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thedrifter
10-19-07, 07:17 PM
Coast Guard puts Eagle Eye UAV on hold
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 19, 2007 16:02:36 EDT

Development of the Bell Helicopter-made Eagle Eye unmanned aerial vehicle has been put on hold as the Coast Guard explores other options for ship-based rotary wing surveillance aircraft, a service spokesman said Friday.

The Coast Guard has “frozen” funds marked for development and purchase of Eagle Eye, a tilt-rotor unmanned system that resembles the Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey aircraft, Coast Guard spokesman George Kardulias said.

Aviation program managers in the service’s Integrated Deepwater Systems office have decided to examine alternatives to Eagle Eye see whether the craft provides the “best market value” for the Coast Guard, Kardulias said.

“Technically, the program is not canceled. It’s a good UAV. But we looked at the money and looked at the priorities, and we are studying other UAVs to determine the best value for the mission,” he said.

Under the Deepwater modernization program, the Coast Guard was to purchase up to 69 Eagle Eye UAV systems for surveillance, reconnaissance and security missions.

The aircraft were to deploy on the eight national security cutters and 25 offshore patrol cutters being built under the Deepwater modernization program. They also were to go on board the service’s existing 270-foot and 378-foot cutters.

The fiscal 2004 Homeland Security Appropriations Act included $50 million to develop three Eagle Eye prototypes, and the contract was estimated to have a total worth up to $1 billion for Bell Helicopter.

Neither Kardulias nor Bell officials could say how much money has been spent on the program to date.

The Coast Guard selected Eagle Eye because its design allows it to travel at speeds up to 210 knots. It also is designed to stay on target up to four hours and locate moving targets 80 to 110 nautical miles away in less than 30 minutes.

Since selecting Eagle Eye as part of the initial Deepwater program’s “system of systems” design in June 2002, the rotary-wing UAV market has exploded, with nearly 40 types currently on the market or under development.

The Navy selected the Northrop Grumman-made MQ-8B Fire Scout rotary wing UAV for its littoral combat ships, and on Oct. 12, Boeing announced its A160T Hummingbird flew 12 hours Oct. 12 carrying a payload of 500 pounds.

A spokesman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based Bell Helicopter said Friday the company remains optimistic about their product’s future. “The Eagle Eye has proven its value and ability as a unique, innovative UAV. We have the materials and the desire to move ahead and we await the Coast Guard’s decision,” said spokesman Mike Cox.

If the Coast Guard elects to purchase a different UAV, the decision would likely kill the Eagle Eye program. The Coast Guard is the primary customer for the aircraft.

The Marine Corps, which flies Bell’s MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, has expressed interest in Eagle Eye as a possible UAV platform for the service. In November 2005, then-deputy commandant for aviation Lt. Gen. Mike Hough said he envisioned a family of vertical take-off-and-landing craft supporting the Marines, including Eagle Eye, an escort aircraft, the MV-22 Osprey and a joint heavy-lift aircraft with four tilt-rotor blades capable of carrying loads up to 50,000 pounds.

Kardulias said the Coast Guard also is speaking with other federal agencies, such as Customs and Border Patrol, to discuss the use of land-based UAVs, including the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk and General Atomics Predator UAVs.

He added that he didn’t know when the service would complete its study of alternatives for the ship-based UAV.

Ellie