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Subject: Globalhawk wins BAMS
Aussie Diggermark 2 4/22/2008 10:05:57 PM

BAMS! Northrop Wins Billion-Dollar UAS Deal

By Dan Dupont April 22, 2008 | 4:47:34 PMCategories: Drones, Planes, Copters, Blimps

Northrop Grumman has won a $1.1 billion deal to develop the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft system for the Navy, the Defense Department announced today.

Northrop beat Boeing and a Lockheed Martin-General Atomics team for the award, notes AP.

Although the . . . award announced Tuesday is for the initial development of the plane, the contract could ultimately be worth several billion as the Navy buys as many as 44 unmanned aircraft. The president's 2008 budget request includes $2.3 billion for research, development, test and evaluation for the program plus another $780 million for procurement.

And the Australian government, which has invested in the BAMS development program through a $15 million agreement with the U.S. Navy, is also expected to become a major customer for the new planes.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman won the competition with a version of its Global Hawk surveillance aircraft, which is primarily used by the Air Force. Boeing had partnered with General Dynamics Corp., maker of the Gulfstream corporate jet, to offer an unmanned version of the Gulfstream G550. And Lockheed partnered with General Atomics, maker of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, to offer the Mariner, a version of the Predator with longer wings, more fuel and more capacity.

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$1.5bn RAAF bid on the line

Mark Dodd | April 24, 2008

PRESSURE is growing on the Rudd Government to sign up to a cutting edge $1.5 billion unmanned aircraft program after a major US Navy contract was awarded yesterday.

In a long-awaited decision, the US Navy selected Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle to fill its Broad Area Maritime Surveillance requirement. The Howard government signalled that a replacement for the ageing AP3-C Orion surveillance aircraft would be guided by the US Navy decision.

According to defence sources, a window of less than nine months exists for Canberra to decide whether to join the UAV program, which involves one of the most sensitive areas of US military technology.

If Canberra decides to buy the Global Hawk, it will provide an unrivalled regional surveillance capability with civil and military applications. The UAV would be able to monitor Japanese whaling ships or spot illicit drug vessels such as the North Korean heroin ship Pong Su, which entered Australian waters in 2003 undetected.

The single jet-engined Global Hawk can operate at an altitude of more than 20,000m and is capable of patrolling the entire Australian coastline in one continuous mission.

Any decision to buy the Global Hawk would require US government approval under the terms of a US Foreign Military Sales agreement, which The Australian understands would be likely to be granted.

Northrop Grumman officials told The Australian yesterday that lucrative opportunities for local industry participation were available if Canberra decided to follow the US Navy decision, particularly in the provision of hi-tech cameras and sensors.

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VGNTMH UAVs 4/25/2008 3:45:51 AM

BAMS
Excellent news re the USN BAMS program!

Hopefully, as per the second article, Australia can now "piggy back" on the USN BAMS program and get some HALE martime patrol and surveillance UAVs ASAP.

Has it been established what sensor fit the USN and hopefully the ADF RQ-4B BAMS UAVs will carry? In particular what radar? And will this radar have an AEW capability and will the UAVs be "integrated" with the AWDs?

Does anyone know how many BAMS UAVs the ADF/RAAF might get?

Ever since those 24 hour plus trans Pacific and "all around South East and Eastern Asia" RQ-4 flights occured a few years ago it has been patently obvious to me that:
1) The RQ-4s are extraordinarily powerful and persistant surviellance assets
2) They would make a perfect martime patrol and surveillance platform in a martime environment (not ASW of course)
3) As Australia is a maritime nation with huge areas to survey, up to a sixth of the surface area of the world
4) Australia should get RQ-4s ASAP

And I am glad that the RQ-4B was chosen for BAMS over the RQ-9 Mariner. The RQ-9 might have had some commonality advantages for the ADF in that the MQ-9 variant could have been purchased as well as the Mariner to be a long range surveillance and fire support UCAV to support the Army in the Pacific region, but the RQ-4 presumably has a much larger capability in radar power, electrical power, radar aperature and that is the relevant factor for HALE martime patrol and surveillance. Correct?

