US aerospace and defence firm Boeing has started to piece together a brand new, hydrogen fuel-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) design called ‘Phantom Eye’ – the company said in an 8 March press release.

Phantom Eye is intended to be a demonstration platform for new advanced engine technologies, and its first flight is scheduled for the beginning of 2011.

Phantom Eye UAV

The Phantom Eye UAV will be a twin-engined aircraft measuring 150 feet across. It will be a long-endurance vehicle able to loiter in the air for in excess of 96 hours at a time, cruising as high as 65,000 feet with a 450 pound payload. It has a number of perceived roles such as surveillance, intelligence, communications and reconnaissance, all based on its ability to stay airborne for so long.

“The essence of Phantom Eye is its propulsion system”, Phantom Works president at Boeing, Darryl Davis, stressed.

“After five years of technology development, we are now deploying rapid prototyping to bring together an unmanned aerial vehicle with a breakthrough liquid-hydrogen propulsion system that will be ready to fly early next year.”

Boeing UAV Technology

Boeing is developing additional HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAV technology with capabilities beyond those even of Phantom Eye, it said in the same release. Its Phantom Ray project sees it working on a craft able to carry out 10-day long missions, and to lift 2,000+ pound payloads aloft to boot.

“We believe Phantom Eye and Phantom Ray represent two areas where the unmanned aerial vehicle market is heading, and rapid prototyping is the key to getting us there,” vice president for Advanced Boeing Military Aircraft, Dave Koopersmith, stated.

“These innovative demonstrators reduce technology risks and set the stage for meeting both military and commercial customers’ future needs.”

The Phantom Eye’s engine is adapted from a Ford truck engine. The modifications carried out on it are intended to provide the aircraft with the greatest achievable range and – said another Boeing representative – the hydrogen fuel it will use will offer triple the power that the equivalent weight in gasoline would provide.

Boeing Phantom Eye image copyright of Boeing and published with grateful thanks

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Military Troop Support Robot to Be Developed

EADS and Northrop Grumman have dropped out of the competition to produce and supply a future tanker aircraft for the United States Air Force, it emerged on 8 March 2010.

The consortium’s decision leaves Boeing as the sole bidder for a multi-billion dollar contact for 179 new air-refuellers to replace the USAF’s KC-135 fleet.

EADs/Northrop Grumman’s announcement marked the end of a bitterly-contested series of events, the most recent of which occurred two years ago when it was declared the KC-X contract winner, only for the whole bidding process to be restarted, with new terms, after Boeing protested.

EADs – the company said in an online press release – had told the USAF and the US Defense Department that it was concerned that these new terms were significantly favourable towards Boeing.

Air Force Tanker Contract

Both EADS/Northrop Grumman and Boeing had been offering militarised adaptations of existing airliner designs for the air force tanker contract. The European/US consortium had put forward the KC-45 - an aircraft rooted in the Airbus A330 airliner - while Boeing had submitted the KC-767 Advanced Tanker, derived from the 767 airliner.

With a wingspan of just over 156 feet and a length of 159 feet, the KC-767 is substantially smaller than the KC-45: a factor referred to in the EADS press release.

“The source selection methodology clearly signals a preference for a smaller aircraft”, it said. “This is particularly disappointing given that the Air Force previously had selected the A330-based KC-45 because of its added capability, lower risk and best value. The Defense Department’s RFP [Request For Proposal] ignores the added combat capability that could be provided by the KC-45.”

EADS/ Northrop Grumman

Despite EADS and Northrop Grumman’s sentiments, a representative for the latter stressed that no plans existed to lodge a complaint. “America's service men and women have been forced to wait too long for new tankers” Wes Bush – chief executive at Northrop Grumman stated. “Taking actions that would further delay the introduction of this urgent capability would also not be acting responsibly.”

News of the withdrawal coincided with the release by Boeing of further details of its KC-767. The aircraft, Boeing said, would feature the same digital flightdeck incorporated into the brand-new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, along with revised refuelling technology.

The KC-767 development programme, Boeing added, would “...support substantially more jobs in the United States than an Airbus A330 tanker that is designed and largely manufactured in Europe.”

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USAF Tanker Competition Reopens

China's air force is now more potent and capable than Taiwan's, according to a new defence ministry report issued on 8 March 2010. The report’s release coincided with renewed efforts by Taiwan to acquire new fighter jet technologies from the US.

The Republic of China (Taiwanese) Air Force operates three key fighter types: the French Mirage 2000, the US-built Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon and the locally-assembled AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo. Of these, said Taiwan, only the F-16s could be thought of as moderately superior to Chinese equipment. China’s fleet of Sukhoi Su-30 multirole aircraft possessed capabilities beyond those of the other two aircraft, the Taiwanese Liberty Times publication said.

