Gulf drone

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In February, the next exhibition of weapons and military equipment IDEX took place in Abu Dhabi. Two years ago, an exposition of UMEX unmanned systems was isolated from it, later transformed into a separate event, which should take place the next year after IDEX. Thus, at the last exhibition of weapons, the concentration of UAV was lower than on previous ones.

Even without dominating against the background of other exhibits, brought together Drones turn out to be a fairly representative sample, giving a complete picture of the relevant sector of the arms market.



With arabic stigma

Companies from the UAE on their stands and open areas showed samples of unmanned systems, created mostly by foreign firms, but promoted to the market of the Emirates with the participation of local firms. In contrast to last year’s specialized exhibition UMEX, many UAV systems were presented as models. But they also attracted attention.

The scale model of P.1HH HammerHead is shown on a large stand of the UAE company ADASI (Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments), which promotes unmanned systems to local consumers from power structures. The developer of the HammerHead UAV - Italian Piaggio Aerospace (formerly Piaggio Aero) was acquired by the Mubadala Development Company from the United Arab Emirates in the 2015 year. Soon, in March, 2016 was followed by the first contract for the supply of eight UAVs to the UAE armed forces worth about 316 million euros. The lead contractor is ADASI.

A famous unmanned helicopter Camcopter S-100 of the Austrian company Schiebel was also demonstrated here. However, in parallel, there was a real sample of UAVs on the developer’s stand. The helicopter was presented by the head of the company Hans Georg Schiebel himself. According to the circulating rumors, the UAE tried to avoid dependence on Schiebel and organized not only the assembly of these unmanned systems, but also the production of individual parts of the structure. However, the idea was not crowned with success.

The large stand of the Emirates International Golden Group (IGG) included various unmanned and robotic systems. In particular, a reduced model of the export version of the American Predator, the Predator XP BLA, was presented. UAE became the first foreign customer of this version of the system. On the eve of IDEX, it was reported that UAVs contracted by the Emirates had already been delivered.

Also at the IGG exposition there was a Spy'Ranger mini-UAV developed by the French company Thales. The 14-kilogram apparatus is capable of carrying a payload weighing up to 1,2 kilograms. The maximum flight duration is more than 2,5 hours, the range is 15 kilometers. This UAV was first shown to the public at Milipol in 2015. At the end of 2016, the French Ministry of Defense decided to purchase 35-like systems. About deliveries abroad is still unknown.

Some progress in the development of UAV systems was observed at the stand of the Prince Sultan Research Institute, which is part of King Saud University (KSA). The scientific research institute has presented a tactical class UAV, which has a certain similarity both according to the scheme, and in terms of weight and size parameters with the American Shadow UAV, rather old-fashioned.

States are serious

The stand of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), as well as several other major American developers of UAV systems, did not spoil visitors with either drones or information about them. There were only models of UAV Predator XP and a video about it. It is known that the characteristics of the export version meet the requirements of the missile technology control regime (MTCR). A separate stand, as well as the level of representation - President Frank Pace was present at the event, obviously talking about the seriousness of the company's intentions to promote its systems to other countries in the Gulf region. GA-ASI is reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait.

US defense giant - Northrop Grumman did not bring its drones to the exhibition aviation systems. At the company's stand were presented ground-based robotic vehicles created by Remotec, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. In particular, the Andros HD SEL vehicles on a tracked chassis and Andros F6B on a wheeled chassis, equipped with observation equipment and manipulators, were shown.

Similar systems were exhibited at the site of the British company QinetiQ. Like many of the light land robotized complexes shown, the majority were devices equipped with means of observation and / or manipulators. However, there were also systems with weapons. Among them, in particular, the well-known development - MAARS. On the chassis is a combat module with a machine gun caliber 7,62 millimeter, as well as a launcher for firing smoke, lighting or high-explosive fragmentation grenades, as well as tear gas. This system, created over 10 years ago, began to be used experimentally by the US military. Then, due to the great innovativeness, it was not widely spread, however, at present, practical interest in such developments has begun to grow.

The new version of the Aerosonde UAV, equipped with a vertical take-off / landing system based on an electric quadcopter, was shown at the stand of the American company Textron. This is a relatively new development - information about it was made public only last year. Interestingly, this solution was also offered in the form of a modernization kit to refine already existing UAVs.

