thedrifter
09-09-07, 06:13 PM
UAVs may go ballistic
By Paul Richfield - prichfield@militarytimes.com
Posted : September 17, 2007
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched an exploratory development program with the goal of placing a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle anywhere on the planet within one hour. Delivered by intercontinental ballistic missile, the UAV will be required to remain on station until it is relieved or its mission finished.
DARPA’s Rapid Eye initiative could emerge as the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance portion of a larger U.S. requirement for a Prompt Global Strike force able to function independently of overseas bases or nearby naval forces. The Air Force has proposed a stealthy, subsonic manned bomber that would enter service after 2018, but it and the Navy are also considering equipping land- and sea-based ballistic missiles with conventional warheads.
The Navy’s program is based on the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile, while the Air Force is developing the Common Aero Vehicle — a hypersonic glider that could carry conventional munitions atop modified Minuteman or Peacekeeper missiles. The CAV has also been proposed as a UAV carrier. A parallel effort, Conventional Strike Missile, omits the glider and swaps the ICBMs’ nuclear warheads for sensor-fused submunitions or other precision-guided weapons.
But some fear that blurring the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons is inherently dangerous, because the launch of an ICBM carrying a conventional warhead or a UAV might be mistaken for a nuclear attack.
“The Chinese only have a minimal nuclear deterrent and Russia’s is deteriorating rapidly, so both may be under pressure to launch a retaliatory strike before they know what we’re really up to,” said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. To reduce that risk, the Air Force plans to base the conventional missiles along the coasts of California and Florida, far from its Cold War-era missile silos.
It would be more difficult for the Navy to segregate its conventional Tridents from nuclear-armed versions on the same submarines. Inspections could alleviate concerns, but the risk would rise dramatically if the U.S. elected to fire its conventionally armed ICBMs quickly during a crisis.
Using existing technologies, DARPA seeks to develop a system able to fire an ICBM into space, and upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, slow its payload compartment enough to deploy a midsized UAV. The UAV’s engine, sensors and communications gear would then be activated and the vehicle maintained on station for seven to 15 hours.
The requirements stipulate the use of an existing launch vehicle, or one that will be in the U.S. inventory by 2009. The UAV must be able to carry a 500-pound payload and meet a 5-kilowatt power requirement, and may require folding or inflatable wings to fit inside the rocket. Lighter-than-air vehicles or approaches that employ buoyant flight won’t be considered.
By Paul Richfield - prichfield@militarytimes.com
Posted : September 17, 2007
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched an exploratory development program with the goal of placing a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle anywhere on the planet within one hour. Delivered by intercontinental ballistic missile, the UAV will be required to remain on station until it is relieved or its mission finished.
DARPA’s Rapid Eye initiative could emerge as the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance portion of a larger U.S. requirement for a Prompt Global Strike force able to function independently of overseas bases or nearby naval forces. The Air Force has proposed a stealthy, subsonic manned bomber that would enter service after 2018, but it and the Navy are also considering equipping land- and sea-based ballistic missiles with conventional warheads.
The Navy’s program is based on the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile, while the Air Force is developing the Common Aero Vehicle — a hypersonic glider that could carry conventional munitions atop modified Minuteman or Peacekeeper missiles. The CAV has also been proposed as a UAV carrier. A parallel effort, Conventional Strike Missile, omits the glider and swaps the ICBMs’ nuclear warheads for sensor-fused submunitions or other precision-guided weapons.
But some fear that blurring the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons is inherently dangerous, because the launch of an ICBM carrying a conventional warhead or a UAV might be mistaken for a nuclear attack.
“The Chinese only have a minimal nuclear deterrent and Russia’s is deteriorating rapidly, so both may be under pressure to launch a retaliatory strike before they know what we’re really up to,” said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. To reduce that risk, the Air Force plans to base the conventional missiles along the coasts of California and Florida, far from its Cold War-era missile silos.
It would be more difficult for the Navy to segregate its conventional Tridents from nuclear-armed versions on the same submarines. Inspections could alleviate concerns, but the risk would rise dramatically if the U.S. elected to fire its conventionally armed ICBMs quickly during a crisis.
Using existing technologies, DARPA seeks to develop a system able to fire an ICBM into space, and upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, slow its payload compartment enough to deploy a midsized UAV. The UAV’s engine, sensors and communications gear would then be activated and the vehicle maintained on station for seven to 15 hours.
The requirements stipulate the use of an existing launch vehicle, or one that will be in the U.S. inventory by 2009. The UAV must be able to carry a 500-pound payload and meet a 5-kilowatt power requirement, and may require folding or inflatable wings to fit inside the rocket. Lighter-than-air vehicles or approaches that employ buoyant flight won’t be considered.