Taiwan: Air Force Fighters

The Republic of China Air Force’s F-16s are older, A and B models, but the Taiwanese military craves more up-to-date fighters - F-16 Cs and Ds - as a recent statement from air force command stressed. “As the Chinese communist air force continues with its military build-up and the military balance has gradually tipped towards the other side, the air force will strive to purchase F-16 C/Ds”, it said.

China has long thought itself the true owner of Taiwan - a claim that the island territory strongly disputes – and has not ruled out the idea of military force as a means of regaining governance over it.

Taiwan Arms Sale

According to military analysts – the sale of advanced US hardware to Taiwan could promote Chinese anger. A multi-billion dollar arms sale was established between Taiwan and the US at the start of 2010, which included the provision of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, but excluded fighter jets.

The US agreed in 1979 that it would support Taiwan’s self-defence strategies. Earlier in 2010, the US Defense Intelligence Agency produced a report which spoke of Taiwan’s limited airpower capabilities, compared to China. “Although Taiwan has nearly 400 combat aircraft in service, far fewer of these are operationally capable”, it said.

A new virtual training device is being used by the US Army to enhance soldiers' training experiences ahead of deployment to the frontline.

The Reconfigurable Vehicle Tactical Trainer (RVTT), manufactured by Lockheed Martin, was officially opened last month at the US Army's Camp Aachen in the Grafenwoehr Training Area.

The RVTT (pictured) surrounds soldiers in a realistic virtual world. According to David W. Darnall, Program Manager for the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC), the RVTT is a far more comprehensive - and realistic - training system for soldiers.

It is unlike a traditional simulator which limits users by only enabling them to look through a monitor. The RVTT, Darnall explains, is a 360-degree virtual world. He said: "There's no such thing as moving your mouse to glance right. In here, you glance right and you see the terrain moving. It becomes much more immersive."

Close Combat Tactical Trainer

The RVTT is also known as the Close Combat Tactical Trainer. It allows training commanders to replicate realistic combat environments and scenarios. This, says Darnall, will improve the effectiveness of training. "You're going to have the same rate of acceleration...you're going to have the same rate of fire on that weapon as you would in real life. You have to do the things you would normally do to be successful," said Darnall.

A key advantage of RVTT in this regard is the ability for an entire platoon to train simultaneously on the same mission. This also has the added benefit of reducing costs in fuel and ammunition. Darnall also explained that each RVTT scenario can be customised to take advantage of eight terrain databases, including the training sites of the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas in Germany.

The RVTT system consists of four to five trailers, two of which are equipped with life-size replica vehicles surrounded by floor-to-ceiling screens on which the images are projected. A third trailer provides command and control capabilities, with a fourth supplying power and a fifth spare parts.

The ultimate goal is to deploy RVTT as part of the US Army Europe's first Virtual Device Training Facility that will also incorporate Mobile Close Combat Tactical Trainers, mission simulators and the future Dismounted Soldier Virtual Trainer, a system that will allow up to 12 Soldiers to physically manoeuvre through a three-dimensional virtual world with the use of goggles and body sensors.

US Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) aircraft have staged a major joint exercise. The exercise at Kadena Air Force Base near Okinawa, Japan, took place on February 22-26 and involved a simulated attack on Okinawa by ‘enemy' aggressor aircraft.

USAF F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16CJ Fighting Falcons joined with F-15Js from the JASDF to form the "blue air" force. Their mission was to prevent "red air" - or ‘enemy' forces - from entering Okinawa's airspace and launching an attack on the city. The exercise saw the "blue air" forces responding to the ‘hostile' aircraft flying simulated attack scenarios.

The aim was to train both USAF and JASDF personnel in jointly planning and executing missions, and to allow personnel from both air forces to learn and develop understanding of tactics, techniques and operating procedures. Additionally, the aircraft playing the role of the ‘enemy' were validating tactics and new weapons systems.

USAF bases in Japan

Most of the USAF exercise participants in the friendly "blue air" force were drawn from USAF bases in Japan. F-15E Strike Eagles from the USAF's 67th and 44th Fighter Squadrons, both stationed at Kadena AFB and F-16CJ Fighting Falcons from the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa AFB were major players in the exercise. The JASDF forces involved were F-15Js from the 201st Fighter Squadron at Chitose Air Force Base, Hokkaido, and the 204th Fighter Squadron at Naha AFB near Okinawa. F-15Es from the 391st Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and F-16CMs the 80th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan AFB, Republic of Korea, also participated in the exercise.

The "red air" team - those aircraft simulating the ‘enemy' - comprised F-16s from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska; a combination of aircraft from Kadena AB, US Navy VAQ-136 Prowlers from Atsugi, Japan and C-130s from the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota AB, Japan.

Air Force exercises

USAF participants felt they learnt valuable lessons from the exercise. Major Andrew Avery, an F-15 pilot, said: "We're learning a lot of new things about tactics, and...finding ways of developing ourselves a little bit differently than what we're normally trained to."