It also showed an upgraded version of the famous M2 tactical UAV Shadow. It is known that the company AAI, which is now part of the Textron, began flight tests of this UAV back in the 2011 year. The improved Shadow-M2 retained the wing of the same span, but received a new fuselage and an 60-strong engine. It differs from the previous version by doubled carrying capacity, which reaches 30 kilograms, increased 2,5 times (up to 15 hours) by the duration of the flight and the new equipment connection bus. It is assumed that the Shadow-M2 will gradually replace in the American forces the system of old modifications, which in turn will be supplied to foreign customers at reduced rates or transferred as military-technical assistance. By the way, last summer, a team of operators conducted test flights of such UAVs in Estonia.

Chinese alternative

The exposition of Chinese companies was quite extensive. At the exhibition, one could see various models of UAV systems offered on the international market, right up to MALE-class vehicles. The PRC industry in recent years has demonstrated visible progress in creating its own IWT systems. Active implementation of UAV projects testifies to this as well as possible. Chinese developers are testing through copying foreign technology, and although the characteristics of some samples are inferior to the originals, overall success is evident.

Of the developments shown, it is worth noting the model of the patrolling ammunition ASN-301, designed to detect and destroy enemy air defense radars. This Chinese development, presented by the China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC), owned by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), is very similar to the Israeli Harpy loitering ammunition, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. The main technical characteristics are also close - for example, the take-off weight of the Chinese model is 135 kilograms against 125 for the Israeli original. It is worth noting that not long ago China acquired loitering ammunition from Israel. One of the deals ended humiliatingly for the PRC - under pressure from the United States, the manufacturing company canceled the contract. But now you can see how quickly the situation is changing: China has already created its own analogue of Harpy, which is likely to be exported, where it will compete, including with Israeli developments.

A significant proportion of UAV systems presented at the exhibition belonged to multirotor apparatus, which is not surprising. One of the curious examples of this kind of UAVs was the HyDrone 1800 unmanned hexacopter, presented by CATIC corporations, using hydrogen fuel cells to power electric motors. This solution, currently used on a limited number of UAVs, can significantly improve the technical characteristics of the devices. So, the HyDrone 1800 UAV with a kilogram 23 take-off weight is capable of flying for up to four hours, carrying a payload of up to five kilograms.

Some of the UAV systems proposed by the PRC could be seen on the stands of local partner companies. Thus, the UAE Trust Fund exhibited the CH-5 (Rainbow 5) model developed by the Chinese Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics and manufactured by CASC Corporation. This is a medium-flight vehicle of long duration, capable of performing both shock and reconnaissance functions. A UAV whose appearance is similar to the American Reaper can be in flight for up to 20 hours. Information and some details about the development of Wing Loong II were distributed at Aviation Expo China in 2015 in Beijing. The first public demonstration of the full-size mockup of the device took place at last year’s China Airshow air show in Zhuhai.

"Socialist" sector

A significant share of unmanned systems at the exhibition was presented by developers from former socialist countries, as well as states that were formerly republics of the USSR. The Czech company New Space Technologies presented at IDEX an ambitious project of new UAVs of the hybrid type Cantas, performed according to the tailsitter scheme. It is planned to create a family of three models - Cantas A (Advanced), Cantas E (Endurance) and Cantas S (Speed) on the basis of a single scheme with different technical characteristics. Cantas A and Cantas E were shown at the full-size exhibition. The wing span of the Cantas A is about 3,3 meters, the maximum take-off weight is 75 kilograms, while the Cantas E has five meters and 65 kilograms, respectively. Vertical take-off and landing of both variants should provide two MVVS E 100 electric motors. For horizontal flight, the Cantas A uses a PBS TJ 40-G 1 turbojet engine, and the Cantas E - a piston MVVS 58 IRS. It is reported that each of the models will be able to work both in standalone mode and during operator control. The duration of the flight of the first UAV is 1,3 hours, the second - 18 hours. The UAV uses interchangeable payload modules with equipment for various purposes with a total weight of 10 kilograms.

Gulf drone
The example of Schiebel, which has made its way onto the world market for unmanned systems through the UAE, obviously attracts other developers who intend to repeat this success. So, at the stand of the company Yugoimport-SDPR JP, the Strsljen helicopter-type UAV, created according to the classic single-rotor scheme with a tail rotor, was first introduced. Maximum take-off weight of the device - 750 kilograms. The UAV is calculated on heights of up to four thousand meters and a flight duration of up to four hours. In addition to surveillance equipment, the device can be equipped with a millimeter 12,7 caliber machine gun and various air-to-surface missiles, including a local-developed EDePro Spider ATGM. The development of the UAV began only a couple of years ago and, apparently, is far from complete. The first flight is scheduled for the fall of 2017.

