AIR International – June 2018

30 | http://www.airinternational.com @[email protected]

SCENE

US Navy MQ-4C Triton enters service

The US Navy’s Northrop Grumman

MQ-4C Triton maritime surveillance

unmanned aerial system officially

entered squadron service with

Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19

(VUP-19) ‘Big Red’ on June 1,

at Naval Air Station Point Mugu,

California. The squadron is currently

flying training and evaluation

missions. This paves the way for the

first Triton deployment, to Guam,

scheduled to take place with two air

vehicles later this year. The Guam

deployment will increase to four

air vehicles with full sensor suites

by 2021. A hangar at Point Mugu

has been completely refurbished to

house four Tritons. David C Isby

The first two operational US Navy MQ-4C Triton aircraft, BuNo 168460 and BuNo 168461, in the newly refurbished hangar at

Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, with VUP-19 insignia applied to their vertical stabilisers. Northrop Grumman

Korsar completes

state tests

Russia’s Korsar UAV has completed

its state tests and will enter

production, along with the rotary-

wing Kotran UAV, Deputy Defence

Minister Yuriy Borisov said in a recent

TV interview.

The Luch design bureau at

Rybinsk developed the Korsar

system, starting in 2012. The first

prototype flew in 2015. Deliveries

to the Russian military for test and

evaluation started in 2016. It has

been used operationally in Syria.

The Korsar has a 100-mile (160km)

combat radius and ten hours’

endurance with a ceiling of up to

20,000ft. Designed to operate from

surfaced runways, its wingspan is

6.5m (21ft 4in), length 4.2m (13ft

9in) and maximum weight 200kg

(440lb). Cruising speed is 65kts

(120km/h) and maximum speed

81kts (150km/h). While the Korsar

is capable of being armed with

the AT-16 Scallion (9M120 Ataka)

6,000m-range (19,685ft) anti-tank

guided missile, it is uncertain whether

it has yet been integrated with

this weapon. The Korsar’s primary

mission remains intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance.

David C Isby

The US Air Force has started operating

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

Inc MQ-9 Reapers on intelligence,

surveillance and reconnaissance

missions from Miroslawiec Air Base

in Poland, it announced on May 29.

The number of Reapers deployed to

the base, which is used by Poland for

UAV operations, and how long they

will be deployed was not disclosed.

The Reapers reportedly arrived in

Poland earlier in the month on board

Antonov An-124 heavy lift transports.

David C Isby

MUX UAV requirements

The US Marine Corps remains on

track for a 2020 down-select for

its Marine Unmanned Expeditionary

(MUX) UAV, which is seen as being a

critical part of its future capability to

carry out networked expeditionary

combat operations. At a meeting

with industry at the Marine Corps

base at Quantico, Virginia, on June

6–7, the Marines described their

desired performance as similar to

the MQ-1 Predator, but capable

of operating from unimproved

airfields and amphibious warfare

ships, although the programme’s

requirements and cost caps will

not be approved until an analysis

of alternative systems study is

concluded later this year.

The Marines have identified the four

highest-priority Tier 1 missions for a

MUX design as being airborne early

warning, intelligence, surveillance

and reconnaissance, electronic

warfare and communications relay.

The wide range of missions means

podded mission configurations along

with a basic but high-endurance

platform appear to be what the

Marines are looking for. Offensive air

support was identified as among the

secondary Tier 2 missions, although

the ability to designate targets is

included in Tier 1. David C Isby

Reapers in

Poland

HammerHead trial

Piaggio Aerospace has

completed test flights of its

P1HH HammerHead system

using satellite control to evaluate

technologies, which allow flying

beyond radio line of sight. This

was the first test of its kind using

a European medium-altitude long-

endurance system. The testing

was carried out at Trapani-Birgi,

Sicily by Piaggio and Telespazio, a

joint venture between Leonardo

(67%) and Thales (33%), which

provided the satellite technology.

Tests were performed using the

satellite Athena-Fidus, which is

managed by Telespazio’s Fucino

Space Centre. The satellite allowed

the test team to communicate the

necessary command and control

information to the P1HH and

transmit the onboard sensor data

acquired during the flight from the

aircraft to the ground.

Fabio Guida, Chief Technology

Officer of Piaggio Aerospace,

said: “Our aircraft guaranteed the

success of a key test at European

level for the future development

of the defence and security sector

that will increasingly rely upon

remotely piloted systems of this

class.” Guida reaffirmed the first

deliveries of the P1HH to the Italian

military will take place later this

year. Mark Broadbent

Piaggio’s P1HH HammerHead recently completed test flights using satellite

control. Piaggio Aerospace

Engine run

On May 31, General Atomics

Aeronautical Systems Inc

disclosed that its solution to

the US Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray

unmanned carrier aviation air

system completed its first run

with the Pratt & Whitney PW815

engine on April 5. Mark Broadbent