Colonel Ronald Banks, 18th Operations Group commander, explained that the exercise was quite one of the most significant air force exercises to take place involving aircraft and personnel from the Alaska and Pacific Air Force, and hinted that there may be further joint American-Japanese exercises of this nature.

He said: "We have gained a significant amount of experience by training alongside other Air Force, sister service, and JASDF units all focused on one common objective; the defense of Japan. This has not happened before to this scale in a simulated air war."

"The JASDF realized the benefit of this training and have asked us to continue that type of training, which only further strengthens our alliance and friendship."

A secretive Afghan military helicopter pilot training programme has been underway in the UK for some months, according to information provided jointly by the MoD and defence organisation QinetiQ on March 3rd 2010.

Named Project Curium, the programme has seen Afghan service personnel take to the skies over Britain in Russian Mil Mi-17 helicopters, and these flights have been taking place out of MoD Boscombe Down: a military airbase at the heart of UK military aircraft trial and evaluation procedures.

Helicopter Training: Afghan Army

Project Curium is now almost over. To date helicopter training has been provided to 27 members of the Afghan Army: 18 pilots and nine flight crew members having been progressed through it.

Two Mi-17 have been used, both of them ex-Bulgarian Air Force and both having been extensively modified for their new roles.

Detailing the intrinsics of Project Curium, the ministry provided confirmation that "Afghan pilots and aircrew have been training with the UK Joint Helicopter Command with support from QinetiQ”. These pilots, it added, would form the core base of a new “indigenous Afghan national security force helicopter capability.”

“Initial reports suggest they are a well-respected, competent and motivated cadre of professionals”, the MoD said. “The students have made remarkable progress, mastering a complex task in a foreign language.”

Afghan Helicopter Force

The Mi-17 is a transport helicopter that first flew in the early 1960s and has been produced in vast numbers: an estimated 12,000 having been constructed. The Afghan National Army Air Corps operates the Mi-17 helicopter in the transport and light attack roles and has a force of 28 of them. Four of these are new acquisitions that arrived as a result of work carried out by the United States Navy.

MoD Boscombe Down is sited in the west of England and is home to several important squadrons including the Rotary Wing Test Squadron (which uses Westland Sea King, Lynx and Gazelle helicopters) and the Empire Test Pilots School (which uses a wide range of different aircraft types including the BAE Hawk jet trainer and the Saab JAS39 Gripen multirole fighter).

A US Army official has announced that US Army troops deployed in Afghanistan will wear new camouflage from summer 2010 onwards.

The decision to go with ‘MultiCam’ comes after four months of intense trials and mirrors the US Army’s dedication to ensure that soldiers operating in this part of the world are able to carry out their missions with the maximum possible level of reduced visibility.

Crye MultiCam

MultiCam is a product of Crye Precision and – during tests – was found to be “21 per cent less detectable than UCP [Universal Camouflage Pattern – the scheme used at present]”, Colonel Bill Cole - Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment project manager – said. “MultiCam was the clear winner.”

“As a material provider, I want to be responsive to the soldiers I support”, Cole added in an online US Army press release. “I want to give commanders options, I want to be responsive to Soldiers. That is what we were trying to do - we're working to give more options.”

MultiCam will be supplied to new Afghan arrivals, at first, and they will receive it along with the other equipment that accompanies it: body armour and rucksacks, for example.

Multicam: Future Camouflage

MultiCam’s selection represents the third phase out of a four-phase programme assessing future camouflage within the US military. The recent trials pitched it against a new type of UCP – so-called ‘UCP-Delta.’ Alongside the trials, US Army personnel spend some time gathering information on the Afghan terrain, and the results of this were looked at in collaboration with the field tests.

The fourth phase will see the US Army’s future camouflage alternatives looked at on a long-term basis.

“This decision follows a rigorous four-month evaluation and reflects the Army's commitment to giving soldiers in Afghanistan the most effective concealment possible”, the US Army stated.

At the end of 2009, it was announced that British Army troops would start wearing MTP – Multi-Terrain Pattern – with effect from March this year. MTP is a MultiCam derivative, and so is also produced by Crye Precision.

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New US Army Camouflage Trials

Female US service personnel may be allowed to serve on submarines, it has emerged. Approval for this has been given by the US Defence Department and the measure now awaits Congressional comment prior to being put into motion at the end of March.

The emergence of this news coincided with comments made by the US Army’s Chief of Staff, who stated that current limits placed on women serving within the US military should be re-assessed. At present, female troops cannot officially serve on the front line but – said General George Casey – re-evaluation of this is required.

“I believe it's time that we take a look at what women are actually doing in Iraq and Afghanistan”, General Casey advised US Congress, adding: “And then we look at our policies.”

