Aerospace & Defence
New trans-Atlantic special relationship could ride on unmanned air vehicle wings
By: Keith Campbell
Published: 21 Sep 07 - 8:45
Although no decision has yet been taken, there is a real possibility that Brazil might invest in South African State-owned defence industrial group Denel’s Bateleur medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) project.
The two countries are already successfully cooperating in the development of the Denel A-Darter infrared (IR) homing air-to-air missile. The A-Darter programme is reported to be going very well, and appears to be opening the door to further bilateral defence technology development cooperation between the two countries.
The Brazilian Air Force is studying UAV designs from around the world, including from Denel. Their interest is not in aircraft that are already in production, but in new projects in whose development Brazil can participate. The Bateleur falls into that category.
Unveiled at Africa Aerospace and Defence 2004 in Pretoria, in mock-up form, it was then hoped that the design would make its first flight during the first half of 2006. However, lack of finance prevented the UAV from being developed to that stage. Although both the South African Air Force and the South African Navy need a platform like the Bateleur, lack of funding has meant that neither has been able to issue a formal requirement for a MALE UAV, nor invest in the completion of the Bateleur project.
Denel has sought to reduce the time and cost of developing the Bateleur, and minimise its price on the market, by using proven systems and subsystems from the company’s current Seeker II UAV and Skua high-speed target drone systems, and by using commercial off-the-shelf equipment. For example, the Bateleur will use the same ground control station as the Seeker II.
The Bateleur is planned to have an endurance of 18 to 24 hours, an operational radius of up to 750 km, a maximum altitude above 8 000 m, a maximum cruise speed of 250 km/h, a minimum loiter speed of 120 km/h and a payload mass of 1 t. The design includes a satellite communications system. The UAV would take off and land on paved runways like a conventional aircraft, but automatically, and would be equipped with a retractable undercarriage.
Of modular composite construction, it will have (in its initial version) a wingspan of 15 m.
The company adopted the modular concept for very practical reasons: disassembled, a Bateleur will be able to be fitted into a 6-m ISO shipping container; moreover, the modular approach makes it easier to adapt the airframe in the future to carry heavier payloads which would overstress a rigid design. Thus, with the Bateleur, it will be possible to increase the wingspan to generate more lift to counter the effects of a heavier payload. Likewise, it will be easy to redesign the payload module, while leaving the rest of the UAV unchanged.
Initially, proposed payloads included the Carl Zeiss Optronics (previously Denel Optronics) Argos-410 electro-optical (E/O) and IR system (with optional laser rangefinder), the Carl Zeiss Optronics Goshawk-350 E/O and IR system (also with optional laser rangefinder), a laser designator, electronic intelligence equipment, and/or synthetic aperture radar.
Brazilian investment would, as it has with the A-Darter, provide the added funding necessary to drive the project forward. The finalisation of the A-Darter project is known to be budgeted at $104-million, which is being split 50:50 between South Africa and Brazil. (It is not known how much South Africa spent on the programme before Brazil joined it.)
The A-Darter will be a fifth-generation weapon. For example, it will have a longer range than current IR-homing missiles (which are short-range weapons) and will, after launch, reportedly be able to turn 180 degrees and hit targets behind the launch aircraft.