בימים אלו (14-17 באפריל) מתקיים בפורט וורת' שבטקסס, ארה"ב, הכנס השנתי של האגודה האמריקאית לתעופת צבא היבשה (Army Aviation Association of America). אתמול פורסם מסמך מפת הדרכים של צבא היבשה בנושא כטב"מים. זהו אינו מסמך מחייב מבחינת התקציב או המדיניות, אבל הוא נועד לבצע סקירה של היכולות הקיימות ולהציג חזון ארוך טווח של הפעלת מערכות כטב"מ בצבא היבשה (שיכול להשתנות עם הזמן). המסמך נכתב ע"י U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence.

-כתבה קצרה של DefenseNews.

-קישור למסמך שפורסם [PDF, 10MB]

Experiment provides Experience. Experience fortifies Theory. Knowledge is Power.

The way is clear, the Challenge - strong. The Duty - inescapable.

We must have the facts. Common sense calls for the facts. Now.

-Lieutenant General William E. Kepner

הנ"ל אמנם ישן יותר מזה שהובא לעיל אבל הוא מקיף את כל סוגי הכטב"מים (ובכלל זאת בלוני תצפית למשל) בכל זרועות הבטחון האמריקניות (ולא רק בצבא היבשה) והוא עתיר תמונות, תרשימים, טבלאות (כולל סד"כ קיים ומתוכנן), תיאורי משימות, הסברים על רכיבים נלווים (כמו חיישנים ורשתות התקשורת המאובטחות), סקירה היסטורית, סקירה של תוכניות כטב"מ בשאר העולם ומה לא. השלמה עבת קרס למסמך הראשון.

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDo...oc=GetTRDoc.pdf

Applications for Navy Unmanned Aircraft Systems

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG957.html

The UK Approach to Unmanned Aircraft System

http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F933...211_UAS_v2U.pdf

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42136.pdf

פורסם בחודש שעבר וסוקר מתודית את כל המערכות הקיימות והמתוכננות בזרועות השונות, מה הן יכולותיהן, מדוע לכל זרוע מערכות משלה, האם נעשים מאמצים לאחד פלטפורמות, תוכניות רכש (שימו לב לגידול העצום בתקציב הכולל לכטב"מ ומתוך זה הקצאת 50% ומעלה להצטיידות) ועוד ועוד. חלק מהנתונים מקורם במסמכים קודמים ו/או אחרים. שימו לב שברשות צבא היבשה האמריקני +SOCOM יש כבר כמעט 6000 (!!!) כטב"מים מסוגים שונים, רובם המכריע מקביליו של רוכב שמיים הצה"לי

http://www.navy.mil/features/viewFe...ry_id=70795&f=5

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY, Bahrain (NNS) -- High over head, rain or shine, an elusive, yet sophisticated surveillance equipment flies in areas that are difficult to see with the naked eye.

This system is called Puma AE (Pointer Upgraded Mission Ability - All Environment) and the U.S. Navy is currently testing it aboard ships in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.

A two-person team, consisting of an operation and mission controller, collaborates to operate a system to act as an "eye in the sky." The mission control person tells the operator where to zoom in and zoom out and where to fly and land the craft.

"The Puma AE is all about the ability to operate in any environment around the world," said Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Remick Bailey. "It's meant to be utilitized by small unit commands, especially Special Operational commands due to areas these commands operate in such as small waterways and rivers."

The Puma AE unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a hand-launched high wing monoplane with an electrically driven pusher propeller with has a built-in infrared camera and illuminator in one modular system.

The wingspan alone is 110" and weighs 18 pounds and capable of operating in all environments and temperatures ranging from -20 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and a quarter inch of rain per hour.

Quartermaster 2nd Class Matthew Rodriguez and Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Daniel Meehan, assigned to Riverine Squadron 3 based in Yorktown, Va., had recently completed successful launches with Puma AE on larger naval ships at sea for the first time in an operational capacity.

"We were out here to test the Puma AE to see if it would be good for shipboard use," said Rodriguez. "Puma AE can be used for reconnaissance and visit, board, search and seizure and search (VBSS) and rescue missions. It is very helpful for destroyers and patrol coastal ships."

