Army’s multidomain battle brings manned-unmanned teaming to the fore

A General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft system has performed manned-unmanned teaming with a Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter (shown here during a trial in South Korea in 2015). (GA-ASI)

As the Army continues to develop its multidomain battle concept, manned-unmanned teaming will play a large role in operations going forward.

Despite multidomain battle being a new, updated vision to how the Army fights conflicts, the service has been conducting manned-unmanned teaming, or MUM-T, for some time, most notably involving Apache attack helicopter pilots being able to control MQ-1C Gray Eagles.

The retirement of the Army’s OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter left the service with a capability gap, so “the Army came up with [this idea that] we’re going to use our unmanned aerial systems to do that,” Chris MacFarland, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. director of Army programs, told C4ISRNET in an interview.

GA-ASI manufactures the Gray Eagle, as well as the Air Force variants the MQ-1 Predator and the larger MQ-9 Reaper.

Apache aircraft have used MUM-T systems in battlefield situations with great success in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a spokesman from the Army’s Program Executive Office Aviation.

Moreover, the spokesman added that the AH-64E Apache is fully digitized with the latest technologies including level 4 man-unmanned teaming that allows Apache pilots to control flight path and payloads of unmanned aircraft system including the Gray Eagle. Level 4 MUM-T allows an Apache copilot gunner to not only receive live sensor imagery from an unmanned aircraft, but also take control of the sensor and weapons payloads and the aircraft navigation via waypoint management, according to Grant Taylor, engineering research psychologist for the Army Aviation Development Directorate..........Read rest of article: HERE

MQ-1C Gray Eagle

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle is powered by a single Thielert 2.0L heavy-fuel piston engine with 165 hp and provides an unmanned long-endurance and persistent ISR and tactical strike capability. The MQ-1C performs the following missions: Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Target Acquisition (RSTA), command and control, communications relay, signals intelligence (SIGINT), battle damage assessment, and manned-unmanned teaming capability. The Gray Eagle has a wingspan of 56 feet, is 28 feet long, and carries a payload of up to 1,075 pounds. The Gray Eagle is equipped with the Raytheon AN/AAS-53 Common Sensor Payload (CSP), which includes Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) video cameras and laser designators. The MQ-1C also features a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), communications relay, and carries up to four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. Source: fi-aeroweb.com

MIL-SPEC: Gray Eagle
Manufacturer: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)
Max. altitude: 29,000 feet
Max. endurance: More than 30 hours
Max. air speed: 135 knots true airspeed (approximately 155 mph)
Payload: 1,075 pounds
Engine: Thielert Centurion inline-four piston turbodiesel
Displacement: 2.0L (121.5 ci)
Bore: 3.26 inches (83 mm)
Stroke: 3.62 inches (92 mm)
Compression: 18:1
Dimensions (WxLxH): 30.63 x 32.12 x 25.04 inches (778 x 816 x 636 mm)

Thielert Centurion inline-four 2.0L piston turbodiesel

Weight (complete and dry): 295.4 pounds (134 kg)
Power: 135 hp (recommended load: 75 percent)
Torque: 302 lb-ft
Max. rpm: 4,500 rpm
Fuel consumption: 0.35 lb/hphr
Fuel type: Diesel (EN590), Jet A, JP-8, Chinese Jet Fuel No. 3
Valvetrain: Dual overhead camshaft (DOHC)
Fuel Injection system: Common-rail direct injection
Cooling: Liquid
Oil system: Wet sump
Pop drive: Reduction gearbox with integrated clutch
Propeller: Three-blade with hydraulic variable pitch
Engine lifetime: 1,500 hours

Source: trucktrend.com