Flight International - 5 June 2018

DEFENCE

24 | Flight International | 5-11 June 2018 flightglobal.com

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T

wo Boeing F/A-18E/F Super

Hornets have demonstrated a

sensor fusion capability that com-

bines the data from multiple sen-

sors on both aircraft in near real-

time, as the programme launches

the Block III version of the

20-year-old, carrier-based fighter.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 is

most often associated with a sen-

sor fusion capability that dramat-

ically improves the information

available to any single pilot in a

strike package, but the F/A-18E/F

fleet has been steadily catching

up with its stealthy counterpart’s

most advanced capabilities.

The Block II version of the

Super Hornet introduced a

decade ago included a multi-sen-

sor integration function, but this

was limited to the aircraft’s two

primary sensors: Raytheon’s

APG-79 active electronically

scanned array radar and its Harris

ALQ-214 countermeasure sys-

tem. It also was limited to operat-

ing on a single-aircraft basis only.

The US Navy’s fiscal year 2018

budget includes funds to procure

24 F/A-18E/Fs, including the first

six of 116 funded Block III exam-

ples in the service’s long-range

spending plan, says Bob Korne-

gay, Boeing’s business develop-

ment manager for the F/A-18E/F

and EA-18G programmes.

The Block III package provides

upgrades including an ability to

receive and transfer large amounts

of sensor data with other Super

Hornets and the navy’s Northrop

Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawk-

eye airborne early warning and

control system aircraft.

A second-generation infrared

search and track (IRST) sensor is

also incorporated, allowing the

Super Hornet to passively detect

and track enemy aircraft. This

also can detect targets that are

stealthy to radar at long ranges,

although not with enough clarity

when using a single aircraft to

provide targeting information.

But the Block III package also

adds the Rockwell Collins Tacti-

cal Targeting Network Technolo-

gy (TTNT) radio and an ad-

vanced processor. Those

upgrades allow two or more

Super Hornets to share IRST sen-

sor data sufficient for a targeting

solution, Kornegay says.

Boeing demonstrated the Block

III model’s multi-ship targeting

system last year, when two F/A-

18Es equipped with a first-genera-

tion IRST, TTNT and the new pro-

cessor shared and fused sensor

data in near-real time.

“The aircrew said it was

‘eye-watering’, in terms of being

able to see things they’d never

seen before,” Kornegay says. ■

I

sraeli company Tactical Robot-

ics has demonstrated its

Cormorant vertical take-off and

landing unmanned air vehicle’s

ability to carry out medical evac-

uation duties.

Conducted at Megiddo air-

field in Northern Israel on 7

May, the activity involved taking

off with a cargo load and per-

forming a pre-planned flight to a

specified point of delivery. The

cargo was then offloaded before

a medical training mannequin

was loaded onto the aircraft and

transported back to the Cormo-

rant’s point of origin.

During the flight, a monitor

transmitted information about

the condition of the “patient” to

personnel on the ground, while a

video camera – which would

allow for two-way communica-

tion with a genuine casualty –

was also tested.

The sortie was performed

autonomously, apart from load-

ing and unloading.

Tactical Robotics chief execu-

tive Rafi Yoeli says the demon-

stration flight highlights the Sa-

fran Helicopter Engines Arriel

2-powered Cormorant’s unique

capability to carry out un-

manned cargo delivery and cas-

ualty evacuation missions.

“We see the Israeli defence

forces as our first customer, and

have been working with their ex-

perts to define the needed capa-

bilities,” Yoeli says.

The company has designed its

Cormorant in accordance with

the US Federal Aviation Admin-

istration’s passenger carrying

certification standards. ■

ENHANCEMENT GARRETT REIM LOS ANGELES

Sensor fusion updates to give

Super Hornet stronger sting

Boeing demonstrates ability for multi-ship formation to share advanced targeting data

DEMONSTRATION

ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV

Cormorant UAV

tests its medical

evacuation skills

US Navy

Block III upgrade package will

network F/A-18E/F formations

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