th Reconnaissance Squadron – Mar 2002

• OT&E performed – October 2000– System had more than 10,000 hours of

combat flight time before OT&E

– Formal OT&E added little value in determining military utility

Leading the Air Power Revolution 8

The Good and the Bad

• The good– Program proceeded very rapidly

• The bad– Joint program with no identified end-user (sponsor)– No concept for how to transition a successful ACTD– Logistics support infrastructure not in place

• Air Force determined that they would never exceed 7000 flight hours per year with 12 systems– Last year USAF Predators flew 25,000 hours

• Deliveries to date– USAF – 107 Predators– Italy – 5 Predators– US Army – 3 Predator variants

• 90,000 flight hours to date– Yet Predator has never been deemed to have achieved IOC

Leading the Air Power Revolution 9

Predator ― MQ-1

Leading the Air Power Revolution 10

MQ-1 Predator System

Integrated Operations

• Predator GCS

• Common Army GCS

• TCS

Compatibility

• TCDL

• TUAV GCS

• Tactical Automatic Landing System (TALS)

Customers

• U.S. Air Force

• U.S. Navy

• Italian Air Force

Features

• ARC-210 VHF/UHF tactical radio

• De-ice system

• 2 wing hard points (HELLFIRE compatible)

• Wescam 14” EO/IR

• Raytheon MTS EO/IR/Laser Designator

• Lynx SAR

• ESM

• Data link relay

Length: 27 ft (8.2m)Wing Span: 53.7 ft (16.4m)Endurance: 40 hr Payload (Internal): 450 lb (204 kg)Wing Outboard

Hard Points: (2) 150 lb (90 kg)Max Gross Weight: 2,250 lb (1022 kg)Powerplant: Rotax 914 Turbo

dual alternatorsData Link: C-Band LOS

Ku-Band SATCOMCeiling: 25,000 ft (7600m)

Speed: 90-140 KTAS(165-260 km/hr)

Leading the Air Power Revolution 11

RQ-1 Predator ― The War on Terrorism

• First ever Hunter-Killer UAV• Over 90,000 flight hours

– >2/3 in combat– >3600 in June 2004 alone

• First intelligence/reconnaissance/surveillance platform on-station after September 11 attacks

– Critical intelligence on Al Qaeda/Taliban forces

• Primary air strike controller in urban areas– Directed hundreds of strikes by F-14, F-18, F-15E,

F-16, B-52, B-1, B-2, AC-130– Superior targeting resulted in zero incidents of

collateral damage

• Weapons delivery• Real-time threat warning/target support for 30 hr+

B-2 sorties• The tradition continued in Iraq• Unprecedented reliability

– Highest operational readiness rate in the USAF inventory

– Virtually no sorties lost due to parts or maintenance

Leading the Air Power Revolution 12

Highlights ― United States Army

• Provided system of 3 Army I-GNAT-ERs– Based on US Air Force Predator – Line of sight control

• Configuration:– Italian AF front end to accommodate Lynx SAR/Block 30 aft end– MOSP EO/IR payload– Tactical GCS– Lynx SAR on one aircraft

• Deployed in Iraq since March 2004– Flies 12 hours per day every day with only 8 people– Has never missed a sortie

Leading the Air Power Revolution 13

THE PREDATOR SYSTEMSA New Dimension In Worldwide Awareness

APB287TJC12-16-03

• Launch/Recover From anywhere

• Control From anywhere

• Distribute color TV and FLIR,radar, electronic surveillanceproducts To anyplace

• Launch precision weapons Anytime

PREDATOR B

ANYWHERE ANYPLACE ANYTIME