"While on the patrol coastal ship, we landed the Puma AE as close to the ship as possible and sent a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) to recover it," said Rodriguez.

While many may think that reconnaissance information is stored on Puma AE, it is actually stored on the system's laptop.

Meehan said that once the mission is completed, Puma AE is recovered by either landing on the ship's flight deck or in the water. Puma AE also has the ability to float for multiple hours before sinking.

"This gives us time to get to the craft if it lands far away," said Meehan. "If the Puma AE is recovered by the wrong hands, they can only recover GPS information."

As an all environment reconnaissance system, the Puma AE is technical equipment that has the ability to be used for a variety of missions. Puma AE may become a popular safety tool in the future for land and shipboard operations due to its ability to be used for certain missions in lieu of people.

In the meantime, the Navy continues its testing of Puma AE, high overhead, rain or shine.

Commander, Task Unit 56.7.3 is attached to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 56. CTF 56 conducts maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...raining-379178/

צבא ארה"ב עורך רפורמה במערך הדרכת הכטב"מים שלו. צבא ארה"ב מכשיר כיום מפעילי רייבן ופומה (הכטב"מים הקטנים לרמת הגדוד) בפורט בנינג בקרולינה ואת מפעילי הכטב"מים הגדולים (ההנטר, השאדו והגריי-איגל) בקורסים נפרדים בפורט הוצ'וקה באריזונה. בגדול השינוי מדבר על כך שמעתה יוכשרו בפורט בנינג מדריכים ולא מפעילים, שיחזרו ליחידות האם שלהם ברחבי הגלובוס וידריכו שם את החיילים המפעילים. לגבי אריזונה, שם יאוחדו הקורסים השונים למקצוע צבאי אחד של מפעיל כטב"מ גדול, וזאת למרות ההבדלים הניכרים בין שלשת הפלטפורמות. הרקע לשינויים הוא משוב שהגיע מהשטח (עירק, אפגניסטן ופריסות) לצד רצון ליצור הלימה טובה יותר בין מערך הכשרת הכטב"מים ומערכי כלי הטיס של הצבא (קבועי כנף ומסוקים).

מסמך מקיף שנכתב ב 2011 וסוקר את מערכות הלחימה הבלתי מאוישות באוויר, בים וביבשה הנמצאות בשימוש ובפיתוח של הזרועות השונות בדגש על יצירת אחידות, התייעלות, אינטגרציה ואינטראופרביליות בתחומים כמו שו"ב, איסוף מידע והפצתו לצרכנים השונים ברמות השונות, שימוש בתדרים וערוצי תקשורת, מערכות הנעה, מטעדים וחימוש וכו'. שימו לב לשני הפרקים העוסקים בסיבוכיות ההולכת וגדלה של הפעלת כטב"מים מעל ארה"ב גופא - רישוי, סימון, תקשורת עם גופי פיקוח אזרחי ורשויות הצבא,תיאום נתיבי ומרחב אווירי ועוד וגם לזה העוסק באתגרים הטמונים בהפעלה אוטונומית של כטב"מים.

2036-Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap 2011

http://www.defenseinnovationmarketp...admapFY2011.pdf

התפרסה במגזין AUSA בינואר 2013

RQ-20A Puma All-Environment Unmanned Aircraft System

http://www.ausa.org/publications/ar...January2013.pdf

Whither The Hunter-Killers? USAF Ponders Post-Afghan Glut of Reapers, Predators

http://www.defensenews.com/article/...apers-Predators

Some 16 months ago, as the U.S. surge in Afghanistan was in full swing, the Air Force was ordered to get to 65 drone combat air patrols. Each CAP represents a UAV on station 24/7 and requires about four aircraft to make happen. Currently, the Air Force has 258 Predators and Reapers staffing 60 CAPs. There are almost 300 Reapers still on order, largely to replace the Predators

שימו לב

And it’s not cheap to fly a Reaper. An hour of air time costs about $8,000, according to a 2012 audit by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Compare that to the $6,000-per-hour tab for an MC-12 Project Liberty, a twin-engine King Air plane flown by a pilot and a co-pilot with a technician and analyst in the back.

לפסיפיק ודרום אמריקה?