Up with useful, long range, persistent "patrol aviation" for the ADF I say!

Eg:
1) RQ-4B
2) P-8
3) Wedgetail AEW

Begin sarcastic comment ....

This "patrol aviation" is infiitely more relevant to the ADF than endless talk about DOA and CTOL fast jet combat aircraft that can barely provide a CAP over East Timor!

End sarcastic comment ....

Scan Eagles
And at the other end of the spectrum ... talking of Scan Eagles ....

Are they still being leased by the ADF for operations in Iraq? Leased by the Army and operated by Boeing staff? I was always amazed by the Scan Eagles ... 24 hour endurance in a tactical UAV which can be launched and recovered from a field or a ship ...

How are the I-Views coming along? Are they going to replace the leased Scan Eagles? I know the I-View is a much larger UAV than the Scan Eagle, and can probably carry a larger sensor payload and provide it with more electrical power etc, and could possibly carry a mini AESA SAR, but I always wondered at the advantages of the I-View over the Scan Eagle.

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gf0012-aust 4/25/2008 4:39:22 PM

Although indicated in the past, I'd suggest that the chances of seeing multiple UAV types selected for australian service is higher than before.

For those who have worked in Govt and Industry, note my selection of words.

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Herald12345 4/25/2008 6:55:53 PM

Although indicated in the past, I'd suggest that the chances of seeing multiple UAV types selected for australian service is higher than before.

For those who have worked in Govt and Industry, note my selection of words.

Agreed one size does not fit all.

Right now I seriously question whether current Global Hawk has the electrical power or the internal space to run a proper AEW radar and its associated telemetry feeds.That humpback is dedicated to a host of other electronics-specifically satellite coms and passive sensors. The robot would need radical redesign before you can mount a PAR on it.

That can be done, but I'm not aware of such a program in the works. That was one of the reasons why the Boeing proposa,l as bizarre as it was, was so interesting-VOLUME inside the aeroshell was available to outfit with specialized mission pallets. Whether you could trust Boeing to do it right? High risk.

Herald

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gf0012-aust 4/25/2008 9:25:41 PM

Right now I seriously question whether current Global Hawk has the electrical power or the internal space to run a proper AEW radar and its associated telemetry feeds.That humpback is dedicated to a host of other electronics-specifically satellite coms and passive sensors. The robot would need radical redesign before you can mount a PAR on it.

That can be done, but I'm not aware of such a program in the works. That was one of the reasons why the Boeing proposa,l as bizarre as it was, was so interesting-VOLUME inside the aeroshell was available to outfit with specialized mission pallets. Whether you could trust Boeing to do it right? High risk.

Herald

we're going to end up with multiple platforms for this role.....

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Arty Farty 4/27/2008 6:59:33 AM

"Marinisation" of Global Hawk? - link

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BLUIE006 4/27/2008 8:20:51 AM

Any word on " mini AWAC" UAV's for the LHD ?

larger naval version of RQ-7B ? with mini ASEA/AWACS radar????

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BLUIE006 4/27/2008 9:12:30 AM

MQ-9 "Mariner", is probably more realistic ....Size wise

RQ-4 - High altitude BAS

RQ-9 - LHD based AEW&C/AWACS

RQ-7 - IR

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Herald12345 4/27/2008 1:27:26 PM

"Marinisation" of Global Hawk? - link target="_blank">link

I stand corrected on one previous statement where I was somewhat in error. NO further comment.

Herald

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DropBear 4/30/2008 12:54:58 AM

Still think using a Mariner would be better than getting a GH to come down to lower levels.

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gf0012-aust 4/30/2008 2:08:14 AM

Still think using a Mariner would be better than getting a GH to come down to lower levels.

remember what I said about 12months ago when I met one of the CoastWatch evaluators on the way back from my jaunt in Maryland.....

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