US Navy Women

The US Navy employs in excess of 330,000 service personnel, of which 15 per cent are women, but while they are allowed to be deployed aboard warships, submarines have always been off-limits. The reasons for this – according to officials – include the limited amount of space within submarines, but it is possible that – in the future – the living areas in the submarines will be compartmentalised, to keep men and women apart.

The introduction of women into submarines will likely take place gradually, and probably not begin for another 12 months at minimum, due to extensive training requirements.

Women: Submarine Crews

A number of nations already permit women to form part of submarine crews: Australia, Norway, Sweden and Spain among them.

There are four different types of submarines in the US Navy: Ohio Class submarines (of which there are 18), Virginia Class (5), Seawolf Class (3) and Los Angeles Class (49). Around 60,000 US Navy personnel are involved in their operations, overall.

Responding to the news, women’s rights organisation the National Women’s Law Center welcomed it and referred to it as “long overdue.”

"Women have proven their value and valor under fire in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is past time to recognize and reward their contributions by removing all barriers to their military service”, the group’s co-president, Nancy Duff Campbell, stated.

Military officials have disclosed details of what new technologies and current technology upgrades the US armed forces would have liked included in the Pentagon's budget for 2011.

According to information provided in written form to US Congress and issued on February 22nd, 2010, certain aircraft and combat vessel maintenance requirements, helicopter modernisations and space programmes were all excluded by the Pentagon: all part of an ‘unfunded priorities list’ totalling $1.8bn in value.

US Military Spending

The total 2011 US military spending requirements list was substantially less detailed than ones put forward when previous Presidents were in power. Before now, US lawmakers utilised this list to try and undermine the Pentagon’s military legislation and submit a case for new weapons programmes, localised to their particular states.

In response, Robert Gates – the US Defense Secretary – told the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps some time back to scale-down their wish-lists, in effect.

This time, USN, USMC and US Army officials stressed that the contents of the unfunded priorities list were significant, but not significant beyond the military contents of the Pentagon’s 2011 budget. USAF officials, however, referred to the air force’s requirements as of “high military value.”

Military Requirements

These military requirements can be summarised as follows:

• US Navy: $532 million in extra funding to support extra maintenance work - $423 for aircraft like Boeing F/A18-E/F Super Hornets and Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeyes, $35 million for maintenance at ship depots and $74 million for aircraft depot maintenance
• US Air Force: $548 million in extra funding, of which $337 million would support aircraft like its Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirits (‘Stealth Bombers’) and Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers
• US Marine Corps: $351 million in extra funding to allows its Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters to be upgraded, and to permit one more Lockheed-Martin KC-130J Hercules aircraft to be acquired
• US Army: $358.7 million in extra funding – specifically $133 million for Patriot missile infrastructure, $51 million for hi-tech GPS technology and additional funds for other purchases

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New USAF Bomber Might be in Future Budget

A new line of ultra-long-range and ultra-long-mission-capable UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) has been introduced into the Israeli Air Force, it emerged on 21 February 2010. Israeli Aerospace Industries’ (IAI’s) Eitan (‘Strong’) is approximately the same size as a small commercial airliner, measures 86 feet across and weighs approximately one tonne.

The Eitan can cruise at 40,000 feet-plus, and spend as long as 20 straight hours aloft on a single sortie. And – according to comments made by Israeli military officials – the aircraft is a surveillance and signals intelligence platform that can undertake additional roles.

Eitan Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The Israeli Air Force’s new Eitan unmanned aerial vehicle fleet was inaugurated at a ceremony held at a military facility. Despite the fact that media representatives were present, events were still conducted with a degree of secrecy. Defence officials provided limited comments on the aircraft, but with their backs turned to the cameras.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Major General Ido Nehushan highlighted the UAV’s ability to potentially “...conduct new missions down the line as they become relevant.”

Eitan Drone

No details have yet been provided on just how many Eitans Israeli has put into initial service. Nor has anything come out in terms of intended operations. What is known, however, is that the Eitan drone is considered a flexible platform capable of carrying out multiple different missions.

According to IAI, its range makes it able to travel from Israel to the Persian Gulf, so including Iran.

“With the inauguration of the Heron TP [an alternative name for Eitan – representing the fact it was developed from IAI’s earlier Heron design], we are realising the Air Force's dream”, local commander Brigadier General Amikam Norkin added. “The Heron TP is a technological and operational breakthrough.”

Israel: UAVs

Israel has been at the forefront of UAV technologies for many years and has supplied its designs to various militaries around the world: the US Army for one.

In October 2009, the Israeli and US militaries carried out a joint missile defence exercise codenamed ‘Juniper Cobra 10’. A total of 2,000 troops participated in the exercise, the aim of which was to assess how each one could react to potential future missile attacks.

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New USAF Stealth UAV Announced