“We are very interested in making sure the MQ-9 stays relevant for the strategic environment, particularly in the Pacific region. Part of that is survivability,” said Chris Pehrson, who directs strategic development for the company. “Making sure it can operate in an A2/AD environment.” One command that’s been hungry for more ISR assets is Southern Command, which wants more eyes on the drug trade, FARC rebels, Venezuela, Cuba and more.

וכמובן אפריקה

Potentially, the biggest beneficiary of the UAVs’ departure from CENTCOM will be AFRICOM. There have drone operations out of Djibouti, after all, for years, and there have been drone strikes in Somalia. UAVs have also launched out of Seychelles and Ethiopia. In the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress approved $50 million in classified ISR for Operation Observant Compass, the hunt for Joseph Kony of the cultlike Lord’s Resistance Army.

But still, this is all part of a vast continent. Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti is 3,300 miles away from the action in Mali, which is to say it is of no more use than a base in Italy. Africa’s vast space requires a network of landing strips, and basing issues there are a hornet’s nest. The Trans-Sahel is ringed by Algeria, Morocco, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Mali — all in a perpetual state of competition.

ISR After Afghanistan

http://www.airforcemag.com/Magazine...13/0113ISR.aspx

Over the last year, the lion’s share of U-2, Global Hawk, and RC-135 Rivet Joint missions has been carried out in US Central Command’s area of responsibility. USAF’s MC-12 fleet, rushed into theater to fill the demand for full-motion video and sensor data, collects two football seasons’ worth of video in one day, and requests still pile up, James said. Airmen in the ISR field gather and use data in new and innovative ways every day, bringing together information from all sources—signals, imagery, geo mapping, and others.

ISR integration also touches the service’s tacair modernization programs. One of the taskings out of the last Corona meeting was to lay out a way ahead for USAF’s fifth generation fighters—the F-22 and F-35—and how to use their ISR capabilities. While these assets have huge capabilities, USAF officials have repeatedly noted, they still need to pass and receive data from networks via assets such as E-3 AWACS, ground stations, and other nodes of the ISR fleet which aren’t fifth generation aircraft.

"המעבר לפסיפיק"

For example, of the U-2 fleet’s 1,400 sorties since November 2011, nearly 300 were in response to taskings in US Pacific Command. As forces become available from Afghanistan, many senior officials anticipate the number of PACOM taskings to grow steadily.

גיחות כטב"מ באפגניסטן נכון לסוף הרבעון האחרון ב 2012



תמונה מעניינת שצולמה בתוך צלחת המכ"ם של האייווקס - פעם ראשונה שאני רואה דבר כזה

New Drone Strike Undercuts Obama’s Promises on Robot War
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/201...e-restrictions/

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/201...ilitary-drones/

שימו לב גם לרישום שם הטייס (מפקד טייסת 42 דאז) ור"צ קרקע, בדומה למטוסים

Global Hawk Increasing Situational Awareness for the Warfighter

http://www.theresearchcorridor.com/...es/Ed-Walby.pdf

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/ran.../RAND_RR449.pdf

http://www.strategicstudiesinstitut....cfm?pubID=1167

A TOP SECRET CLASS OF AUTONOMOUS DRONES IS CHANGING THE WAY WAR IS WAGED


http://www.popsci.com/inside-new-stealth-arsenal


[התמונה הבאה מגיעה מקישור שלא מתחיל ב https ולכן לא הוטמעה בדף כדי לשמור על https תקין: http://www.popsci.com/sites/popsci.com/files/styles/medium_1x_/public/drone1.jpg?itok=qOZtjOA-]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...e-new-frontline


[התמונה הבאה מגיעה מקישור שלא מתחיל ב https ולכן לא הוטמעה בדף כדי לשמור על https תקין: http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/2/23/1424713296246/697eacc9-3b11-470a-96a0-30141522cff5-620x400.jpeg]



