Flight International - 22 May 2018

DEFENCE

ightglobal.com 22-28 May 2018 | Flight International | 17

Indonesia could

eject from K-FX

pact

Defence P

T

he US Air Force has started
preparing to rapidly stage a
demonstration of a highly mature
laser weapon system (LWS) for an
unspecified “airborne vehicle”,
with the potential for a follow-on
production programme.
Plans for the near-term demon-
stration of a “High Energy Laser
[HEL] flexible prototype” pro-
gramme were revealed by the Air
Force Life Cycle Management
Center (AFLCMC) in an 11 May
notice to potential suppliers. This
outlines a plan to pay a supplier
to deliver a prototype and per-
form a system-level ground verifi-
cation test of a LWS within 12
months of contract award.
“The success of meeting this
milestone is the primary factor for
continued work toward the flying
prototype and the possibility of
future LWS production,” the AFL-
CMC says. Its request for informa-
tion was disclosed around one
year after Eglin AFB issued a call
for “Airborne Tactical Laser Tech-
nology”, soliciting information
about various subsystems that
would be needed for an HEL.
“Those responses have been re-
viewed,” the AFLCMC confirms.

A

n effort by the US Army to

modernise its General Atom-

ics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1C

Gray Eagle unmanned air vehicle

fleet has grown to encompass al-

most all of the aircraft’s systems,

with a focus given to redundancy

and improving reliability.

The reassessment is the result

of a reduced tempo of operations,

says Dennis Sparks, chief of the

technical management division in

the US Army’s unmanned aircraft

systems project office.

“We are modernising pretty

much every element of that sys-

tem,” he told AHS International’s

Annual Forum & Technology Dis-

play conference in Phoenix, Ari-

zona. “There wasn’t a lot thought

given to redundancy, sensor man-

agement, signal management –

stuff that on the manned aviation

side we take for granted.”

The US Army has also invested

in improving the Gray Eagle’s en-

gine, which Sparks says is another

problem area. The MQ-1C uses a

Thielert Centurion diesel based

on a Mercedes-Benz automotive

engine. When Thielert was bought

in 2013 by Aviation Industry Cor-

poration of China, General Atom-

ics bought the rights to produce

the engine itself. ■

MODERNISATION

GARRETT REIM PHOENIX

Gray Eagle UAV

facing essential

system overhaul

ASSESSMENT STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC

Laser weapon ambitions are

energised by demonstration

Prototype funding edges AFSOC closer to future combat use of high-energy payload

I

srael has proposed a deal to pur-

chase additional Boeing F-15s,

in a package that would also in-

clude upgrading its air force’s ex-

isting I-model examples to the

same standard.

Worth almost $4 billion, the

potential purchase would in-

clude 25 twin-engined F-15Is in

an advanced configuration. The

new version’s airframe would

have an extended lifespan and

enhanced features including a

large-area cockpit display.

The purchase of additional

F-15s has gained priority for the

Israeli air force’s high command

over ordering a third squadron of

Lockheed Martin F-35Is. The ra-

tionale is that while the F-35’s

stealth features are essential at the

start of a conflict, later combat sor-

ties will require assets capable of

carrying a heavier weapons load.

Flight Fleets Analyzer records

the Israeli air force as currently

operating 25 F-15Is, aged be-

tween 18 and 20 years. ■

ACQUISITION ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV

Israel launches $4bn bid to boost F-15I inventory

New AC-130J Ghostrider gunship is viewed as ideal host platform

Air force’s current examples would receive major enhancements

US Air Force

Israel Defence Force

Nearly a decade ago, the US

Air Force Research Laboratory

ended testing of a 100kW-class

chemical oxygen-iodine laser on

a Lockheed Martin C-130, after

an Air Force Scientific Advisory

Board report determined the

weapon had “no tactical utility”.

But interest in such a weapon

has never waned – particularly

at the Air Force Special Opera-

tions Command (AFSOC). Since

the late 1990s, the organisation

has lobbied for funding to

develop a laser weapon for its

C-130 gunships.

Following the demise of the

Advanced Tactical Laser pro-

gramme in 2009, AFSOC’s inter-

ested shifted to solid-state laser

technology. Last month, its com-

mander, Lt Gen Marshall Webb,

complained in Senate testimony

that a programme to install a

60kW-class laser weapon on an

AC-130J Ghostrider gunship by

2022 is advancing, but with a $

million funding shortfall. ■