14-08-2012, 09:53 AM
MINI, MICRO, AND SWARMING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
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INTRODUCTION
More than 40 countries worldwide are currently developing unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) for both military and civilian uses. UAVs are popular because they are inexpensive and
keep military personnel out of harm’s way. Excelling at dull, dangerous, and dirty missions, they
have mostly been used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and as
communications relays. UAV payloads consist of sensor arrays that transmit tactical information
back to base in real time. They provide less expensive sensor platforms that incorporate greater
loiter time than most manned aerial vehicles or satellites.
UAVs are also valuable in civilian applications, such as in agriculture, meteorology,
public safety, and utilities management. For example, UAVs have been equipped to spray
pesticides and take atmospheric measurements. Police departments have also purchased UAVs
for use in search and rescue operations. Utility companies use them to monitor power lines,
communications lines, and gas pipelines.
Advances in technologies, including miniaturization of sensors, computers, and
communications devices, have led to improved mini and micro UAVs (MUAVs and MAVs,
respectively). This, in turn, has allowed smaller UAVs to perform the same functions as larger
UAVs. In addition, advances in collision avoidance and pathfinding have given rise to the
possibility of swarms of UAVs acting together to carry out missions.
UAVs face some technological limitations. Unlike airborne warning and control systems
(AWACs) and joint surveillance and target attack radar systems (JSTARs), UAVs do not yet
have advanced sensors and analytical ability, nor do they have onboard battle management and
command and control capabilities. These technologies may be miniaturized for future UAV
payloads, but the expense of doing so may make UAVs less expendable than they are presently.
At the cutting edge of current UAV research is advancing UAV autonomy through computer
technology and artificial intelligence.
WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENT OF UAVs
The United States was the first country to undertake UAV research and development. Dr.
Samuel Pierpont Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, launched the first winged
UAV in 1896. The steam-powered, 14-kilogram air vehicle flew unguided for one minute over
Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Mini, Micro, and Swarming UAVs
the Potomac River to test early theories of flight.2 In the 1930s, U.S. and British militaries for
antiaircraft gunnery practice used radio-controlled airplanes. The Germans used
Vergeltungswaffe (revenge weapon)–1, or V–1 rockets, as guided, flying bombs against the
United Kingdom in World War II. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union’s OKB Tupolev Experimental
Design Bureau developed the TU–121 target drone, a precursor of the modern cruise missile.3
Israel started working with UAVs in the early 1970s. The Israelis began by adding cameras to
radio-controlled aircraft and later had great success using UAVs as decoys against enemy radar
sites in the 1973 Yom Kippur War involving Israel, Egypt, and Syria. Israel also used UAVs to
find enemy missile sites during 1982 operations in Lebanon.4 In the 1970s, the United States
used UAVs for reconnaissance missions in Vietnam. In the early 1990s, the United States
employed UAVs in the Persian Gulf War and in the Balkans and started using U.S.-built
Predators as munitions platforms.
Today approximately 50 countries are developing and/or acquiring UAVs for their armed
forces. In Iraq nearly 700 UAVs are currently deployed.5 The United States and Israel are the
main innovators in the UAV field, but Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South
Korea, and the United Kingdom are also active in UAV research, design, and production. In
addition, organizations such as Hezbollah also have UAVs in their weapons arsenals and use
them against their enemies.
United States
The United States has been developing UAVs since the 1930s, when they were first
developed for use as target drones. By the 1970s, UAVs were used for reconnaissance in
Vietnam and, in the 1980s, for tactical surveillance. The United States excels in all UAV types
and technologies. For instance, General Atomics’ Predator is a leading large UAV that features
multiple mission capability. Companies such as AeroVironment, BAE Systems, USA,
Honeywell, Northrup Grumman, and Sikorsky are some of the approximately two dozen U.S.
The Middle East and Africa
Israel, another leader in UAV design and production, has been developing UAVs since
the mid-1970s. Israeli companies are leaders in mini and micro UAVs and excel in the
production of UAV sensor payloads and guidance systems. Approximately eight manufacturers
design or build UAVs in Israel; Elbit Systems and IAI Malat are the two leading manufacturers
of mini reconnaissance and surveillance UAVs. Israel produces medium-sized and small UAVs
for use by its armed forces and for sales abroad to countries such as Australia, Singapore, and the
United Kingdom.8
Israeli UAV companies in particular have aggressively pursued the international UAV
market. Some companies are partnering with other companies in order to promote sales. Listed
below are some recent examples of collaborations between Israeli UAV producers and partners
in Australia, Canada, Poland, and Singapore:
• In December 2005, Australia purchased six Israeli Elbit Skylark IV systems (for a total of
18 UAVs) for operations in Iraq.9