[התמונה הבאה מגיעה מקישור שלא מתחיל ב https ולכן לא הוטמעה בדף כדי לשמור על https תקין: http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2015/2/23/1424713621820/239f0d94-de7a-4dce-bf47-02f89a2dd5f8-620x493.jpeg]

http://breakingdefense.com/2015/06/...ying-ieds-cnas/


[התמונה הבאה מגיעה מקישור שלא מתחיל ב https ולכן לא הוטמעה בדף כדי לשמור על https תקין: http://breakingdefense.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/06/Soldier-launches-Raven-handheld-drone-hires_091009-A-3108M-009-1024x680.jpg]


“Drones will enable airborne IEDs [improvised explosive devices] that can actively seek out US forces, rather than passively lying in wait,” Sayler wrote in the report. “Indeed, low-cost drones may lead to a paradigm shift in ground warfare for the United States, ending more than a half-century…in which US ground forces have not had to fear attacks from the air.”

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/ran...RAND_RR1016.pdf

With the nation facing a variety of domestic threats and potential emergencies, policymakers are looking for ways to respond, especially as budgets decline. They need to exploit new capabilities and optimize those that already exist. Air National Guard (ANG) remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) may offer such an opportunity. However, significant sensitivities may arise in the use of military RPAs for domestic missions. There are also constraints at both the operational and policy levels.

In Air National Guard Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Domestic Missions: Opportunities and Challenges, the authors attempt to guide the discussion of ANG's utility in domestic missions. The report analyzes which domestic RPA missions are best suited to the ANG's current and planned capabilities and explores the policy and operational constraints that ANG RPAs face in conducting such missions. The authors gathered and analyzed data on the kinds of missions that RPAs conduct domestically, the current and future capabilities of the ANG's RPA force (such as sensors), and the policy and operational constraints the ANG faces in using its RPAs to fly domestic missions.

The authors find that the current ANG RPA force can add the most value by freeing up DHS RPAs to focus on the missions for which they are best equipped: border countermigrant, border change-detection, and maritime counterdrug missions. Consequently, decisionmakers should consider ANG RPAs for incident-reconnaissance missions and, to the extent that policy restrictions allow, fixed-target surveillance. The authors also recommend developing a strategy that can help identify and address congressional concerns while providing transparency for the public as the Department of Defense works to explain its policies and uses for RPAs domestically.

There Are Five Types of Domestic RPA Missions
The mission types are border countermigrant, border change detection, maritime counterdrug operations, incident reconnaissance, and fixed-target surveillance.
Given their current capabilities, ANG RPAs are best suited to incident reconnaissance and fixed-target surveillance. As the ANG introduces more MQ-9s, the force will also become capable of border change-detection missions, which rely on synthetic aperture radar.
ANG RPAs' Utility in Domestic Missions Is Affected by Several Key Policy Constraints
The Secretary of Defense must explicitly approve any operational use of DoD RPAs within the United States.
RPA units must draft and gain approval of a Proper Use Memorandum outlining the mission, intended use of the imagery, and safeguards that will be employed to prevent unauthorized development or use of imagery.
Operating RPAs in most unrestricted airspace requires special approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the form of a certificate of authorization.
United States Code Title 10 and Title 32 offer further constraints on information sharing.
Recommendations

The current ANG RPA force can add the most value by freeing up DHS RPAs to focus on the missions for which they are best equipped: border countermigrant, border change-detection, and maritime counterdrug missions. Consequently, decisionmakers should consider ANG RPAs for incident-reconnaissance missions and, to the extent that policy restrictions allow, fixed-target surveillance.
The ANG should prioritize the MQ-9 conversion of units closest to the southwestern border. This would position aircraft with appropriate sensors closest to the areas where they would be best utilized, which would speed response while minimizing the need for transits to the border and thus requests for access to additional airspace.
When conducting RPA-related exercises and training, the National Guard should include events focusing on strategic-level policy constraints and coordination with personnel from OSD and other agencies.



The National Guard and other stakeholders should adopt procedures like those associated with the Secretary of Defense Orders Book; this would simplify the process of deploying and employing RPAs for domestic operations.
The ANG should host workshops or conferences to educate law enforcement agencies and first responders about RPA capabilities and the processes required to obtain support for law enforcement or emergency management operations. These exchanges should help stakeholders identify ways to streamline civil support processes.
The ANG should develop a strategy to identify and address congressional concerns while providing transparency for the public as DoD works to explain its policies and uses for RPAs domestically.