At the stand of the Polish private company WB Electronics SA (part of the WB Group) was presented reconnaissance UAV Fly Eye. The device has a takeoff weight of 11 kilograms and takes four kilograms of payload. Flight duration - up to 2,5 hours. The device is capable of operating at a distance 50 kilometers from the ground control station, transmitting information in real time. According to reports, the UAV was used by the armed forces of Ukraine in the conflict in the east of the country. Warmate locking ammunition was demonstrated at the stand of the same company. According to the developers, the four-kilogram UAV with an electric motor and a foldable wing is equipped with a warhead weighing 0,7 a kilogram of cumulative (GK-1) or high-explosive (GO-1) actions. The flight distance of the vehicle is up to 10 kilometers, the duration is up to 30 minutes. According to information from the middle of 2016, it was known that contracts for the supply of Warmate systems to Ukraine, as well as to two countries in the Middle East, were concluded.

The Belarusian enterprise “AGAT-Control Systems” presented at the exhibition a new version of the small-sized UAV “Berkut-1E”. Initially, the Irkut-3 system assembled in Belarus on the basis of Russian development was proposed under this name. The new version of the UAV has retained the general scheme - a high-profile with a pusher propeller. At the same time, the UAV became heavier: the take-off weight increased more than twice - from eight kilograms to 3,5, the wing's shape and span, as well as tail, the payload unit was shifted up. Judging by the published data, the technical characteristics of the UAV were not improved in the new version, but probably the main idea was to localize the system to use the solutions offered by the Belarusian industrial enterprises.

"Ukroboronprom" showed at the exhibition a new small UAV aircraft type Anser. In appearance, the Ukrainian drone is very similar to the Russian UAV "Orlan-10". Anser is also a high-profile with a front engine and a pulling screw, the tail tail is made according to the classical scheme, and the keel is more developed than the horizontal tail. The dimensions of the UAV are quite close, the Ukrainian drone is somewhat larger - it was reported that its take-off weight is 23 kilogram against the Russian 16 – 18. In this case, he and the other can carry a payload of up to five kilograms. It is known that in the second half of 2016, the Anser UAV passed flight tests in various modifications in the line of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine.

The Kalashnikov Concern has set up several small-class unmanned aircraft systems designed by its member company ZALA. In particular, among them are two short-range aircraft type UAVs - ZALA 421-16E and ZALA 421-16Е, as well as a small-sized sample helicopter-type multi-rotor UAV ZALA 421-22. It should be noted that some of the drone companies demonstrated by the company, as well as the payload systems installed on them, cause steady associations with the developments of certain non-Russian companies, in particular Aeronautics Defense Systems and Controp.

Despite the decline in the purchasing power of IWT customers from the Gulf countries, who receive substantial shares of the revenues from the sale of energy carriers, the relevant market remains very attractive for suppliers from various countries of the world. Major global companies developing military equipment already have quite good positions in this region. Some new players are trying to follow their example. Among them are representatives of the post-Soviet space.
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  1. +1
    19 March 2017 06: 23
    The Kalashnikov concern has exposed several unmanned aerial systems of a small class of development of the company ZALA included in its structure


    ... so far we have nothing to set, but I hope to catch up ...
    1. +1
      19 March 2017 09: 12
      but I hope to catch up ...

      We need to make up - quickly and using the entire rich backlog of aircraft.
      You can’t lag behind here !!!
  2. +5
    19 March 2017 06: 29
    At this exhibition, the Russian "rising" from its knees "industry looks not just pathetic, but" depressingly insignificant. "
    1. +3
      19 March 2017 07: 58
      Nevertheless, there is hope that this is a temporary phenomenon associated with certain difficulties. Well, and about the industry "rising from its knees" from you sounded somehow evil and with great neglect.
  3. +2
    19 March 2017 08: 33
    Kalashnikov never presented combat models. It’s interesting that the Sukhoi corporation doesn’t deal with the subject matter for them.
  4. 0
    21 March 2017 07: 21
    Quote: Monster_Fat
    At this exhibition, the Russian "rising" from its knees "industry looks not just pathetic, but" depressingly insignificant. "

    Soon we will show you a new Sarmat drone called
  5. +3
    21 March 2017 09: 03
    Famously destroyed the Soviet radio-electronic and aircraft industry ...
    The main thing is that no one is eager to restore something.
    So, somehow rustling and money laundering.
    The same with machine tools.
    In general, the strategy so far is one - help the US Federal Reserve. And the rest - if only it would be enough to protect "acquired by overwork", i.e. so as not to suffer the fate of Yugoslavia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and other careless countries.

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