Predator ACTD Presentation To NDIA IOT&E
Tier 2 ACTD Highlights Program run by Joint Program Office (JPO) GOAL: rapid deployment of long endurance medium unmanned ISR platform Performance objectives: Over the horizon satellite data link control EO/IR Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) 24 hours on station at 400 nm Predator Concept proven by GNAT-750 satellite demonstration in October 1993 Aircraft flown from El Mirage, CA Controlled from Washington, DC Deliverables 10 aircraft 3 Ground Control Stations (GCS) Leading the Air Power Revolution 2 HG2327JP 02-25-04
RQ-1 Predator Chosen for ACTD Size / weight Length 27 feet Wingspan 48.7 feet GTOW 1850 lb. Fuel capacity 625 lb. Payload capacity 450 lb. Performance 82 HP Rotax 912 engine 25,000 ft. altitude 40 hour endurance 120 kias max 75 kias loiter Ground control Pilot and payload operator workstations Data exploitation workstations SAR workstations Data link C-band LOS (redundant) UHF Satcom Ku-band Satcom Predator Leading the Air Power Revolution 3 HG2327JP 02-25-04
Rapid Timelines 40 days: RFP to contract award including Initial proposal Demonstration BAFO 6 months: contract award to first flight 9 months: contract award to first deployment 6 in-conus deployments Fort Huachuca Initial training Customs demonstration Follow-on training Fort Sumner, NM Roving Sands San Clemente Island CARGRU 1 exercise Key West, FL Special Ops exercise Predator 18 months: contract award to combat deployment in the Balkans Leading the Air Power Revolution 4
Program Development Phase A EO/IR Wescam Model 14TS UHF Satcom - Phase B Ku-band Satcom L3 Communications SAR Northrop Grumman TESAR System upgrades resulting from ACTD lessons learned Predator Turbo-charged engine De-ice system ATC Voice Radio Leading the Air Power Revolution 5
Payload Day TV Video Leading the Air Power Revolution 6
Transition to Air Force ACTD ended September 1996 Two additional aircraft delivered Air Force stands up squadrons at Indian Springs 11 th Reconnaissance Squadron - July 1995 15 th Reconnaissance Squadron Aug 1997 17 th Reconnaissance Squadron Mar 2002 OT&E performed October 2000 System had more than 10,000 hours of combat flight time before OT&E Formal OT&E added little value in determining military utility Leading the Air Power Revolution 7
The Good and the Bad The good Program proceeded very rapidly The bad Joint program with no identified end-user (sponsor) No concept for how to transition a successful ACTD Logistics support infrastructure not in place Air Force determined that they would never exceed 7000 flight hours per year with 12 systems Last year USAF Predators flew 25,000 hours Deliveries to date USAF 107 Predators Italy 5 Predators US Army 3 Predator variants 90,000 flight hours to date Yet Predator has never been deemed to have achieved IOC Leading the Air Power Revolution 8
Predator MQ-1 Leading the Air Power Revolution 9
MQ-1 Predator System Length: 27 ft (8.2m) Wing Span: 53.7 ft (16.4m) Endurance: 40 hr Payload (Internal): 450 lb (204 kg) Wing Outboard Hard Points: (2) 150 lb (90 kg) Max Gross Weight: 2,250 lb (1022 kg) Powerplant: Rotax 914 Turbo dual alternators Data Link: C-Band LOS Ku-Band SATCOM Ceiling: 25,000 ft (7600m) Speed: 90-140 KTAS (165-260 km/hr) Integrated Operations Predator GCS Common Army GCS TCS Compatibility TCDL TUAV GCS Tactical Automatic Landing System (TALS) Customers U.S. Air Force U.S. Navy Italian Air Force Features ARC-210 VHF/UHF tactical radio De-ice system 2 wing hard points (HELLFIRE compatible) Wescam 14 EO/IR Raytheon MTS EO/IR/Laser Designator Lynx SAR ESM Data link relay Leading the Air Power Revolution 10
RQ-1 Predator The War on Terrorism First ever Hunter-Killer UAV Over 90,000 flight hours >2/3 in combat >3600 in June 2004 alone First intelligence/reconnaissance/surveillance platform on-station after September 11 attacks Critical intelligence on Al Qaeda/Taliban forces Primary air strike controller in urban areas Directed hundreds of strikes by F-14, F-18, F-15E, F-16, B-52, B-1, B-2, AC-130 Superior targeting resulted in zero incidents of collateral damage Weapons delivery Real-time threat warning/target support for 30 hr+ B-2 sorties The tradition continued in Iraq Unprecedented reliability Highest operational readiness rate in the USAF inventory Virtually no sorties lost due to parts or maintenance Leading the Air Power Revolution 11
Highlights United States Army Provided system of 3 Army I-GNAT-ERs Based on US Air Force Predator Line of sight control Configuration: Italian AF front end to accommodate Lynx SAR/Block 30 aft end MOSP EO/IR payload Tactical GCS Lynx SAR on one aircraft Deployed in Iraq since March 2004 Flies 12 hours per day every day with only 8 people Has never missed a sortie Leading the Air Power Revolution 12
THE PREDATOR SYSTEMS A New Dimension In Worldwide Awareness Launch/Recover From anywhere Control From anywhere Distribute color TV and FLIR, radar, electronic surveillance products To anyplace Launch precision weapons Anytime PREDATOR B ANYWHERE Leading the Air Power Revolution ANYPLACE 13 ANYTIME APB287TJC 12-16-03